Outstanding Alum: Exceptional Professional Success
As a student at the University of Hartford, Sid Kaplan majored in music and graduated with a bachelor's degree in music education from the Hartt School in 1969. He was a member of various performance organizations and the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia honors fraternity and later received his master's degree from Michigan State University. Kaplan was the band director at a public high school for many years, directing the concert band and award-winning jazz ensemble.
After a yearlong worldwide trip overseas, he decided to change careers and joined the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer. He has served in the Philippines, Mauritania, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, as well as several years at headquarters in Washington, D.C. Kaplan was a member of the 43rd Senior Seminar, the Department's executive leadership program available to senior foreign policy and national security officials of the international affairs agencies across the U.S. Government. In Washington, he served in senior positions in management and strategic planning, officially retiring from the Foreign Service in 2012. Kaplan was inducted as a Fellow of the Academy of Public Administration, a congressionally chartered non-partisan organization.
Kaplan has continued to enjoy his passion for jazz and many other genres of music nurtured by his experiences at the Hartt School. He is a generous supporter of the University and a member of the Founder's Planned Giving Society.