Dr. Mark Boxer ‘83, who retired this month as executive vice president and global chief information officer at Cigna, has been named the University of Hartford’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. He began on June 2.
“To have someone of the caliber and experience of Mark Boxer join our leadership team at this moment in time is truly a gift,” said University of Hartford President Gregory Woodward. “He loves his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Hartford, and he will play a significant role in how we successfully and strategically respond to the unprecedented challenges higher education and our institution are facing.”
Boxer, a lifelong learner who deeply values education, will be a member of the University’s cabinet and report to President Woodward. As UHart’s chief operating officer, he will oversee finance, facilities, information technology, and human resources. Boxer will help to manage and direct the strategic plan of the University, while further developing critical partnerships with the community, industry, government officials, and other nonprofit organizations. He will also be taking on a faculty teaching assignment in addition to his administrative responsibilities.
Boxer served as Cigna’s global chief information officer for nine years. He was responsible for driving Cigna’s worldwide technology strategy and overseeing the health company’s technology operations, digital capabilities, analytics, and ventures.
President Woodward expanded on the new role, saying, “Higher education needs to find new ways of working and managing their operations to function effectively in this current and future environment. Mark Boxer’s role is designed specifically to do just that; to draw together the major divisions of the institution in a single, coherent, accountable, and sustainable plan that supports and propels the mission and strategic plan of the University forward.”
Prior to joining Cigna, Boxer was group president, Government Healthcare at Xerox and served as deputy global CIO for the Xerox Corporation. Prior to joining Xerox, he was a member of Anthem’s executive leadership team and served in various leadership roles at that company, including CEO and president of Technology, Operations, and Government Services, chief operations officer, chief information officer, president of Consumer Health Plans, and chief strategy officer. Before Anthem, Boxer was senior vice president of Information Technology and E-Commerce at Cigna Healthcare and served as chief information officer of Healthsource, a Cigna acquisition. He also spent 10 years with Hewlett Packard (Digital) in various senior technology management roles. He began his career with HP as a divisional CFO and group controller.
In addition to several corporate board positions and venture advisory roles, Boxer is a University of Connecticut (UConn) trustee and is an alumni representative for the Medical University of South Carolina. He has been recognized for his industry achievements by Computerworld, Insurance & Technology magazine, and the STEMconnector Consortium. He is a founding member of the Internet Ecosystem Innovation Committee (IEIC).
Boxer, a champion for advancing the employment of people with different abilities, is a recipient of the American Association of People with Disabilities “Justice for All” Award along with two United States congressmen.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Physics from the University of Hartford, and in 2013, was awarded the UHart Alumni Association’s highest honor for distinguished alumni, an Anchor Award. Boxer holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance from UConn and a Master of Science in Information Systems from Drexel University, as well as a doctorate in Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina and a second doctorate in Global Public Health from Arizona’s School of Health Sciences. He is currently completing postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford, Nuffield School of Primary Care.
“I am incredibly honored to be joining the University of Hartford leadership team, and in many ways, coming home," Boxer said. "We know that higher education levels the playing field. The tremendous intellectual assets and world class programs at the University are the platform for educating and developing the next generation of global leaders, across all disciplines. It is my hope that this role creates more opportunity to further invest in our future.”
Dr. Boxer resides in Glastonbury, Connecticut, with his wife, Michelle (’82). He has two daughters, Sarah, an attorney in San Francisco, and Elizabeth, a health-care consultant in Boston. When he is not fishing on a lake or in Long island Sound, he can be found reading non-fiction, cooking a new creation, or walking with his rescue dog, Scout.