University of Hartford

Summary

The University of Hartford is a private, independent, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in West Hartford, Connecticut. 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) and is nationally ranked as a Tier 1 University by US News and World Report.[3][4] The University attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. Its 350-acre (1.4 km2) main campus touches portions of three municipalities: Hartford, West Hartford, and Bloomfield. The mailing address is 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, Connecticut 06117.

Academics

The University of Hartford has more than 7,000 full-time and part-time graduate and undergraduate students. The University offers 82 bachelor's degree programs, 10 associate's degrees, 28 graduate degrees, and 7 certificates or diplomas. The student-faculty ratio is nearly 14:1.[5] The departments in each of the seven schools are listed below.[6]

History

The University of Hartford was chartered through the joining of the Hartford Art School, Hillyer College, and The Hartt School in 1957. Prior to the charter, the University of Hartford does 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 Mark Twain's wife, Olivia Langdon Clemens, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, 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. Originally, 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 the educational home to large numbers of World War II veterans who were afforded an education under the G.I. Bill. Since the 1957 merger of the three schools Hillyer College, is the major contributor to the body of the university, from the original Hillyer College, came the 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, which was founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and Moshe Paranov, is among the most recognized schools for music, dance, and theatre in the United States. The Miami String Quartet recently concluded a six-year teaching and performing residency at Hartt.

Athletically, the University of Hartford's "Hartford Hawks" play in the America East Conference. In 1984, 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 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.

Campus

The main campus, located on Bloomfield Avenue, is 350 acres (140 ha). Some of the most prominent features and buildings of the main campus include:

Situated between the residential apartments. It plays host to university-sponsored spring fling events including food and entertainment. 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, and Cypress Hill.

Houses the student government; the university post office; student organizations, including the student newspaper The Informer and the Student Television Network (STN); Bank of America; a cafeteria; a convenience store; and the Gengras food court, featuring Einstein Bros. Bagels and Extreme Pita.

Centrally located on campus, the Harry Jack Gray Center houses the Mortensen Library and the Allen Memorial Library. Also located within the building 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, 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 the space now houses the Department of Architecture.

The main Hartt School Complex, The center is composed of Millard Auditorium, Paranov Hall- a four story building, and O'Connell Hall- a one story extension of to the first floor of Paronov Hall. Originally Abrahms hall was included in the Fuller Complex

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.

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

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

Public magnet elementary school located on the University of Hartford campus. Many education majors complete fieldwork/practicum/student teaching at this school.

Public magnet high school, formerly located on the University's Albany Avenue campus, is now located on east side of 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 will be 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.

The performing arts center is located at the corner of Albany Avenue and Westbourne Parkway in Hartford. The 55,000-square-foot (5,100 m2) state-of-the-art facility is the instructional home for collegiate and Community Division students 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, a community room, bank, and cafe.

A residential dining hall, it is in the center of the freshmen living area. Located in the ground floor is the Hawk's Nest, which offers food as well as 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.

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.

Includes a market, coffee shop, an outside deck, and an indoor eating area.

This large, modern structure contains the Chase Family Arena, the Reich Family Pavilion, Hawk Cafe, the Student Health Center, the campus gym, and the 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.

Located 2 miles (3 km) west of downtown Hartford. 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 also contains its own cafeteria, computer lab, and studio space.

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. The station is found online at the WSAM Website, on the air on-campus only at 105.3FM, or on the campus' TV channel 5.

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. The Informer became the student newspaper during a constitutional debate with the prior Since 1976, The Student-run Informer publishes 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 TV station that is completely student run. It is broadcast on the university's cable system on channel 2. STN started its weekly news program broadcast, "STN Channel 2 News", on February 9, 1993. Currently, new broadcasts are live every Friday at 5 p.m. and recorded to then be played throughout the week at 5, 11, and 12 AM and PM. STN is also a host of other student created programs, such as The Afterparty (an entertainment news show) and The Red Zone (a sports show).[8]