University Of Connecticut

The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Connecticut. UConn was founded in 1881 and is a Land Grant and Sea Grant college & member of the Space Grant Consortium. The university serves more than 30,000 students on its six campuses, including more than 8,000 graduate students in multiple programs.

UConn is one of the founding institutions of the Hartford, Connecticut/Springfield, Massachusetts regional economic and cultural partnership alliance known as New England's Knowledge Corridor. UConn is a member of Universitas 21, a global network of 24 research-intensive universities, who work together to foster global citizenship. UConn is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

UConn was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two brothers who donated the land for the school. In 1893, the school became a land grant college. In 1939, the name was changed to the University of Connecticut. Over the next decade, social work, nursing, and graduate programs were established, and existing schools of law and pharmacy were absorbed into the university. During the 1960s, the University of Connecticut Health Center was established for new medical and dental schools. John Dempsey Hospital opened in Farmington in 1975.

Competing in the American Athletic Conference (The American) as the Huskies, UConn has been particularly successful in their Men's and Women's Basketball programs. The Huskies have won a total of 18 NCAA championships.

History

UConn was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School. It was named after Charles and Augustus Storrs, two brothers who donated the land for the school as well as initial funding. Women began attending classes in 1891 and were officially admitted in 1893, when the name was changed to Storrs Agricultural College and it became Connecticut's land grant college. In 1899, the name changed again to Connecticut Agricultural College; in 1933, to Connecticut State College; and finally in 1939, to the University of Connecticut.

In 1940, the school was first divided into individual colleges and schools, reflecting its new university status. This was also the year that the School of Social Work and School of Nursing were first established. The graduate program was also started at this time, and existing schools of law and pharmacy were absorbed into the university. Ph.D.s have been awarded since 1949.

During the 1960s, the University of Connecticut Health Center was established in Farmington as a home for the new School of Medicine and School of Dental Medicine. John Dempsey Hospital opened in Farmington in 1975 and has been operated by UConn ever since.

In 1995, a state-funded program called UConn 2000 was passed by the Connecticut General Assembly and signed into law by then-Gov. John G. Rowland. This 10-year program set aside $1 billion to upgrade campus facilities, add faculty, and otherwise improve the university. An additional $1.3 billion was pledged by the State of Connecticut in 2002 as part of a new 10-year improvement plan known as 21st Century UConn.

Campuses

Storrs campus

The primary and original UConn campus is located in Storrs, a division of the Town of Mansfield, 22 miles (35 km) east of Hartford, Connecticut's capital.

The University of Connecticut Libraries form the largest public research collection in the state of Connecticut. The main library is the Homer D. Babbidge Library, formerly the Nathan Hale Library, at the Storrs campus, which underwent a $3 million renovation that was completed in 1998, making it then the largest public research library in New England. The Storrs campus is also home to the university's Music and Pharmacy libraries, as well as the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, home to the university's archives and special collections, including university records, rare books, and manuscript collections. Each of the regional campuses also have their own libraries, including the Jeremy Richard Library at UConn-Stamford and the Trecker Library in West Hartford. These libraries are tied into the Babbidge library through a shared catalogue. The Babbidge-based collection places UConn among the top 30 universities in the nation for both library holdings and funding, containing more than 2.5 million print volumes; approximately 2,500 current print periodicals; more than 35,000 unique electronic journals through the eJournal locator; 2.8 million units of microfilm; 180,000 maps at the Map and Geographic Information Center (New England's largest public map collection); millions of electronic books; and an array of free electronic information sources. The UCL also license approximately 265 electronic search databases, many of which contain the full-text of research journals, monographs, and historic documents. Members of the UConn community can access these resources from off-campus by logging into the VPN with their netID and password.

The Lyman Maynard Stowe Library, which is housed at the University of Connecticut Health Center, was one of eight federally funded National Network of Libraries of Medicine libraries from 1991â€"2001. The University of Connecticut School of Law houses the School of Law Library at its campus in Hartford. The Stowe and Law libraries have catalogues separate from the Babbidge system, making the total library holdings of the University of Connecticut much higher than the 2.5 million print volumes of Babbidge. UConn is the home of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, the world's most comprehensive survey and public opinion data library. UConn participates in several outside library consortia, including the New England Law Library Consortium. The Dodd Research Center has also formed a partnership with the African National Congress to share materials with South African scholars.

The UConn campus at Storrs is home to the Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) run by the Department of Dramatic Arts. The theatre complex contains three venues, the 486-seat Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre, the 241-seat Nafe Katter Theatre, and the 116-seat Studio Theatre. CRT is a member of the Theatre Communications Group, the national service organization for the professional theatre.

Because it is situated in a fairly rural area, the UConn campus at Storrs has facilities that allow it to be virtually self-sufficient. All heat on campus is steam, and where possible sidewalks were laid over the underground connectors to keep the snow off. In 2005, a cogeneration plant was activated, which generates most of the electricity for the campus, and uses the exhaust steam for the campus central heating system. The University also owns its own public water system and waste water treatment facility. With the support of a growing number of industry leaders based in Connecticut, UConn is at the forefront of developing clean, alternative sources of renewable energy using fuel cell technology. In April 2012, UConn commissioned a fuel cell power plant at its Depot Campus that will supply the campus with clean and efficiency energy, cooling and heating. The installation of a ClearEdge Power, former UTC Power, PureCell System is the latest step by UConn to reduce its carbon footprint and build a sustainable community. The fuel cell installation was made possible through a federal stimulus grant from Connecticut’s Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority.

The University of Connecticut Police Department is a fully functional police agency with the same statutory authority as any municipal police department in the State of Connecticut. State and internationally accredited, the department is responsible for the protection of lives and property at the University of Connecticut and all adjacent areas within the jurisdiction of the UConn Police Department. This includes the main campus in Storrs and the regional campuses located statewide. The UConn Division of Public Safety also includes the UConn Fire Department, and Office of the Fire Marshal and Building Inspectors. The UConn Storrs campus is equipped with the blue-light system which allows for students to press one of these emergency buttons which will notify the police and they will come to the location in which the button was pushed.

UConn 2000 was a public-private partnership to rebuild, renew and enhance the University of Connecticut from 1995 to 2005, funded by the State of Connecticut. UConn 2000 was enacted by the Connecticut General Assembly in 1995 and signed into law by Governor John G. Rowland. The construction projects were overseen by President Philip E. Austin. The legislature renewed the construction investments through 21st Century UConn. 21st Century UConn is the continuation of UConn 2000 and is another billion dollar construction investment by the state of Connecticut to upgrade facilities at the University of Connecticut. It passed the Connecticut General Assembly and was signed into law by Governor Rowland in 2002. By the time of the project's completion, every building on campus will be either new or completely renovated. Money has also been put into the regional and satellite campuses, including the new School of Business facilities in downtown Hartford. Next Generation Connecticut is a multi-faceted $1.5 billion plan to build the state's economic future through strategic investments in science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines (STEM). It passed the Connecticut General Assembly and was signed into law by Governor Dannel Malloy in June 2013. The funds will be used over a ten-year period to hire 250+ new faculty, increase undergraduate enrollment by 6,580 students, and upgrade aging campus infrastructure. Money has also been allocated to build new STEM facilities, construct new STEM teaching laboratories and to create a premier STEM honors college. NextGenCT will also allow for the construction of student housing and a digital media center at the Stamford campus, and allow for the relocation of the Greater Hartford campus back to downtown Hartford.

Avery Point campus

Overlooking Long Island Sound in the town of Groton, UConn's Avery Point campus is home to the National Undersea Research Center, the Connecticut Sea Grant College, Project Oceanology and the Long Island Sound Resource Center. In recent years, the campus has undergone an extensive transformation, including new Marine Science and Project Oceanology buildings, a new research vessel and renovations of the Branford House, the gymnasium and the main Academic Building.

The campus was formerly the summer estate of Morton Freeman Plant, a 19th-century railroad, steamship and hotel magnate. Branford House, his mansion overlooking Long Island Sound, was reportedly worth $3 million when it was completed in 1904. Also located on the estate was a caretaker's house (the current police station) and a barn and horse stable (the current physical plant buildings). The estate included what is now the Shennecossett Public Golf Course located just north of the campus. The Plant estate was turned over to the State of Connecticut in the 1930s. During World War II, it was leased to the Coast Guard as a training center, and the Avery Point Light was built. In 1967, the estate was converted into the Southeastern Campus of the University of Connecticut, later renamed the University of Connecticut at Avery Point.

Students have access to classes for all of UConn's traditional majors as well as the Bachelor of General Studies. In addition to the BGS degree, there are three other majors that can be completed at the Avery Point campus: Coastal Studies, Maritime Studies, and American Studies. Graduate programs are also offered at Avery Point in STEM Teacher Education, Engineering, and Nursing. In 2012-2013 the UCONN branch of Avery Point was renovated, and a new student center was built.

Stamford campus

In 1951, the University of Connecticut began offering extension courses at the former Stamford High School. In fall of 1952, the University formally established a regional campus in Stamford. Upon inception, UConn’s Stamford Campus offered five courses â€" English, Mathematics, History, Speech and Sociology and enrolled 21 part-time students.

A newly constructed UConn Stamford Campus opened in 1962 on Scofield Town Road, and a separate library building was added in 1974. Also in the mid-1970s, the academic program was expanded to provide a four-year degree in several fields of study.

In 1990, planning began for a new UConn Stamford Campus in the heart of downtown Stamford. One of the first UConn 2000 building projects, the new state-of-the-art campus opened in 1998, offering a variety of academic programs including undergraduate and graduate degrees.

The contemporary glass-enclosed campus features a high-tech approach to learning from desktop computer stations in our main computer lab to integrated online computer accessibility in our classrooms, laboratories and public spaces.

Located among Fortune 500 business headquarters in the heart of downtown, UConn’s Stamford Campus partners with many corporate leaders and offers students valuable hands-on work experience. In collaboration with area businesses, UConn’s Stamford Campus established the Connecticut Information Technology Institute, a full-service resource center that provides IT professional development and cyber-business research.

The Stamford Campus of the University of Connecticut offers complete undergraduate degree programs in thirteen majors as well as The Bachelor of General Studies Degree Program. Majors are American Studies, Business Administration (BSBA), Business Data Analytics (BSBDA), Financial Management (BSFM), Digital Media and Design (BA) and (BFA), Economics, English, Human Development and Family Studies, History, Political Science, Psychology and a Certificate Entry into Nursing (CEIN/BS) an accelerated pre-licensure program. At the graduate level, Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and an MS in Financial Risk Management are offered.

Greater Hartford campus

UConn's Greater Hartford campus, as its name indicates, serves a broad section of the area’s populace. Opened in 1939 in the City of Hartford, the University of Connecticut’s Greater Hartford Campus moved in 1970 to its present location in West Hartford. In November 2012, the University decided to return the campus to downtown Hartford, citing significant costs to modernize the West Hartford campus as well as a desire to give students easier access to Hartford's professional and cultural opportunities. Planned to take place in for the Fall semester of 2016, the new campus will be located within Hartford's Front Street neighborhood, a portion of the Adriaen's Landing project. The centerpiece of the new campus will be the historic Beaux-Arts former headquarters of the Hartford Times.

The Greater Hartford Campus offers a wide range of Liberal Arts and Sciences courses and degrees to over 1,400 undergraduate and more than 600 graduate students. Students pursue undergraduate degrees in American Studies, Business and Technology, Business Administration, English, General Studies, Human Development and Family Studies, Psychology, and Urban and Community Studies. The Center for Continuing Studies provides a number of certificate program options, in addition to the Bachelor of General Studies, an interdisciplinary degree program tailored to meet individual needs and goals of returning, non-traditional, part-time adult students. Due to the Greater Hartford Campus’ proximity to the State Capitol and legislative offices, the University’s Department of Public Policy is based on the Greater Hartford Campus and offers a Master of Arts in Survey Research and a Master of Arts in Public Administration, as well as certificate programs. The University’s School of Social Work is also located at the Greater Hartford Campus and offers a Master of Social Work and Ph.D in Social Work. The Greater Hartford Campus also offers the popular one-year Master of Education with Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates.

Located on a 58-acre (230,000 m²) campus, the Greater Hartford facilities include the Harleigh B. Trecker Library, which is fully integrated with and linked to the University Library System, including Storrs, all regional campuses, the Law School, and the UConn Health Center; a state-of-the-art Information Technology Center, which features high-tech computer labs and distance learning facilities; the Writing and Quantitative Center, a peaceful study environment for tutorial help and assistance in writing, math, accounting, chemistry, biology, and statistics; the UConn Co-op; and an art gallery.

Located at Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford, UConn's Graduate Business Learning Center is home to the UConn School of Business part-time and Executive MBA Hartford program and MS in Business Analytics and Project Management (MSBAPM), as well as the SS&C Technologies Financial Accelerator. The center was remodeled in 2004 to create a state-of-the-art facility featuring the latest technology. The University has announced that the Graduate Business Center will be relocating to Hartford's Front Street in 2016 as part of the relocation of the Greater Hartford campus.

Waterbury campus

The University of Connecticut's Waterbury campus serves more than 1,000 students annually. In its 60 years of operation, UConn Waterbury has opened the doors to educational access and excellence to thousands of Connecticut residents, many of whom have distinguished themselves in the fields of community service, business, education, law and politics. Today, the campus is located in a modern, state-of-the-art facility in the heart of downtown Waterbury.

Students at UConn Waterbury enjoy smaller classes and a more intimate campus environment. With a low student to faculty ratio, students are able to engage in frequent classroom discussions with the school's distinguished faculty. Professors come from diverse academic backgrounds and are actively involved in scholarly research. Many serve as student advisors and mentors. Uconn Waterbury offers a variety of campus resources and support services. Students can use the library, writing center, math center, peer tutoring assistance, computer labs and counseling services.

Through the generous support of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLI), the Waterbury campus houses the OLLI at UConn program, which is an academic cooperative that provides mature adults 50 and over with opportunities for intellectual development, cultural stimulation, and social interaction. The programs are centered around classes developed and taught by members who volunteer their time and talents to share their knowledge and interests with other members. A diversified program of courses is offered from the fields of art, computers, culture and language, health and wellness, history, horticulture, literature and writing, math and science, music, performing arts, personal development, social sciences, visual arts, and more.

Torrington campus

The University of Connecticut at Torrington was founded in 1957; opening its present campus in 1965. The 100-acre (0.40 km²) campus consists of the M. Adela Eads Classroom Building and the Litchfield County Extension Service Building. The facilities include high-tech classrooms, a learning center, art studio, computer rooms, a branch of the UConn Co-op bookstore, a 250-seat auditorium, student lounge, and a cafeteria. The Julia Brooker Thompson Library has a collection of 17,000 books and videos and 25 print journals and newspapers, and provides access to all other UConn libraries as well as to public libraries and libraries of other schools. Approximately 400 students matriculate at the campus, enjoying a student-faculty ratio of about 10 to 1. UConn Torrington offers the following undergraduate degree programs: American Studies, Human Development and Family Studies, English, General Studies, Business and Technology, Psychology, and Urban and Community Studies. Also noteworthy is the Litchfield County Writers Project, a focus for cultural activity in the region. The campus Academic Plan of 2007 envisions an increasing focus on the arts and humanities.

Bioscience Connecticut

In June 2011, the Connecticut General Assembly approved legislation for Bioscience Connecticut, a plan proposed by Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to jump-start the Connecticut economy.

According to the proposal, Bioscience Connecticut will result in the creation of 3,000 construction jobs annually from 2012 through 2018 and a $4.6 billion increase in personal income by 2037, while generating more than 16,000 jobs. The initiative includes plans for renovations to existing facilities on the UConn Health Center campus in Farmington, Conn., as well the construction of a new patient tower and ambulatory care facility, and seeks to increase in the Health Center’s medical and dental school enrollments by 30 percent.

Jackson Laboratory

In January 2012, Gov. Malloy announced that Jackson Laboratory (JAX)[1] had reached an agreement to launch a $1.1 billion genomic medicine laboratory on the campus of the UConn Health Center. Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution based in Bar Harbor, Maine.

According to the agreement, Jackson Laboratory will enter into a collaborative research agreement with the UConn Health Center and will create at least 300 positions within 10 years, 30 percent of total employees being senior scientist positions. Once fully developed, the facility is projected to employ 600 scientists and technicians. The state of Connecticut has approved $291 million of the total capital and research budget; Jackson Laboratory will raise the balance of $860 million through federal research grants, philanthropy, and service income.

Academics

Undergraduate, ranking and admission

UConn students have the opportunity to pursue more than 100 majors, eight separate undergraduate degrees, 17 graduate degrees and five professional degree programs. Students can choose from 87 different minors at UConn, including areas of study that are not offered as formalized majors.

UConn participates in the New England Board of Higher Education's Regional Student Program (NERSP), which allows students from the five other New England states to enroll at the university at a reduced out-of-state tuition rate if their intended major is not provided by one of their in-state universities.

The university participates in a special guaranteed admissions program with the Connecticut Community Colleges (CCC) that is designed for academically qualified students who are attending a Connecticut community college and who are planning to transfer to the University of Connecticut in Liberal Arts & Sciences, Agriculture & Natural Resources, Business, or Engineering. Each year, more than 1,000 transfer students are admitted to the university. The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is 44.7% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 30,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class for fall semester 2013. Approximately 50,000 prospective students and their families tour the main campus in Storrs annually. UConn's retention rate is among the best for public universities in the nation, with 93% of students returning for their sophomore year.

UConn is considered a Public Ivy and has achieved numerous commendations as a result of its focus on academics and the resources it provides for its students and faculty. For example:

• The university was most recently ranked 19th among Public Universities and 57th among National Universities in the 2014 U.S. News and World Report rankings.

• Kiplinger’s Personal Finance named UConn the 25th best value in public higher education for 2013 (22nd on the basis of out-of-state tuition).

• The 2013 Sierra Club "Cool Schools" list of environmentally responsible Universities ranked UConn at Number 1.

• In 2012, the University of Connecticut was ranked as the most sustainable campus among 215 universities worldwide.

Graduate and postgraduate

Bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs are offered through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Graduate School, the Neag School of Education, the School of Nursing, the School of Business, the School of Dental Medicine, the School of Medicine, the School of Engineering, the School of Social Work, the Ratcliffe Hicks School of Agriculture, the School of Pharmacy, the School of Law, and the School of Fine Arts.

Founded in 1921, the University of Connecticut School of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. The campus is located just outside the downtown core of Hartford, minutes away from the Connecticut State Capitol, state courts and agencies, and the offices of Hartford's law firms and corporations. Law students have ready access to all of these institutions for study, externships, clinical education, practice, and employment. The campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its gothic-style buildings, constructed in 1925 (except for the new library, which was completed in 1996), housed the Hartford Seminary until 1981.

The law school has approximately 620 students and a student:faculty ratio of 11:1. UConn Law has repeatedly been ranked the top public law school in New England by U.S. News and World Report, and was most recently in 2013 ranked 58th of American Law Schools. There are four scholarly journals edited on campus: the Connecticut Law Review, the Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal, the Connecticut Insurance Law Journal, and the Connecticut Journal of International Law. Students may pursue concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, environmental law, family law, intellectual property law, international law, juvenile law, labor law, litigation, tax law, torts and insurance, legal theory, information technology law, property and land, child advocacy, and policy. The school is known particularly for its strong insurance law and intellectual property law programs.

The University of Connecticut Health Center campus in Farmington is home to the School of Medicine, the School of Dental Medicine, John Dempsey Hospital and faculty practices in medical and dental health care. The Lyman Maynard Stowe Library, which is housed at the University of Connecticut Health Center, was one of eight federally funded National Network of Libraries of Medicine libraries from 1991 to 2001.

Faculty 500

In 2012 the University of Connecticut embarked on an ambitious, multi-year hiring initiative to expand its faculty numbers across numerous academic disciplines. This four-year investment in 500 tenure-track faculty positions is poised to: Build on the institution's existing strengths and grow new expertise in strategic areas by hiring talented scholars within a targeted selection of academic departments;boost the University's research productivity; provide outstanding teaching and service to UConn students; and continue the transformation that has led the University to stand among the nation's leading public research universities.

Student life

There is a wide variety of student organizations on campus, including fraternities and sororities, musical groups, and religious, athletic, political, cultural, business, military, artistic, and community service clubs. There are also student organizations set up with the intent of governing student life itself, such as the Student Union Board of Governors, the Undergraduate Student Government, the Interfraternity Council, the Panhellenic Council, UConnPIRG, Residence Hall Association, and the various residence hall councils. The university also has a daily student-run newspaper, The Daily Campus, which is the largest student newspaper in the state of Connecticut. As well as the newspaper, the university has a Huskyvision cable network, channels 14 and 16 at the university. Channel 14 is UCTV, a cable TV network consisting of student-made public-access television shows. The university also has a student-run community radio station WHUS, which broadcasts at 91.7FM from the UConn Student Union.

Also under way is the construction of the new Storrs Downtown Center, a mixed-use town center slated to include retail shops, restaurants, offices, and housing, situated on Connecticut Route 195 across from the UConn campus.

While many area activities are held on campus, the university provides free local bus transportation and also arranges frequent bus trips to Boston, Manhattan, and the Connecticut shoreline. The main university campus also includes a number of museums, theaters, and performing arts venues such as the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, J. Robert Donnelly Husky Heritage Sports Museum, the William Benton Museum of Art, and the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History. The UConn Dairy Bar was started circa 1953. It remains open year-round is well known for its ice cream, with roughly 200,000 customers visiting annually.

Symbols

Until 1933, the mascot of UConn had been the Aggies. This was because of the original agricultural nature of the University. In 1933, the University changed its name from Connecticut Agricultural College to Connecticut State College. To reflect this change, athletic teams were known as the Statesmen. In December 1934, the Husky was chosen as the mascot. All UConn huskies are named Jonathan in honor of Jonathan Trumbull. The current "real" Jonathan is Jonathan XV; he is often seen greeting fans and eating dog biscuits at sporting events. Jonathan is one of the few university mascots in the nation to have been selected by students via a popular poll. A statue of Jonathan can also be found outside near the entrances to Gampel Pavilion and the natatorium. This statue, by artist Larry Waisele, was dedicated in 1995. Students are known to rub its nose for good luck.

The UConn fight song, officially titled UConn Husky but commonly called The Husky Fight Song, is one of the most recognizable in the country, played by the Pride of Connecticut during nationally televised sporting events. An audio presentation of UConn Husky is available on the UConn Alumni Association website. A full history of the song can be found on the UConn Advance website.

The official colors of the University of Connecticut are blue and white, with red accents included on athletic uniforms.

Traditions

Painting "The Rock" Coated with thousands of layers of paint over the decades, "The Rock" is a student tradition dating back to the late 1940s. Students repeatedly paint it to promote student events, including dances, pep rallies, student elections, parades, fraternity and sorority functions and a host of other campus activities. The current rock is a portion of a much larger outcropping that was originally located across from the North Campus quadrangle and removed for construction of the Life Sciences building in 1958. Forty years later it was put into storage during the UCONN 2000 construction program. The Rock was relocated to its present site in 2008.

Oozeball OOzeball is UConn's annual Mud Volleyball Tournament. Each year over 1,000 players and spectators come out to watch UConn's finest get "down & dirty." 2012 marked the 29th running of OOzeball, making it the longest running tournament of its kind in the nation.

Lip Sync Lip Sync is one of UConn's signature Homecoming events, where teams from the Cultural Centers and Greek organizations compete in a high-energy lip syncing contest. Each team choreographs a routine set to popular songs, and performs in front of thousands of fans in Gampel Pavilion.

Spring Weekend The annual Spring Weekend concert organized by the Student Union Board of Governors (SUBOG) has attracted top artists and bands such as Outkast and Third Eye Blind in 2000, Guster and Nelly in 2001, Fat Joe and Nine Days in 2002, 50 Cent and Busta Rhymes in 2003, Ludacris and Kanye West in 2004, Nas and Fabolous in 2005, O.A.R. in 2006, Dashboard Confessional, Reel Big Fish and The Starting Line in 2007, Method Man, Redman, Flo Rida, and T-Pain in 2008, 50 Cent and Naughty by Nature in 2009, Jack's Mannequin and KiD CuDi in 2010, B.o.B and Far East Movement in 2011, Wiz Khalifa in 2012, and most recently Kendrick Lamar and Steve Aoki in 2013. It is also known for sizable outdoor parties which have historically drawn more than 10,000 attendees.

Greek life

Since 2003, UConn has established university-owned Greek housing in the "Husky Village", created an Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, and hired full-time staff to administer the Greek Life program. Currently, 32 national social fraternities and sororities have chapters at UConn.

Athletics

The University of Connecticut athletic teams are nicknamed the Huskies and compete at the NCAA's Division I level and in the Football Bowl Subdivision. UConn teams are members of the American Athletic Conference in most sports; the Huskies were a charter member of The American when it was founded in 1979 as the original Big East Conference, and are the only remaining charter member of that league. UConn is a member of Atlantic Hockey in men's ice hockey and will join Hockey East in 2014-15. UConn women's ice hockey plays in Hockey East.

Many UConn student-athletes have gone on to succeed at the professional level, including: Ray Allen, Caron Butler, Andre Drummond, Rudy Gay, Richard Hamilton, Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, Emeka Okafor, Charlie Villanueva, and Kemba Walker in the NBA; Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Tina Charles, Stefanie Dolson, Bria Hartley, Asjha Jones, Renee Montgomery, Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi in the WNBA; Donald Brown, Tyvon Branch, Darius Butler, Will Beatty and Dan Orlovsky in the NFL; Walt Dropo, and Charles Nagy, in the MLB; and Kevin Burns, Shavar Thomas and O’Brian White in the MLS. UConn student-athletes graduate at a higher rate than the general student body and many teams and individuals have won honors for academic excellence. UConn men’s basketball player Emeka Okafor (2004) and women’s basketball player Maya Moore (2011) were named the National Academic All-Americans of the Year by the College Sports Information Director of America as seniors.

UConn is known for its men's and women's basketball teams, both of which are considered among the best in the country. The men’s basketball teams have won four National Championships (1999, 2004, 2011, and 2014) while the women’s basketball teams have won nine National Championships (1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2014) and have played in a total of 14 NCAA Final Fours, including the past six. The women's team went undefeated in the 1995, 2002, 2009, 2010, and 2014 seasons, and currently holds the NCAA Division I record for longest winning streak (90 games).

UConn is the only Division I school to sweep the men's and women's basketball titles in the same year, having done it twice: in 2004 (earning Storrs the nickname "center of the college basketball universe") and again in 2014.

The University elevated its football program to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2002, although the school first fielded a team in 1896. UConn became the quickest program to go from FBS elevation to a Bowl Championship Series game when it played in the 2011 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. UConn has now played in a total of five bowl games.

The UConn men's soccer team has won three national championships, in 1948, 1981 and 2000, while the women's soccer team has advanced to the National Championship title game in 1984, 1990, 1997 and 2003. UConn is also a national player in field hockey, where it has advanced to the national semifinals ten times; winning national championships in 1981, 1985 and in 2013 as an associate member of the Big East conference. The Husky baseball team has played in the NCAA College World Series five times and recently participated in the 2011 NCAA Super Regionals. The Husky Baseball team won the 2013 Big East Championship in Florida, beating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

UConn's Husky logo underwent a significant redesign, with the new design unveiled in April 2013. The updated logo, designed by Nike, will appear on all athletic uniforms beginning with the Fall 2013 season.

See also

• Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on the Storrs campus, the campus venue of men's and women's basketball.
• XL Center in Hartford, second home of both basketball teams.
• Rentschler Field in East Hartford, home to the football team.
• The Burton Family Football Complex and Mark R. Shenkman Training Center on the Storrs campus, football training facilities.
• UConn Basketball Development Center, training facilities for men's and women's basketball teams.
• J. O. Christian Field, home to UConn Baseball.
• Burrill Family Field, home to UConn Softball.
• Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum, home to the men's and women's Ice Hockey teams.
• Morrone Stadium, on campus stadium, home to men's and women's Soccer teams.
• University of Connecticut Historic District-Connecticut Agricultural School, a historic district encompassing the historic core of the Storrs campus

Controversy

Animal Research

In 2013, PETA sued the University for refusing to release the names of animal experimenters who had violated the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and other federal guidelines. On appeal, PETA won the suit the following year.

In 2012, UConn was fined $12,429 by the USDA for AWA violations mostly related to the University’s improper treatment of rabbits in their laboratories. In response to the University’s settlement, a University spokesperson stated that U Conn animal research “involves the humane and ethical treatment of animals."

In 2005, UConn’s Health Center’s use of monkeys in invasive brain experiments came under scrutiny from student animal activists. Using the Freedom of Information Act, students identified previously undetected violations of animal welfare laws related to the treatment of the monkeys. The controversy and violations prompted UConn to end the experiments. In 2007, UConn was fined $5,532 for AWA violations related to the mistreatment of the monkeys, specifically for not handling them appropriately, injecting them with unapproved substances among other violations. Shortly thereafter, the University announced it was joining the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC), a private non-profit organization aimed at improving animal welfare in laboratories.

Following a request from PETA, UConn was later ordered by the National Institutes of Health to repay $65,005 in grant money because of the violations.

In 2002, the University was fined $129,500 by the USDA for nearly 100 Animal Welfare Act violations including providing improper veterinary care, inadequate food and unhealthy living conditions. In response to the AWA violations, a U Conn spokesperson told the Hartford Courant, “We know we were too slow to correct our problems, but since last year we've taken a very aggressive approach to correcting them and setting up systems so they won't recur.” In 1998 the University was ordered by the USDA to pay $9,000 in fines for AWA violations.

Alumni

References

• Susan Shackelford; Grundy, Pamela (2005). Shattering the Glass: The Dazzling History of Women's Basketball from the Turn of the Century to the Present. New York: New Press. ISBN 1-56584-822-5. 

External links

• Official website
• Official Athletics website