Lucius Downey is in his 10^th year working for UConn Health’s Department of Information Technology, where he recently accepted a promotion to the position of desktop support manager. He had been a technical analyst for the last six years, and was a contract employee before that. He is also a children’s book author. His first published book, Tyler Travels New York City, is available at retailers, including the UConn Health Bookstore, and via tylerclub29.com and Amazon.

Downey lives in New Britain with his son, Tyler, who turns 12 Sept. 29.

What was it like working in IT during the height of the pandemic?

During the height of the pandemic, it was very busy. The first few weeks were very challenging, but we were able to work through those challenges and resolve many issues. One of the challenges was preparing equipment for our users to work from home.

What would you say is the most misunderstood thing about the work you do?

I think technicians can make the work look easy, so some will assume it is, but we face challenges as well.

What is the most rewarding thing about your work at UConn Health?

My job is to provide desktop and hardware support to our staff. The most rewarding thing is being able to resolve technical issues for our users. I really love helping people.

You’re also a children’s book author. How did that come to be, and when did you start?

I started writing music and poetry at a very young age, but never a book. During the pandemic, I wanted to try something new and challenge myself, so I started writing children’s books. I wanted the books to be of significance to me, so I decided to write the book with my son, Tyler, as the main character.

I took a picture of him when he was three years old, and I handed it off to a friend of mine who’s an illustrator. His name is LaMont Russ. From that picture, we created the character, and from there we created the story. We also have a small cartoon on YouTube. Tyler’s 11 years old now. He’s into sports, he loves pizza, he loves riding bikes, and he loves reading as well. So that was the inspiration behind this entire project. We would like to have not only books for students, but also an app. At some point, we will finish up the app and then we’ll move on to other subjects for school, but right now we’re focusing on reading.

How many have you written/published? What can you tell us about your body of work as an author?

Currently, I have about seven books finished and waiting to be published. Tyler Travels New York City is the first book I’ve published that is part of the TYLERCLUB29 traveling series. Tyler will travel to a different location in every book. He just so happens to go to New York City in the first book because that’s where I was born and raised. In addition to the travel series, I also have other books I’ve written which I plan to publish as well. The next book to be released is Tyler It’s Time. In that particular book, it’s time for something — time for practice, time for school — and that particular series will rhyme.

Learn more about Downey’s creative work at tylerclub29.com.

He most likely has been at UConn Health longer than you have. Dr. Alan Lurie, professor and chair of the UConn School of Dental Medicine Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, recently was recognized for 45 years of service. UConn Health is the only place he’s ever worked full-time. He started as an assistant professor of oral and maxillofacial radiology and has been division chair for the last 28 years. Dr. Lurie lives in West Hartford with his wife, Dr. Susanne Shrader, who’s a UConn School of Medicine alum. They have three adult children and three grandchildren.

How has your role here changed over the years?

I was here for almost 20 years, most of that time spent being a scientist working on radiation cancer induction and interaction with chemicals. I did some teaching and clinic coverage, but I was mainly in the lab. And then in 1990, the person who had been the chair the whole time, Allan Reiskin, left the institution, and they asked me if I would take it over. I had to think about that, because when you do that you can’t be a lab scientist anymore. I accepted that, and I saw a shift in my research over to collaborative clinical and translational research, and then got involved with administration of research programs, of oral biology, of the DMD-Ph.D. program, and before that the residency Ph.D. program, then known as the dentist-scientist award. I shifted gears frequently.

What would you say are the biggest changes that have taken place in the dental school over 45 years?

When I first came here, there wasn’t a CT (computed tomography) machine in the institution. I don’t believe there was one in the state. There’ve been so many big changes. CT shows up, MR (magnetic resonance) shows up, nuclear medicine shows up, PET (positron emission tomography) scans, molecular imaging, cone beam CT, all of these things didn’t exist, and they’re still showing up. You have to be very nimble to be in radiology because it’s advancing so rapidly, and I think that the advances over the next quarter of a century are just going to be astonishing.

When I arrived here, this dental school was unique in the history of dental schools. It was truly creating a physician stomatologist, scientifically based. The interaction between the medical and dental wings of this institution was very very close, very very intense. We were really in a partnership. It was very small. I arrived here after the first class graduated, and I think there were eight people; and then the next class, the first class I taught, I think there were 12 people, and the medical school was about 24 people. The faculty was small. Everybody knew everybody. It was very intimate, what today would be called evidence-based (back then it was called science-based) medicine and dental medicine. The student body has always been a powerhouse. We’ve always had a very strong faculty. We’ve almost always been on top of technological advances.

Probably we have been best known for our emphasis on the science behind imaging and the safe imaging of patients. We’ve had a lot of research on carcinogenesis and extrapolation out to risk, and what are the safest practices and how do you teach the safe practices. I think that’s had a fairly significant influence on the way radiology is taught and practiced.

When you first started in 1973, if someone told you that you’d be here for 45 years, how would you have reacted?

I can answer that in one word: disbelief.

For the first several years here, I was fully intending to return to my home state of California. However, over time, I really got entrenched in this area, and I became more and more committed to this institution, more and more committed to my personal health care providers, committed to giving my children a stable environment and school system and friends. I just got to like it more and more.

What motivates you to keep coming to work at the same place every day for as long as you have?

Great students, great residents, terrific staff and faculty colleagues, and an interesting job that’s quite variable in its texture. I can control its shifts from clinical activities to teaching to doing collaborative research and overseeing other people doing research and helping them, and participating in national activities. It’s quite variable and that keeps it interesting.

What are your plans moving forward?

I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. I like it too much. I’m having too much fun. There’s something new happening in my field like every week, so I’m just waiting to see the next thing.

What makes the UConn School of Dental Medicine so successful and highly regarded?

It’s a variety of things. I think the smallness is a great strength, because it lets you be very selective in your student and resident selection. It also lets you be selective in your faculty. I think we always had a very strong faculty. We still have many close relationships with people in the medical school and in the hospital, and so there’s a good deal of interactive teaching in patient care and residency training. The science that’s coming out of the dental school is still a leader in the world. We have world-renowned scientists and leaders through the dental school, and I think with the addition of the Biomedical Engineering Department and the sharing between the schools and with Storrs has the potential to become something really tremendous, because that’s playing to our strengths. Interactions in imaging and in medically complex patients and in cancer patients and especially in bone and musculoskeletal, are ongoing major strengths of this place.

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?

I’m a serious classical pianist. I have been all my life. That was my other career choice. I was a guest artist in the Casals Festival in 2015. I run a chamber music trio (we’ve been together over 20 years now) and we play annually on commencement weekend here. Our name is The Noteworthy Ensemble; my wife plays violin and viola, and Gwen Winkel, the music director for the Simsbury school system, plays clarinet and ancient wind instruments. My parents were both professional musicians, so I grew up in a household of classical music, and I’ve been at the keyboard since I was 6.

I love golf. I’m a competent player. I used to be a pretty good player, but it’s hard to be good when you’re 72.

I’ve done quite a bit of birding around the world, in Japan, Europe, South America, the U.S., and in New Zealand (my daughter lives in New Zealand). I’ve led a few birding-based eco tours in Latin America. I love birds. There are a couple of birds that have been living in our home for over a quarter of a century.

I’m a big sports fan. My favorite team is the Patriots, and my second favorite team is – most people won’t know what it is –the All Blacks, the national rugby team of New Zealand, probably the greatest dynasty in the history of team sports. I like all sports, I’ll watch any of it.

The other thing I love is science fiction, movies and books. I’ve been a member of the Science Fiction Book Club since two years after it was founded in 1956. I’ve been a member for 60 consecutive years and I’ve read hundreds if not thousands of science fiction novels and seen an awful lot of science fiction movies. My favorite is Godzilla. I was interested in radiation from the first time I saw Godzilla, and I was only 8 when I saw it. I watched science fiction and horror movies as a kid, and almost all of them were radiation – making things big, making things small, making things blow up – but it was always radiation. And in dental school I found out that there was a real science of radiation. That headed me into being a radiologist.

 

Parking has been known to be a polarizing issue on our campus. But most would agree that as the Bioscience Connecticut construction led to the addition of three garages, we’re at a much better place today. The man who oversees parking (and transportation, and event services) is Allan Peterson. Allan’s been at UConn Health for three years now. He lives in Griswold with his wife and the two youngest of their four children.

How has parking and transportation on our campus improved over the last few years?

In terms of parking the key improvement has been increased capacity (spaces) in high-demand areas. This has allowed us to offer additional Area 1 permits which in turn led to more convenient Area 3 spaces becoming available. We were also able to provide evening and weekend enhancements for our students and residents. And although smaller in scale, the repaving and restriping of several surface lots simply makes it easier to get in and out of spaces. We’ve also had some nice improvements in transportation services on campus with our new shuttles, well trained drivers, and the handy mobile app and desktop link which let you know where your shuttle is. CTtransit and CTfastrak have also been great partners by improving access to our campus from throughout the region. They are now carrying more than 4,000 passengers per month to and from our campus.

To what do you attribute that success?

To me it’s really a great story about teamwork. It all started with buying into our leadership’s vision of what Bioscience Connecticut and UConn Health would become. Then the people responsible for planning, safety, and operations worked together to understand the traffic and parking demands so we could create the best possible experience for the whole community. Of course there will always be bumps along the way when you undertake this type of amazing growth, but with everyone’s hard work, patience and perseverance we’re beginning to see some very good outcomes.

People may not realize, your work is about more than lots and garages. What else does your office handle?

Although parking is a big piece, it’s not everything. Here’s a snapshot of what we handle.

• 6,500 parking permits for staff, students, residents and contractors
• Parking for more than 2,000 patients and visitors daily
• 5,100 campus wide parking spaces
• Valet parking at the University Tower, Main Building & Outpatient Pavilion
• Campus shuttles which transport over 40,000 passengers annually
• Partnering with CTrides and CTtransit to promote regional transportation services
• Maintenance of the garages and parking equipment
• Room scheduling for more than 4,000 meetings and events annually
• Coordination of special event services

What would you say is the most misunderstood thing about parking?

One of the most common questions we hear in the parking world is, ‘Why do we charge for parking’? You will hear this from time to time at many institutions and municipalities across the country, especially during times of major growth. There is a great book (for transportation geeks like me), The High Cost of Free Parking, written by Donald Shoup, Ph.D., professor of urban planning and economics at UCLA. The book examines parking’s impact on society, the economy and the environment, and how a shift in the approach to transportation planning, engineering and operations can lead to many long-term benefits. The gist of the book is that for many decades the real costs of parking—maintaining driveways, sidewalks, lots, garages, and signage—were hidden by free or subsidized parking spaces, which in many cases lead to additional costs driven by declining infrastructures, traffic congestion, pollution, lost time, etc. One of Shoup’s recommendations, which has been widely adopted, was to first understand the planned utilization and demand of parking areas, and then to set pricing based on the distance from the destination, traffic demands, and fair market rates. Among the benefits would be reduced traffic congestion and pollution (by cutting down on ‘cruising for parking’), time savings, and modest revenues that can be reinvested into the community for maintenance, repairs, and other sustainable transportation programs.

What’s left to do in terms of parking on our campus?

Over the coming year we will be installing a new wayfinding sign package and bringing two visitor parking lots back on line. We’ll also continue to assess traffic demand and where it makes sense to initiate programs that improve efficiency and sustainability. Nevertheless, the real key to our long-term success is our staff’s caring, attentive approach, and diligence in making sure that we are providing a clean, welcoming, and safe environment so that everyone’s arrival and departure is as seamless as possible. We have this saying that goes, “Every day we have an opportunity to create an exceptional first and last impression for everyone at UConn Health.” That’s what we’re striving for: everyone, every day!

 

If you’ve been to the Connucopia Gift Shop, either in its old location in the main lobby, its current location on the University Tower mezzanine, or the kiosk in the Outpatient Pavilion, chances are you’ve exchanged smiles with Debbie Baril. Debbie has been managing the gift shop, which is part of the UConn Health Auxiliary, since 2006. She lives in Winsted with her husband, Marcel, and their two dogs, and has three grown children.

How has the first year been in the new location, on the mezzanine of the University Tower?

The gift shop was in the main lobby of the original hospital building for more than 35 years. The transition to the new building was both bittersweet and exciting. We loved our old location but we’re now in a new, lovely, light-filled space. We are also lucky to have great neighbors, Starbucks!

How would you describe your customers?

We cater to visitors, patients, staff and students alike. I would estimate staff and students make up about 70 percent of our business at this time. We see fewer visitors and patients at the new location, but we’re always thrilled when we can help them find that special gift or at least provide a place they can come, take a break, window shop and regroup. It’s always humbling to receive a thank you note from a customer telling you how much you helped at a difficult time. We have many “regulars” who frequent the shop. We have everything from women who wait for the new apparel to arrive to get the best selection to staff who come in for their daily pack of gum. It’s been a challenging road with the move, but our regulars have remained loyal.

What should people know about the kiosk in the Outpatient Pavilion?

In 2015 we opened a small satellite shop on the first floor of the Outpatient Pavilion. We staff that shop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week and are closed at that location on the weekends. We carry a small selection of gifts, accessories, UConn products and edibles.

What is the connection with the UConn Health Auxiliary?

The Connucopia is owned by the UConn Health Auxiliary. All profits from the two Connucopia Gift Shops as well as the UConn Health Auxiliary Thrift Shop benefit the Auxiliary, which supports UConn Health in many ways. The shops are the major source of revenue for the Auxiliary, which also benefits from membership dues, special events and vendor sales. We host vendor sales on campus anywhere from one to as many as six times a week during the holiday months. We’ve recently been lucky enough to host two farm trucks, Harvest Bakery and Truffles Food Truck, thanks to Allan Peterson [director of Parking, Transportation and Event Services].

How do you staff the Gift Shop locations?

It takes six paid employees to staff both Connucopia shops. We have one paid employee on every shift including nights and weekends. We’re fortunate to have the help of two to four volunteers per day. They assist in the main gift shop by waiting on customers, checking in and marking new products, as well as merchandising and restocking.

What’s something about the Gift Shop most folks should know but probably don’t?

Our merchandise updates constantly so our customers see something new at every visit. We’ve worked hard making the Connucopia into a mini department store. We sell everything from the new dress you need because you forgot about an after-work event, flowers, cards and gifts to brighten a patients room to UConn apparel to wear to the game. We stock a full array of sundries and tech accessories. We also carry books of stamps. As the Connucopia is not for profit, there is no sales tax charged!