University of New Haven

The University of New Haven (UNH) is a private university in West Haven, Connecticut. Between its main campus in West Haven and its graduate school campus in Orange, Connecticut, the university grounds cover about 122 acres of land. The university also operates a satellite campus in Prato, Italy. The university is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference and its mascot is a charger, a medieval war horse.

University of New Haven

Former names	New Haven YMCA Junior College (1920–1926) New Haven College (1926–1970)
Type	Private university
Established	1920
Academic affiliations	Space-grant
Endowment	$94 million
President	Sheahon Zenger (interim)
Academic staff	522
Administrative staff	510
Students	7,513^[1]
Undergraduates	5,023^[2]
Postgraduates	2,490^[2]
Location	West Haven, Connecticut , United States 41°17′31″N 72°57′44″W / 41.2919°N 72.9622°W / 41.2919; -72.9622
Campus	Suburban
Colors	Blue and gold
Nickname	Chargers
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division II – NE-10
Mascot	Charlie the Charger
Website	www.newhaven.edu

History

The University of New Haven was founded in 1920 as the New Haven YMCA Junior College, a division of Northeastern University, which shared buildings, laboratories, and faculty members^[3] at Yale University, for nearly 40 years.

Milestones

• 1920 – New Haven YMCA Junior College was founded as a branch of Northeastern University.^[4]
• 1923 – First associate degrees awarded^[4]
• 1926 – Received state charter as "New Haven College"^[4]
• 1948 – Received accreditation by the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools^[4]
• 1958 – Received authorization to offer Bachelor of Science degrees in business and engineering^[4]
• 1960 – Moved to West Haven to the site of a former county orphanage, Ellis C. Maxcy Hall^[4]
• 1965 – Constructed Student Center^[4]
• 1966 – Received accreditation for baccalaureate programs^[4]
• 1968 – Constructed engineering building^[4]
• 1969 – Opened graduate school program, constructed first residence hall^[4]
• 1970 – Renamed "University of New Haven"^[4]
• 1971 – Added athletic complex^[4]
• 1974 – Constructed Marvin K. Peterson Library^[4]
• 1975 – Purchased Harugari Hall^[4]
• 1985 – Acquired Arbeiter Maenner Chor^[4]
• 1991 – Constructed new building for admissions^[4]
• 1995 – Relocation of Southeastern Branch to Mitchell College in New London^[4]
• 2012 – Opened the satellite campus in Prato, Italy
• 2013 – Purchased the Orange Campus^[5]
• 2014 – Annexed the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts
• 2018 – Introduced plans for the "Building for Success" campaign including addition of Bergami Center of Science, Technology, and Innovation to campus, upgrades to Dodds Hall, and renovations to residence hall and athletic facilities.^[6]
• 2018 – Announced discontinuation of degree-granting academic offerings at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts^[7]
• 2019 – Announced that inaugural comprehensive campaign, the Charger Challenge, exceeded its original goal of $100 million, and reset goal at $120 million.^[8]
• 2020 – Opened the Bergami Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation and celebrated 100 years of being an educational institution.^[9]

Academics

The University of New Haven has nearly 100 undergraduate programs and 50 graduate programs. Around 33% of students are enrolled in arts and sciences, 21% in business, 12% in engineering, and 34% in criminal justice and forensic sciences.^[10]

The University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (formerly the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc.), and has been since 1948. ^[11]

The University of New Haven is featured in the Princeton Review's 2024 "Best 389 Colleges" guidebook, the 8th year in a row the university was included in the Princeton Review's annual ratings of the nation's top colleges and universities.^[12]

In the 2023 U.S. News & World Report rankings, the University of New Haven was tied for 58th in the regional universities (north) category.^[13]

In 2015, the University of New Haven's College of Business received accreditation from AACSB International, and in 2020 that accreditation was renewed through the 2024-2025 academic year. ^[14]

Campus

The University of New Haven currently houses 48 campus buildings,^[15] including the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science – and the newest building, the Bergami Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation.^[9] This includes 14 on- and off-campus, university-sponsored residence halls.^[16]

Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science

 

The Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science was dedicated on October 15, 2010.

The Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science opened on the campus of the University of New Haven in the fall of 1998. Henry C. Lee has been a member of the UNH faculty since 1975.^[17] The institute was dedicated on October 15, 2010, and consists of a crime scene center, crisis management center, museum, laboratories, classrooms, a 104-seat lecture hall, and Lee's office.^[18]

The institute is also known for holding multiple lectures and classes throughout the year, all of which are taught by practitioners with forensic experience. Popular and often recurring topics include crime-scene and evidence photography, death and homicide investigation, advanced blood stain and pattern analysis, and many others.^[19] It has specialties in interdisciplinary research, training, testing, consulting, and education in forensic science, and is able to accomplish this by housing six centers of excellence:

• the National Cold Case Center
• the Learning Center
• the Forensic and Emergency Crisis Management Command Center
• an Advanced Technology Center
• the National Crime Scene Training Center^[20]
• a Research and Training Center

Athletics

Main article: New Haven Chargers

The New Haven Chargers, the university's intercollegiate athletic teams, compete in NCAA Division II. The Chargers' 20 athletics teams, 8 for men and 12 for women, compete as members of the Northeast-10 Conference.^[21] New Haven has been a member of the NE-10 since 2008.

In 2022-23, athletic highlights included 140 combined wins across the 20 varsity sports, 37 All-Conference honorees, 18 All-Region athletes, four major conference awards, three All-Americans, seven Academic All-Conference honorees, two Sport Excellence winners, and more than 320 student-athletes named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll following the fall semester. ^[22]

Varsity teams

Men's sports (8) Baseball Basketball Cross country Football Soccer Track and field (indoor and outdoor) Golf Women's sports (12) Basketball Cross country Field Hockey Lacrosse Soccer Softball Tennis Track and field (indoor and outdoor) Volleyball Rugby Golf

Club sports

Nineteen club sports^[23] are recognized at the University of New Haven. Club sports are recreation or athletics student-led organizations that compete with other universities and colleges. Each club is a University of New Haven-recognized student organization and member of a regional or national governing association. Participation and individual dues vary by club.

• Baseball (Men's)
• Ice Hockey (Women's and Men's)
• Lacrosse (Women's and Men's)
• Rugby (Women's and Men's)
• Ultimate Frisbee (CoRec)
• Field Hockey (CoRec)
• Tennis (CoRec)
• Soccer (Women's and Men's)
• Wrestling (CoRec)
• Volleyball (Women's and Men's)

• E-Sports (Co-ed)
• Gymnastics (Co-Ed)
• Swimming (Co-Ed)
• Softball (Women's)

Intramurals sports

Intramural Sports are organized sports leagues, one-day tournaments, special events, and online programs, which provide participants the opportunity to compete against and engage with their fellow students and university community. The University of New Haven offers 20+ team and individual sport programs throughout the academic year.

Student organizations

University of New Haven had 199 clubs and organizations as of September 2023.^[24]

Greek life

There are several recognized and unrecognized fraternities and sororities at the university.

Student government

The University of New Haven has two student-run governing bodies: the Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA), and the Graduate Student Council (GSC). Student organizations offices are located on the top floor of Bartels Hall, the university's student center.^[25]

Student newspaper

The Charger Bulletin is the official, student-run newspaper at the University of New Haven since 1938. It is published weekly in a quarter-folded tabloid format. Both undergraduate and graduate students write for the paper. The Bulletin comes out weekly on Wednesdays while classes are in session. The paper version of the Bulletin is distributed for free throughout the campus of UNH, and is also published online.^[26]

Marching band

The University of New Haven Chargers Marching Band (UNHMB) is one of the fastest-growing collegiate marching bands in the country, starting in 2009 with only 20 members and now marching close to 300.^[27]

Radio station

Main article: WNHU

The university's noncommercial radio station, WNHU-FM, first signed onto the air at 16:00 EDT on July 4, 1973. The WNHU studios moved to its current home on Ruden Street into the Lois Evalyn Bergami Broadcast Media Center in 2015.^[28] Its location on Ruden Street includes a production space for live and recorded programming, a server room, staff offices, and a student lounge. WNHU is managed by a 10-person student leadership team. Positions include station manager, promotions director, Aircheck director, WNHU program director, director of fundraising, program/music director, and productions director. The University of New Haven's communications department started to work with the radio station for students to have access to the station. The station operates as a laboratory for student learning, and as a source of culturally diverse programming for the communities served.^[29] WNHU is broadcast on 88.7 FM; it is considered the best college radio station in Connecticut according to the New Haven Advocate, which has awarded the station "Best College Radio Station" for over six consecutive years.^[30]

WNHU is known for eclectic programming, with shows ranging from new music, rock, gospel, funk, and talk shows to specialty formats such as polka and Irish music.^[31] Unlike many college or community radio stations where DJs change frequently, some WNHU personalities have hosted shows for years, many of whom are UNH alumni.^[32]

Bucknall Theater

Bucknall Theater was named in honor of William L. Bucknall, Jr. who has a passion for theatre and regularly attends shows at the University of New Haven and in New York and London. The theater has about two productions a semester as well as holding several functions for the university throughout the academic year. The space also doubles as a learning space for many of the classes pertaining to the Arts Department, more specifically theatre minors. It is used as a lecture hall and is equipped with pull-out desks on each of the 250 seats.^[33]

Black Student Union

On April 22, 2023, the BSU celebrated its 50th anniversary during the annual Sankofa Ball held during the university's Black and Latino Alumni Weekend.^[34]

Notable alumni

The University of New Haven has about 64,000 alumni.^[35] Among its notable alumni are:

• Ameera al-Taweel, Saudi Arabian royalty
• Patrick Arnold, steroid chemistry
• Steve Bedrosian, (baseball), won the National League Cy Young Award on 1987
• Harry Boatswain (football)
• Dorinda Keenan Borer (politician)
• Jamaal Bowman (politician)
• Kenton Clarke (CEO, Computer Consulting Associates International Inc.)
• Thomas H. Collins, former admiral of the United States Coast Guard
• Joel S. Douglas (patent agent) pioneered the first alternate-site glucose meter
• Cameron Drew (baseball)
• Vivian Davis Figures (politician)
• Lubbie Harper Jr., associate justice, Connecticut Supreme Court
• Darren M. Haynes, sportscaster for CBS affiliate WUSA9 in Washington, DC
• Wayne Johnsen (boxing)
• Viren Kapadia (CEO)
• Dean Lombardi (former NHL general manager of Los Angeles Kings)
• James McCaffrey (actor)
• Miles McPherson (football)
• Nitza Morán (born 1970), member of the Senate of Puerto Rico^[36]
• Selim Noujaim (politician)
• Anthony Ornato
• Rob Palmer (TV commentator/sports anchor)
• John M. Picard (former mayor of West Haven, Connecticut)
• Michael J. Rubio (politician)
• Erick Russell (politician) Connecticut State Treasurer
• L. Timothy Ryan (master chef)
• Adrian Serioux (soccer)
• Tony Sparano (NFL coach)
• Roberto Taylor (soccer)
• Merryl Tengesdal, first and only Black woman to fly the United States Air Force's U-2 spy plane
• Dave Wallace (baseball)

Faculty and staff

The student-to-faculty ratio is roughly 16:1, with an average class size of 20 students. The university has nearly 510 staff members and 278 full-time faculty members in addition to part-time and adjunct professors. Of full-time faculty, 84.9% hold the highest degree in their field.^[37]

Notable professors

• Henry C. Lee (retired, former professor of forensic science) – Worked on famous cases such as the JonBenét Ramsey murder, the Helle Crafts woodchipper murder, the O. J. Simpson and Laci Peterson cases, the post-9/11 forensic investigation, the Beltway sniper shootings, and the reinvestigation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.^[38]
• Nikodem Popławski (professor of physics) is most widely noted for the hypothesis that every black hole could be a doorway to another universe and that the universe was formed within a black hole, which itself exists in a larger universe.^[39] Popławski has also appeared in an episode of the TV show Through the Wormhole titled "Are There Parallel Universes?" and in an episode of the Discovery Channel show Curiosity titled "Is There a Parallel Universe?", which were hosted by Morgan Freeman and aired in 2011. He was named by Forbes magazine in 2015 as one of five scientists in the world most likely to become the next Albert Einstein.^[40] As of 2020, Dr Nikodem Poplawski has published his groundbreaking work on black holes and the multiverse in the journal Foundations of Physics.^[41]
• Horatio Strother (assistant professor of history) is the author of the authoritative book on the Underground Railroad in Connecticut.^[42]

References

1. "Fast Facts". Newhaven.edu. March 7, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
2. "Fast Facts". Newhaven.edu. March 7, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
3. "University of New Haven History". www.newhaven.edu. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012.
4. Chepaitis, Joseph B. (1995). "UNH Milestones". The University of New Haven, 75th Anniversary: a Celebration of Learning. Carleton Graphics. p. 16. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
5. "Pompea, Bergami Gifts Make Hubbell Property Purchase Possible for UNH" University of New Haven, July 1, 2013, http://www.newhaven.edu/news/releases/2013-2014/pompea-bergami-gifts-make-hubbell-property-purchase-possible-for-unh.php
6. “University of New Haven Unveils Plans for Major Expansion in Time for Centennial in 2020.” University of New Haven, July 23, 2018, www.newhaven.edu/news/releases/2018/plans-for-major-expansion-in-time-for-centennial-in-2020.php.
7. "Frequently Asked Questions" University of New Haven, September 6, 2018, http://www.newhaven.edu/lyme/faq.php
8. "University of New Haven Surpasses $100 Million Campaign Goal Ahead of Schedule to Support Innovative Academic Building, Scholarships" University of New Haven, April 2, 2019, http://www.newhaven.edu/news/releases/2019/charger-challenge-exceeds-goal.php
9. kira (September 4, 2020). "University of New Haven Opens Bergami Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation". Tradeline, Inc. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
10. "University Statistics". newhaven.com.
11. "University Accreditation".
12. "University of New Haven - The Princeton Review College Rankings & Reviews". www.princetonreview.com.
13. "Best Regional Universities North Rankings". Retrieved September 2, 2023.
14. International, AACSB. "University Of New Haven Earns AACSB International Accreditation". www.prnewswire.com.
15. “West Haven Campus Map.” University of New Haven, www.newhaven.edu/about/campus-locations/west-haven.php.
16. "Residential Life". University of New Haven.
17. "Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science".
18. . Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
19. "Programs". Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science Offered Programs.
20. "National Crime Scene Training Center". Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science National Crime Scene Training Center.
21. "New Haven Chargers".
22. "Story Archives".
23. ChargerREC. University of New Haven, www.newhaven.edu/student-life/health-wellness/chargerrec/.
24. "Directory of Recognized Student Organizations". University of New Haven. September 2, 2023.
25. "Recognized Student Organizations - University of New Haven". Newhaven.edu. July 24, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
26. "The official student newspaper of the University of New Haven since 1938". The Charger Bulletin. April 27, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
27. "Chargers Marching Band". Unhtoday.newhaven.edu. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
28. "About WNHU – WNHU".
29. "Communication Department Facilities and Resources". University of New Haven.
30. "www.newhavenadvocate.com". New Haven Advocate. November 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
31. SPINELLI, TONY (August 13, 2006). "'Polka Prince' expands his radio audience". Connecticut Post. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
32. Arzoian, Rebecca (September 28, 2007). Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
33. "UNH Theater Named in Honor of William L. Bucknall, Jr". University of New Haven.
34. "University Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Founding of Black Student Union". newhaven.edu. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
35. "Alumni & Friends - University of New Haven".
36. "Senado de Puerto Rico". senado.pr.gov. Retrieved May 21, 2023.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
37. "Fast Facts". Retrieved April 11, 2019.
38. . Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
39. "Every Black Hole Contains Another Universe?". National Geographic News. April 12, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
40. Morris, Ian. "The Next Einstein May Be A 27-Year-Old Iranian Woman". Forbes. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
41. Chmiel, Renee. "Acclaimed Physicist Publishes Groundbreaking Research". newhaven.edu.
42. Bendzinski, Andrew (January 31, 2014), "Strother, Horatio Theodore", African American Studies Center, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.39588, ISBN 978-0-19-530173-1, retrieved March 1, 2021

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to University of New Haven.

• Official website
• New Haven Athletics website
• The Charger Bulletin – student newspaper