University of New Haven facts for kids
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Former names
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New Haven YMCA Junior College (1920–1926) New Haven College (1926–1970) |
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| Type | Private university |
| Established | 1920 |
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Academic affiliations
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Space-grant |
| Endowment | $94 million |
| President | Jens Frederiksen |
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Academic staff
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522 |
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Administrative staff
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510 |
| Students | 7,513 |
| Undergraduates | 5,023 |
| Postgraduates | 2,490 |
| Location |
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United States
41°17′31″N 72°57′44″W / 41.2919°N 72.9622°W |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Blue and gold |
| Nickname | Chargers |
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Sporting affiliations
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NCAA Division II – NE-10 |
| Mascot | Charlie the Charger |
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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.
Contents
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 at Yale University, for nearly 40 years.
Academics
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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.
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.
The University of New Haven is featured in the Princeton Review's 2024 "Best 389 Colleges" guidebook.
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.
In 2024, the university was ranked No. 87 among "Regional Universities" by U.S. News & World Report.
Campus
The University of New Haven currently houses 48 campus buildings, including the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science – and the newest building, the Bergami Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation. This includes 14 on- and off-campus, university-sponsored residence halls.
Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science
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. 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.
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. It has specialties in interdisciplinary research, training, testing, consulting, and education in forensic science.
Athletics
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. 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.
Varsity teams
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Men's sports (8)
Women's sports (12)
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Club sports
Nineteen club sports are recognized at the University of New Haven.
- Badminton (CoRec)
- 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)
Student organizations
The University of New Haven had 199 clubs and organizations as of September 2023.
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.
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.
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.
Radio station
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. 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. 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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
Notable alumni
The University of New Haven has about 64,000 alumni. 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), current Mayor of West Haven
- 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., (judge), associate justice for the 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
- Selim Noujaim (politician)
- Neil O'Leary (politician), (Former Mayor of Waterbury)
- 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, (Airforce Veteran)
- 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.
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.
- 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. 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. As of 2020, Dr Nikodem Poplawski has published his groundbreaking work on black holes and the multiverse in the journal Foundations of Physics.
- Horatio Strother (assistant professor of history) is the author of the authoritative book on the Underground Railroad in Connecticut.
