University of Hartford

University of Hartford
The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
History
The University of Hartford was chartered through the joining of the Hartford Art School, Hillyer College, and The Hartt School in 1957.
In 2021, University of Hartford announced it will begin the process to move all of its 17 athletic programs from Division I to Division III. Students and alumni from the University of Hartford attempted to sue the university, claiming that the university "reneged on its commitment" to the student-athletes. The university filed its intent to move to Division III in January 2022 and is expected to become a member of DIII no later than September 1, 2025, unless the move is halted in the courts.
Academics
The University of Hartford has less 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. Starting with the 2019–2020 academic year, the university will launch a bachelor's degree program in nursing. The student-faculty ratio is nearly 9:1. The university's academics are organized into seven schools and colleges:
Campus
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 began in early 2017.
The Harry Jack Gray Center
Centrally located on campus, the Harry Jack Gray Center houses the Mortensen Library and the Allen Memorial Library. After the renovation of the library in 2016, the university announced the library would be renamed Harrison University Libraries in honor of University President Walter Harrison. 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 Wilde Auditorium, the Kent McCray Television Studio, 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.
Alfred C. Fuller Music Center
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 renovation of Millard Auditorium was completed in 2017.
Beatrice Fox Auerbach Hall
Auerbach Hall is named after businesswoman Beatrice Fox Auerbach. It is one of the largest academic buildings on campus and is home to the Barney School of Business. During the 2018–19 academic year, Auerbach Hall underwent a major renovation which included a 10,000-square-foot addition for the Barney School including additional classrooms and a trading room.
Hillyer Hall
Built in 1962, Hillyer Hall was the first classroom building on campus. Hillyer Hall is home to the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, and Hillyer College. In 2012, the Shaw Center was completed to provide additional classrooms and offices for Hillyer College. The building is named after John C. "Jay" Shaw (Class of '74) and wife Debi of Greenwich, who donated $1.5 million to the project.
University High School of Science and Engineering
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
Dedicated in 2008, the Mort and Irma Handel Performing Arts Center is a facility that is the instructional home for collegiate and Community Division students studying Theatre, Musical Theater and Dance at the Hartt School. It contains five dance studios, four theatre rehearsal studios, three vocal studios, and two black box theatres, as well as faculty offices, a community room, and a cafe.
The University Residences
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 - A through F - are each capable of housing 312 students. All complexes feature study lounges, laundry facilities, and activity rooms.
Regents 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.
Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion
Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion is home to the men's and women's basketball teams and the women's volleyball team. Opened in 1990, the arena is named in honor of the Chase Family in West Hartford. Included in the building is the Mary Baker Stanley Pool and the university's athletic administration offices. Entertainment at the arena has included Girl Talk, Wale, and Ludacris. Past visiting politicians include Governor Dannel P. Malloy, former President Bill Clinton, and President Barack Obama.
Asylum Avenue Campus
Located 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.
Organization and administration
List of university presidents
Vincent B. Coffin (1959–1967)
Archibald M. Woodruff (1967–1977)
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg (1977–1998)
Humphrey Tonkin (1989–1998)
Walter Harrison (1998–2017)
Gregory S. Woodward (2017–2023)
Stephen Mulready (2023–present)
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.
L'shir
Hawkapella
Uharmonies
HartAttack
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.
Greek life
Athletics
The Hartford Hawks participate in the NCAA Division III in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The university fields 18 varsity sports, nine men's sports: baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, and indoor and outdoor track & field; and nine women's sports: basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, indoor and outdoor track & field, and volleyball.
Student media
WSAM student-run radio
Founded on February 2, 1974, WSAM is the university's only student-run radio station. It streams its radio shows online through Mixlr. It hosts annual concerts such as Live from the Lawn every opening weekend and a Halloween show every Halloween weekend.
The Informer – student newspaper
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.
Student Television Network – STN Channel 2
The Student Television Network is a completely student-run station that broadcasts on stn2.tv and their YouTube page. Founded by then-graduate student Chuck King and a group of interested students in 1993, STN became a popular student organization. Though separate from the School of Communication, it provides relevant experience for students pursuing careers in television. 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.
Notable alumni
Currently the university has over 94,000 alumni worldwide.
Kenny Adeleke (born 1983), basketball player
Leo Brouwer, musician
Kathleen Clark, playwright
David Cordani, CEO of Cigna
Steve Davis, jazz trombonist
Mark Dion, artist
Jim Ford, actor and stuntman
A. J. Hammer, television host of Showbiz Tonight on CNN, radio personality
Liane Hansen, National Public Radio host of Weekend Edition Sunday
Jack Hardy, singer and songwriter
Seymour Itzkoff, professor, researcher in intelligence
Johnathan Lee Iverson, first black ringmaster of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Wilfred X. Johnson, first black Connecticut state legislator
Jerry Kelly, professional golfer, PGA Tour
Erik Mariñelarena, filmmaker
William J. Murphy, former Speaker of the House of the State of Rhode Island
Peter Niedmann, composer
Chuck Pagano, chief technology officer of ESPN
Tim Petrovic, professional golfer, PGA Tour
Joseph M. Suggs Jr. (B.S. 1978), mayor of Bloomfield and Connecticut State Treasurer (1993–1995)
Notes
References
External links
Hartford Athletics website
University of Hartford
University of Hartford
Universities and colleges established in 1877
Universities and colleges in Hartford County, Connecticut
Tourist attractions in Hartford, Connecticut
Buildings and structures in West Hartford, Connecticut
1877 establishments in Connecticut