University of Hartford

University of Hartford
Motto Ad humanitatem
Motto in English
 For humanity
Type Private
Established 1957
Endowment $144,991,000[1]
President Gregory S. Woodward
Administrative staff
 718
Students 7,025[1]
Undergraduates 5,350[1]
Postgraduates 1,675[1]
Location West Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Campus Suburban
Colors Scarlet and White[2]
         
Athletics NCAA Division I – AEC
Nickname Hawks
Affiliations NAICU[3]
Mascot "Howie" the Hawk
Website www.hartford.edu

The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private, independent, nonsectarian, coeducational university located mostly in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its 350-acre (1.4 km2) main campus touches portions of three municipalities: Bloomfield, Hartford, and West Hartford. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The degree programs at the University of Hartford hold the highest levels of accreditation available in the US, including the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (EAC/ABET), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges-Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (NEASC-CIHE).[4][5]

History

The University of Hartford was chartered through the joining of the Hartford Art School, Hillyer College, and The Hartt School in 1957.[6] Prior to the charter, the University of Hartford did not exist as an independent entity rather in the chronicles of Hillyer College, The Hartford Art School, and The Hartt School.

The Hartford Art School, which commenced operation in 1877, was founded by a group of women in Hartford, including Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain's wife, Olivia Langdon Clemens, as the Hartford Society for Decorative Art. Its original location was at the Wadsworth Atheneum, the first public art museum in the United States. It is still associated with the museum today.

Hillyer College, which was named for the U.S. Civil War General Charles Hillyer, was created as a part of the Hartford YMCA in 1879. In the early 20th century it provided instruction in automotive technology at a time when Hartford was a center for the infant automobile industry. In 1947, it was formally separated from the YMCA and saw an influx of a large number of World War II veterans afforded an education under the G.I. Bill. In the three school merger Hillyer brought its College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions, Barney School of Business, College of Engineering, Technology and Architecture, College of Arts and Sciences, and the contemporary Hillyer College, formerly known as the College of Basic Studies.

The Hartt School was founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and Moshe Paranov. It remains today as the University of Hartford's comprehensive performing arts conservatory, and is regarded among the most recognized schools for music, dance, and theatre in the United States.

The university's athletic programs are the Hawks, and most teams play in the America East Conference. Following the 1983–1984 school year, the university elevated its athletics program to Division I status, the highest level of intercollegiate competition.

Since 1988, the university has been a lead institution for the Connecticut Space Grant College Consortium.

In the 1990s, pledging its commitment to women's education, the university bought the financially struggling Hartford College for Women (HCW). Since the university itself was in a difficult financial position, several years later HCW was closed.

Although it is a private institution, the university hosts two magnet schools that serve students from Hartford and its surrounding suburbs: University of Hartford Magnet School (serving grades K-5) and University High School of Science and Engineering (serving grades 9–12).

In the last decade, the university completed several ambitious building projects, including a new residence hall, Hawk Hall; the $34 million Integrated Science, Engineering, and Technology (ISET) complex; the Renée Samuels Center; the Mort and Irma Handel Performing Arts Center; and a new University High School building.

In the summer of 2008, the bridge over the Park River connecting the academic and residential sides of campus was rebuilt.

Admissions

The acceptance rate to the University of Hartford in the fall of 2014 was 71.2% for all new full-time freshman, transfers, re-admits, and fresh starts. Of the admitted students, the majority attend the College of Arts and Sciences.[7]

Academics

The University of Hartford has more than 6,000 full-time and part-time graduate and undergraduate students. The university offers 82 bachelor's degree programs, 10 associate degrees, 28 graduate degrees, and 7 certificates or diplomas. The student-faculty ratio is nearly 14:1.[8] The departments in each of the seven schools are listed below.[9]

Campus

Situated between the residential apartments, it hosts university-sponsored spring fling events. Past entertainment has included: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Vanilla Ice, Gym Class Heroes, T-Pain, The Black Eyed Peas, Ying Yang Twins, Method Man, Common, Cypress Hill, New Found Glory, and Sammy Adams.

Gengras Student Union

This houses the student government, the university post office, student organizations including the student newspaper The Informer and the Student Television Network (STN), a cafeteria, a convenience store, and the Gengras food court, featuring Einstein Bros. Bagels, Burger Studio, and Moe's. A major renovation of the Gengras Student Union was begun in early February, 2017.

The Harry Jack Gray Center

Centrally located on campus, the Harry Jack Gray Center houses the Mortensen Library and the Allen Memorial Library. Also located here are the Joseloff Gallery, the university bookstore, the School of Communications, the Visual Communication Design Department, the Department of Architecture, WWUH (91.3 MHz FM) radio station, the Gray Conference Center, the Museum of Jewish Civilization, and the 1877 Club restaurant. It was the former home of the Museum of American Political Life, which housed the second largest collection of political memorabilia in the United States after the Smithsonian. The museum was closed in 2003 and that space now houses the Department of Architecture.

The main Hartt School Complex, the center is composed of Millard Auditorium, Paranov Hall, and O'Connell Hall, a one-story extension of Paronov Hall. Originally Abrahms Hall was included in the Fuller Complex. A much needed renovation of Millard Auditorium is expected to begin in May, 2017.

Named for businesswoman Beatrice Fox Auerbach and one of the largest academic buildings, it is home to the Barney School of Business as well as the Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies.

This houses Hillyer College, the Auerbach Auditorium, the Esphyr Slobodkina Urquhart Children's Reading Room, and most classes in the College of Arts and Sciences.

ISET Complex

This complex houses the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture, also known as CETA. It consists of three buildings: United Technologies Hall, Charles A. Dana Hall (the largest building of the complex), and a 37,000 sq ft (3,400 m2) building housing biology and chemistry facilities.

This is a public magnet elementary school located on the University of Hartford campus. Many education majors complete fieldwork, practicum, and student teaching here.

This public magnet high school, formerly located on the University's Albany Avenue campus, is now located on the east side of the campus. The University High School was established in 2004 as a partnership of the Hartford Public Schools, the University of Hartford, and the Capitol Region Education Council. It is based on the early college initiative mode: University High School students are able to earn college credits while they attend high school. The high school enrolls two hundred students, seventy percent of whom are from Hartford. The other thirty percent come from towns in central Connecticut. Students are selected through a lottery from a pool of applicants, as required by the state of Connecticut.

Mort and Irma Handel Performing Arts Center

The performing arts center is located at the corner of Albany Avenue and Westbourne Parkway in Hartford. This 55,000-square-foot (5,100 m2) facility is the instructional home for collegiate and Community Division students studying Theatre, Music Theater and Dance at the Hartt School. The center was completed and dedicated in 2008. It contains five dance studios, four theatre rehearsal studios, three vocal studios, and two black box theatres, as well as faculty offices, community room, and cafe.

The Hartford Art School's Visual Arts Complex

A residential dining hall, it is in the center of the freshmen living area. Located on the ground floor is the Hawk's Nest, which offers food, pool, and several large-screen TVs. The Hawk's Nest hosts Friday-night music performances, which include local and national acts as well as student performances. A $10 million renovation of The Commons commenced in May 2014 and completed that following September. The new facility includes a sushi station, salad and soup bar, stir fry station, and a sandwich section.

There are four different styles of on-campus housing. All provide students with access to the university's T-3 broadband internet network, cable television, and telephones.

  • Six residential suite-style complexes are each capable of housing 312 students. All complexes feature study lounges, laundry facilities, and activity rooms.
  • Regent's Park consists of suite-style independent living for sophomores and juniors. It is a large building of four wings of suites typically outfitted with a living room and partial kitchen. It has north, south, east, and west wings.
  • The Village Apartments, consisting of seven quads (four groupings of apartments forming a rectangular area), are an independent-living apartment area for upperclassmen. Each apartment has a kitchen and can house two to six students.
  • Park River Apartments provides apartment-style independent living for third- or fourth-year students. Each unit is a full apartment complete with a full-size bathroom and a kitchen (including a full-size refrigerator, dishwasher, sink, and cabinets).
  • Hawk Hall houses 204 freshmen and eight resident assistants. Hawk Hall features Residential Learning Communities (RLC), grouped by wings on each floors. Some RLC themes (past and present) include Women in Science, Engineering, and Technology (WISET), Wellness, Leadership, Destinations, Environmental Awareness, the Adult Journey, Honors: Making a Difference in The World, Community Service, and Hawk Spirit. The five-story residence hall has lounges with floor-to-ceiling windows. The first floor includes a spacious lounge with a flat-screen TV, two SMART classrooms, and a kitchen.

This includes a market, Subway, and an indoor eating area.

This large structure contains the Chase Family Arena, Reich Family Pavilion, Hawk Cafe, Student Health Center, campus gym, and Mary Baker Stanley Pool. The Hartford University Department of Athletics sponsors men's intercollegiate baseball, basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, golf, tennis, and track & field, along with women's intercollegiate softball, basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, lacrosse, track & field, and volleyball. Past entertainment here has included Girl Talk, Wale, and Ludacris. Past visiting politicians include Governor Danniel P. Malloy, former President Bill Clinton, and President Barack Obama.

Located 2 miles (3 km) west of downtown Hartford and once home to the Hartford College for Women, it now includes academic classrooms and graduate student campus housing in fourteen townhouses and Johnson House. It contains a cafeteria, computer lab, and studio space.

Notable organizations

A cappella groups

Such groups at the University of Hartford are governed by the A Cappella Coalition and hold auditions at the beginning of each year for new members.

Campus publications

Faith organizations

Music for a Change

Launched in the spring of 2000, the Music for a Change benefit concert series raises money for Greater Hartford charities and nonprofit organizations. Headliners have included Arlo Guthrie, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Art Garfunkel, Aztec Two-Step, Citizen Cope, Dionne Warwick, George Winston, Jonathan Edwards, Kris Kristofferson, Marc Cohn, Pat Metheny, Richie Havens, Shawn Colvin, Susan Tedeschi, Tom Paxton, Tom Rush, The Wailers, and Wynton Marsalis.[13]

NIC/NPH Greek organizations

Sigma Phi Epsilon (CT Beta) (1987-1996)

NIMC Greek organizations

Culturally-based Greek organizations

Former Greek organizations

Athletics

The university's athletic teams are known as the Hawks. Hartford participates in NCAA at the Division I level as a member of the America East Conference; men's golf competes in the America Sky Men's Golf Conference, women's golf in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), and men's tennis competes in the Missouri Valley Conference. The university fields 18 varsity sports, nine men's sports: baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, and indoor and outdoor track & field; and nine women's sports: basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor and outdoor track & field, and volleyball.[14]

The school's football team does not compete in the NCAA. It fielded a team at the club level in the modern Yankee Conference through at least 2014 and since 2015 as a member of the North Atlantic Conference of the National Club Football Association.

Campus media

WWUH operates as a community service of the University of Hartford with an all-volunteer staff of university alumni, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the community. Operating live 24/7 for the last 30 years, WWUH came on the air on July 15, 1968, as the first stereo public station in the state. WWUH, also known as "UH-FM", offers both music and spoken-word programming that is an alternative to what is heard on other area stations. The station has won the Best Radio Station and Best College Station category in a local newspaper readers' poll numerous times in the last 20 years. WWUH welcomes student volunteers and offers a comprehensive on-air and leadership training program. WWUH's programming can also be heard on WAPJ, 89.9 in Torrington, Connecticut; WDJW, 89.7 in Somers, Connecticut; and WWEB, 89.9 in Wallingford, Connecticut, and on the web at wwuh.org.

Founded on February 2, 1974, WSAM is the university's student-run radio station that operates year-round. Its frequency is located at 105.3-FM.

With a legacy from The Hillyer Callboard, the student newspaper of Hillyer College, dating from the 1920s, the Informer is the official student newspaper of the University of Hartford. Since 1976, the student-run Informer has published 24 times every academic year, coming out every Thursday. Circulation is 3,000 and the paper is distributed all over campus.

The Student Television Network is a completely student-run station that broadcasts on channel 2 of the university's cable system. STN started its weekly news program broadcast, "STN Channel 2 News," on February 9, 1993. Currently, new broadcasts are live once a week and then played throughout the week. In addition to weekly news broadcasts, STN produces and broadcasts several live Hartford Hawks sports productions throughout the year, and hosts a number of other student-created programs, such as "22 on 2," an entertainment news show, "Foul Mouths," a sports talk show, and "A Ghostly Addiction," a horror thriller show.[15]

Notable people

Faculty

Alumni

References

Coordinates: 41°48′03″N 72°42′50″W / 41.800911°N 72.714021°W / 41.800911; -72.714021

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