{"id":132293,"date":"2017-12-04T14:41:05","date_gmt":"2017-12-04T19:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=132293"},"modified":"2017-12-04T14:46:00","modified_gmt":"2017-12-04T19:46:00","slug":"peter-werth-commits-22-5-million-support-entrepreneurship-innovation-uconn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2017\/12\/peter-werth-commits-22-5-million-support-entrepreneurship-innovation-uconn\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Receives $22.5M Gift for Entrepreneurship, Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UConn Foundation has received a $22.5 million commitment from Peter J. Werth, ensuring a legacy of innovation and entrepreneurship for generations of students to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeter\u2019s transformative and historic commitment cements his legacy as a most generous friend to UConn,\u201d said Josh Newton, President and CEO, UConn Foundation. \u201cAs a steadfast UConn supporter for many years, Peter has previously given very generously to our athletic programs. We\u2019re grateful that his generosity has expanded to include academics, especially into an area that supports the economy of our state: entrepreneurship and innovation. We hope he will inspire others to follow his lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Peter<\/a>
Peter J. Werth, at podium, speaks at an event to announce his $22.5 million commitment to the University and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower on Dec. 4, 2017. Seated from left are Matthew Cremins, \u201913 (ENG) \u201914 MS, President Susan Herbst, and Dan Toscano \u201987 (BUS), UConn Foundation board chair. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div>
Gift171204a122<\/div>
Peter J. Werth, at podium, speaks at an event to announce his $22.5 million commitment to the University and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower on Dec. 4, 2017. Seated from left are Matthew Cremins, \u201913 (ENG) \u201914 MS, President Susan Herbst, and Dan Toscano \u201987 (BUS), UConn Foundation board chair. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"Dan<\/a>
Dan Toscano \u201987 (BUS), UConn Foundation board chair, at the podium, speaks at an event to announce a $22.5 million commitment to the University and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower on Dec. 4, 2017. Seated from left are Matthew Cremins, \u201913 (ENG), \u201914 MS, Peter J. Werth, and President Susan Herbst. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div>
Gift171204a014<\/div>
Dan Toscano \u201987 (BUS), UConn Foundation board chair, at the podium, speaks at an event to announce a $22.5 million commitment to the University and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower on Dec. 4, 2017. Seated from left are Matthew Cremins, \u201913 (ENG), \u201914 MS, Peter J. Werth, and President Susan Herbst. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"President<\/a>
President Susan Herbst speaks during an event to announce a $22.5 million commitment to the University from Peter J. Werth, and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div>
Gift171204a035<\/div>
President Susan Herbst speaks during an event to announce a $22.5 million commitment to the University from Peter J. Werth, and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"Matthew<\/a>
Matthew Cremins \u201913 (ENG), \u201914 MS, at the podium, speaks about his UConn education during an event to announce a $22.5 million commitment to the University and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower on Dec. 4, 2017. Seated from left are Peter J. Werth, President Susan Herbst, and Dan Toscano \u201987 (BUS), UConn Foundation board chair. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div>
Gift171204a052<\/div>
Matthew Cremins \u201913 (ENG), \u201914 MS, at the podium, speaks about his UConn education during an event to announce a $22.5 million commitment to the University and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower on Dec. 4, 2017. Seated from left are Peter J. Werth, President Susan Herbst, and Dan Toscano \u201987 (BUS), UConn Foundation board chair. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"Members<\/a>
Members of the Werth family, and other members of the UConn community, listen to a speech during an event to announce a $22.5 million commitment to the UConn Foundation from Peter J. Werth, and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div>
Gift171204a061<\/div>
Members of the Werth family, and other members of the UConn community, listen to a speech during an event to announce a $22.5 million commitment to the UConn Foundation from Peter J. Werth, and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"Peter<\/a>
Peter J. Werth, at podium is applauded at an event to announce his $22.5 million commitment to the University and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower on Dec. 4, 2017. Standing from left are Matthew Cremins, \u201913 (ENG) \u201914 MS, President Susan Herbst, and Dan Toscano \u201987 (BUS), UConn Foundation board chair. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div>
Gift171204a087<\/div>
Peter J. Werth, at podium is applauded at an event to announce his $22.5 million commitment to the University and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower on Dec. 4, 2017. Standing from left are Matthew Cremins, \u201913 (ENG) \u201914 MS, President Susan Herbst, and Dan Toscano \u201987 (BUS), UConn Foundation board chair. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"Peter<\/a>
Peter J. Werth speaks at an event to announce his $22.5 million commitment to the University and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower. Seated is President Susan Herbst. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div>
Gift171204a130<\/div>
Peter J. Werth speaks at an event to announce his $22.5 million commitment to the University and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower. Seated is President Susan Herbst. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"Peter<\/a>
Peter J. Werth, right, shakes hands with David Benedict, director of UConn Athletics, following an event to announce a $22.5 million commitment to the University and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div>
Gift171204a162<\/div>
Peter J. Werth, right, shakes hands with David Benedict, director of UConn Athletics, following an event to announce a $22.5 million commitment to the University and the naming of the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

Announced today at a press conference at NextGen Residence Hall on the main campus in Storrs, Werth\u2019s commitment is the second-largest in University history, behind Ray and Carole Neag\u2019s $23 million pledge in 1999.<\/p>\n

$2.5 million will be paid over the next five years to establish the Peter J. Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The Institute, under University leadership, will bring together student and faculty programs fostering entrepreneurship and innovation that potentially have commercial application and can be used to create new companies. In addition to nurturing innovation, the Institute will facilitate entrepreneurship speaker forums and host an entrepreneur-in-residence to instruct students.<\/p>\n

The remaining $20 million is an estate gift, providing ongoing support for the Werth Institute in perpetuity and ensuring Werth\u2019s legacy at UConn for generations to come. In recognition of this historic commitment, the NextGen Residence Hall will now be known as the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn investment in UConn is an investment in the University\u2019s spirit of innovation,\u201d said Werth, CEO, President, and Chairman of ChemWerth, Inc. \u201cWhile I didn\u2019t attend UConn, I have come to believe in its mission, and see the importance of creating opportunities for innovation at our state\u2019s flagship university. I\u2019m delighted and honored that I could make this gift in support of young entrepreneurs, as they create innovative solutions for today\u2019s unique challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Werth earned his bachelor\u2019s degree from Fort Hays State University in Kansas and his master\u2019s degree from Stanford University, beginning his professional career as an R&D scientist in the early 1960s. Working from a room above the garage in his Woodbridge, Connecticut home, he established ChemWerth Inc., a full-service generic drug development and supply company, in 1982.<\/p>\n

His vision was to produce U.S. FDA-quality active pharmaceutical ingredients in China, which would make generic drugs more accessible and affordable. He immersed himself in the local Chinese market and worked alongside manufacturers to achieve the necessary quality of ingredients. Today, sourcing active pharmaceutical ingredients from China is an industry norm, providing a significant cost savings on medication for millions.<\/p>\n

His dedication to improving the lives of people through affordable generic medicine is matched by his most generous philanthropic spirit. Werth\u2019s previous commitment provided the lead gift for the Werth Family UConn Basketball Champions Center, a world-class facility for the UConn women\u2019s and men\u2019s basketball teams. In addition to his numerous charitable donations to UConn, he is the president of The Werth Family Foundation Inc., which was established in 2001 to support Connecticut communities, with a focus on higher education, children\u2019s services, human services, the arts, and the environment. Werth is also a 2015 honorary Doctor of Science degree recipient from UConn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWords cannot express how thankful we are to Peter for his extraordinary gift,\u201d said UConn President Susan Herbst. \u201cThis incredible gesture will transform student lives, supporting their entrepreneurial spirit as they create the businesses of the future. Peter is a remarkable individual and wonderful friend to UConn. We are deeply grateful for his generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The pledge from Peter Werth, an innovator in generic prescription medication, is the second-largest in University history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":132311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1866,1731,1862,2225,2233],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[117],"class_list":["post-132293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engr","category-entrepreneurship","category-busn","category-uconn-storrs","category-university-news"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-28 01:37:45","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132293"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132326,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132293\/revisions\/132326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/132311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132293"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=132293"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=132293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}