In This Section:
21st Century UConn
In Balance With Nature
UConn-ANC Partnership
Legal Inspiration

Setting the pace for universities nationwide

The $1.3 billion building program to continue the remarkable transformation of the University of Connecticut, known as 21^st Century UConn, was approved by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor John G. Rowland this past August.

Governor John G. Rowland signs 21st Century UConn into law during a ceremony held at the Storrs campus on August 26, 2002, as Senate President Kevlin Sullivan '82 J.D., House Speaker Moira Lyons, House Minority Leader Robert Ward '74 (CLAS) and other legislators look on.

The Legislature's enactment of the program, a 10-year continuation of the $1 billion UCONN 2000 initiative, is unprecedented nationally. The widespread support for 21^st Century UConn is an endorsement and recognition of UCONN 2000's achievements and of the University's prudent management of the UCONN 2000 program.

"We are very grateful to the governor, who proposed this initiative, and to the General Assembly, whose leaders and members offered bipartisan support," says President Philip E. Austin. "The adoption of 21^st Century UConn represents a strong vote of confidence in the University and recognizes our success in managing the physical transformation of our campuses across the state. In 1995, many people regarded UCONN 2000 as a calculated risk. But based on a strong record of achievement, the widespread perception this year has been that 21^st Century UConn is a wise investment."

Totaling $2.3 billion, UCONN 2000 and its successor, 21^st Century UConn, invigorate the state's future by providing the means for the University to attract high-achieving students, high-quality faculty and for securing private donations and grants.

Ranked the top public university in New England by U.S.News & World Report, UConn has advanced on numerous fronts since the adoption of UCONN 2000. Since 1995, at Storrs, SAT scores have risen nearly 40 points, while freshmen enrollment is up 58 percent, and minority enrollment is up 61 percent. This fall, there are 60 valedictorians and salutatorians enrolled in the freshman class and a total of 394 since 1995.

Since 1994 annual gifts to UConn have increased dramatically from $8.2 million to $43.3 million for 2002, and endowment assets have grown from $50 million to $200 million today. A record high 23 percent of alumni contributed to the University in 2002.

"UCONN 2000 gave us a singular opportunity to renew, rebuild and enhance the University," Austin says. "21^st Century UConn expands that opportunity and essentially provides the resources to continue our remarkable progress."

The UCONN 2000 program has already resulted in the completion of more than two dozen new facilities, including the Chemistry Building, School of Business, the Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory, as well as new buildings at our regional campuses. The construction of residence halls such as the Hilltop Apartments, Hilltop Suites, and South Campus and renovations to Wilbur Cross, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and to numerous classrooms and research facilities have transformed UConn's living and learning experience.

The Information Technology Engineering Building will provide engineering students with state-of-the-art facilities to help prepare them for challenging careers.

The modern Biophysics Building and the Information Technologies Engineering Building are slated to open in 2003. The Student Union, already under renovation, will be completed in 2004. Greek housing and North Campus Apartments will open next September, and a new School of Pharmacy will be constructed as well.

Among the initiatives made possible by 21^st Century UConn are major upgrades to the UConn Health Center that will include the construction of a state-of-the-art medical research facility.

Enhancements to the Storrs campus--including new facilities to replace Monteith and Arjona Halls, the Torrey Life Sciences Building, additions to the Benton Museum, Psychology Building, Storrs Hall, and the School of Fine Arts as well as the refurbishing of numerous buildings, such as the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts and the Natural History Museum--will continue to reshape the University. Furthermore, renovations to the UConn School of Law and the regional campuses at Avery Point, Stamford, Torrington, Waterbury, and West Hartford will improve the quality of a UConn education throughout the state.

-- Karen Grava

Northeast Utilities gift helps energize marine sciences at Avery Point

In the study of marine ecosystems, understanding how biological interactions among species shape the structure and dynamics of the environment is critical. The same principles can also apply to the interactions between a large public utility and a major research university: The delicate balance of dependencies in this scenario often produce results that contribute to society at large.

UConn's research vessel, Connecticut, will conduct studies with support from the Northeast Utilities Program Endowment Fund in Marine Science.

Earlier this year, the Northeast Utilities Foundation committed $500,000 to establish the Northeast Utilities Program Endowment Fund in Marine Science and the Northeast Utilities Awards Endowment Fund in Marine Science at UConn's Avery Point campus. The Program Endowment Fund will provide financial support to promote research for faculty and students, including work on board UConn's research vessel, Connecticut. The Awards Endowment Fund will offer financial assistance to students, particularly women and members of minority groups, pursuing marine sciences studies. Together, these generous gifts help ensure continued research advances along one of the state's most precious natural resources--Long Island Sound.

The gift owes its genesis to a long-standing relationship between the University and Northeast Utilities. Since 1996, NU has funded an internship program at Avery Point for undergraduates in marine sciences, which provides annual opportunities for four to five students to work on summer research projects.

A strong scholarship program is just one element critical to UConn's emergence as a premier program in the nation for marine science education and research. Other initiatives include recruiting additional outstanding faculty and supporting a number of interdisciplinary activities, such as physical oceanography and advanced environmental monitoring.

A three-year, $700,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will support the University of Connecticut-African National Congress partnership in its collaboration to preserve and promote access to historical records documenting the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa. The University of Connecticut is the official North American repository of ANC archival materials.

The partnership between UConn and the African National Congress is an important element in the efforts of the two institutions to promote human rights worldwide. This grant is the second the partnership has received from the Mellon Foundation, which gave $665,000 in June 2000 to support an oral history program and a planning grant for the archives project.

In funding oral history, archival and comparative human rights components of the partnership, the grant also promotes international understanding and cooperation between the people of South Africa and the United States.

"The work of the African National Congress represents one of history's most extraordinary human rights achievements," says President Philip E. Austin. "The University is honored to collaborate with the ANC in this archival project, and the Mellon Foundation grant provides invaluable assistance to our joint effort to preserve vital historical materials for future generations."

Amii Omara-Otunnu, UNESCO Chair in Comparative Human Rights and executive director of the UConn-ANC Partnership, says "The grant enables the University of Connecticut and the African National Congress to realize a common, shared vision--preserving historical materials that shed light on the struggles for human rights and suggesting strategies for peaceful resolution of conflicts around the world."

Gifts totaling more than $2m benefit Law School's legal clinic program

A prominent Connecticut attorney and alumnus of the University of Connecticut's School of Law has increased his financial commitment to the School of Law to help future lawyers develop their trial and advocacy skills. William R. Davis '55 J.D. has contributed an additional $700,000 to the Law School's Civil Clinic Endow-ment Fund, which he established in 1996 with a $300,000 gift. His partners in the law firm of RisCassi and Davis also have made substantial gifts in his honor. In total, these gifts are now valued at more than $2 million.

Ellen M. McCorkmick, the first William R. Davis '55 Clinical Teaching Fellow, offers instruction in the Law School's Civil Rights Clinic.

This endowment fund has helped make it possible for the School of Law to add a faculty fellow to teach and supervise students in the School's legal clinic program.

Elizabeth M. McCormick, the first William R. Davis '55 Clinical Teaching Fellow, teaches in the Law School's Civil Rights Clinic this year. She will also work with students in the new Asylum and Human Rights Clinic. "Mr. Davis' generous gifts to the Law School and his dedicated service to the public and to the profession are truly inspiring," says McCormick. "I am so honored to be in a position to share his commitment to service and justice with UConn students working in the clinic."

Indeed, for many years, Davis has made numerous contributions to the Law School, including his 17 years as an adjunct professor in trial practice. "Bill Davis is one of our most prominent and treasured graduates," says Nell Jessup Newton, dean of the School of Law. "His commitment to the School is deeply appreciated by our entire community."

Davis has received both the Law School Alumni Association Medal of Excellence, which has been awarded only six times, and its Distinguished Service Award. This past spring, the Connecticut Law Review presented Davis with its annual award, noting his integrity, enthusiasm and dedication to promoting excellence in the legal profession.

In 2001, the School announced that it would name one of two new moot courtrooms on campus in his honor. The state-of-the-art William R. Davis Courtroom is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion in 2003.