Centennial Year Begins for Growing University of New Haven

The University of New Haven has more alumni from the nation of India (749) than the state of Texas (709).  That’s just one of many facts and figures featured on a new website launched at the start of the new year to coincide with the year-long celebration of the University’s Centennial Year.

The University has over 59,000 alumni from 101 different countries, all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and several U.S. military bases around the world, according to officials, with Connecticut leading the way with over 31,000 graduates.  Top 10 states also include New York, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey and California; alumni are also from nations including Thailand, China, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.

“The University has come a long way since our humble beginnings in rented space on the campus of Yale,” said University President Steven H. Kaplan, Ph.D., in an introductory message on the new website. “Today, we are a leading comprehensive University that has been recognized for academic excellence, and we have become a destination school for talented students from across the globe.”

“I see our students continuing to innovate, imagine, and inspire others as they develop the pioneering ideas that will have a far-reaching impact on our world,” Kaplan added, who has led the institution for the past 15 years.  “And I see a University committed to regularly reinventing itself to serve our students, the community, and the companies and organizations at the forefront of creating new solutions and cutting-edge opportunities.”

The University of New Haven, with just over 6,800 students, includes a College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, Tagliatela College of Engineering and School of Health Sciences. During the past decade, the University has completed more than $300 million in major capital projects while launching 26 new academic programs. Nearly 5,000 students attend undergraduate classes and about 1,900 are graduate students.  More than 100 academic programs are now offered, “all grounded in a longstanding commitment to collaborative, interdisciplinary, project-based learning.”

Among the highlights planned for the year are the grand opening of the Bergami Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation, scheduled for April 30, 2020.  The 40,000 square-foot facility will feature a makerspace, state-of-the-art science classrooms, communications studios, advanced "smart" classrooms, an atrium/café, and space for multidisciplinary student and faculty collaboration.

The university is in the midst of a fundraising campaign which seeks to raise $120 million to invest in areas “where we have already proven that we have great potential to excel: education in cybersecurity and the health sciences, and our athletics program, which has a rich tradition of success,” the website explains. 

University officials note that the Conference of Independent Colleges estimates that the University’s annual regional economic impact totals $1.4 billion. This impact results from $868 million in direct spending by the University, its 850 employees, 7,000 students, and 21,000 visitors, plus indirect spending of $548 million.

The university’s footprint has grown significantly through its first century, adding nearly 80 buildings and two more campuses – including one in Tuscany, Italy.  The university’s main campus has been in West Haven since 1960, with a secondary campus in nearby Orange added in 2014 for its College of Business and Graduate Center. 

The university’s mission is to “prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a global society by providing the highest-quality education through experiential, collaborative, and discovery-based learning.”