{"id":220005,"date":"2024-10-15T07:45:05","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T11:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=220005"},"modified":"2024-10-15T15:02:30","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T19:02:30","slug":"uconn-deepening-ties-to-capital-city-with-uconn-in-hartford-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2024\/10\/uconn-deepening-ties-to-capital-city-with-uconn-in-hartford-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Deepening Ties to Capital City With ‘UConn IN Hartford’ Initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"

Say the words, \u201cUConn Hartford,\u201d and what comes to mind? The stately former Hartford Times building that has served as the flagship university\u2019s downtown campus<\/a> since its much-hailed renovation and opening in 2017?<\/p>\n

While the main campus is the principal nexus of UConn\u2019s presence in Connecticut\u2019s capital city, it\u2019s but one of a growing number of locations, programs, and initiatives underway that deepen the University\u2019s ties with Hartford.<\/p>\n

In fact, UConn\u2019s presence in Hartford continues to grow, including plans to offer 200 beds of student housing<\/a> in the bustling downtown Pratt Street district, the recent opening of a nearby research center, the growth of local internships and a planned co-op program, and other initiatives.<\/p>\n

UConn is working with local and state leaders, the city and regional business community, alumni, and others on the \u201cUConn IN Hartford\u201d initiative, which seeks to provide students a community-centered experience in the capital city while they pursue their academics at UConn.<\/p>\n

\"UConn
UConn Board of Trustees member Tom Ritter talks with Gov. Ned Lamont about UConn’s future in Hartford (Ashley Stimpson\/UConn Foundation)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Scores of those supporters gathered recently to learn more about the university\u2019s plans and to tour 64 Pratt St., which will be transformed from its former use as a law office into apartment-style units for about 200 UConn Hartford students.<\/p>\n

Lexington Partners will work with Shelbourne Properties and LAZ Investments to jointly develop the apartments, and UConn will lease the space and run it as student housing starting in fall 2026 with on-site resident advisers and a hall director.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s part of a broader vision shared by UConn, state and local leaders, and others to position Hartford as a \u201ccollege town,\u201d in which students are a major part of Hartford\u2019s culture, economy, and future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese dorms will be a huge boost to our capital city, bringing 200 more UConn students downtown who will reflect the diversity and incredible strength of our state, and who are going to make a name for themselves and change the world in so many different ways,\u201d Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said at the recent reception.<\/p>\n

Hartford\u2019s diversity is evident at the UConn campus, where the majority of students are either the first generation in their family to attend college, are students of color, or both.<\/p>\n

About 86% received some form of financial aid last year, and about 58% received federal Pell Grants, which are awarded to the neediest students.<\/p>\n

In a 2023 survey, about 70% of UConn Hartford undergraduates said that they would be interested in student housing nearby, but since most said they lived with their parents, the rent would need to be affordable to make it a viable option.<\/p>\n

To expand access to the Pratt Street housing opportunity, the UConn Foundation has launched the new Hartford Residential Scholars Enhancement Fund<\/a>, which will harness community contributions to provide stipends for qualifying students who want to live in the apartments, but couldn\u2019t otherwise afford it.<\/p>\n

The housing option and the initiative to help qualifying students with the costs are closely aligned with goals in the UConn Strategic Plan<\/a>, which prioritizes holistic student success, access, affordability, and the strength of UConn\u2019s regional campuses as integral to their host communities.<\/p>\n

\"UConn
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam says UConn’s plans will be a major boost for the city (Ashley Stimpson\/UConn Foundation)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For UConn Hartford students, the student housing will provide the dual benefit of living in the vibrant downtown setting while having the kinds of supports and community-centered experiences that dorm life offers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur job as a public university is to create access and opportunities for our students to learn and grow, and in turn they give back to the communities they come from. Right here, UConn Hartford provides a beacon of hope, opportunity, and transformation for our students,\u201d said Mark Overmyer-Vel\u00e1zquez, UConn Hartford\u2019s campus dean and chief administrative officer.<\/p>\n

UConn Hartford is a federally designated<\/a> Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution and, with about 20% of its population identifying as Hispanic, it is on the threshold of reaching Hispanic Serving Institution<\/a> status as an emerging HSI<\/a>. It also has a rich history of engagement with the city<\/a> in service, academics, and research.<\/p>\n

UConn Hartford students can take classes in more than 36 academic departments<\/a> and can pursue 10 undergraduate programs and advanced degrees fully in Hartford through the School of Business<\/a>, Neag School of Education<\/a>, School of Public Policy<\/a>, and School of Social Work<\/a>. They may also elect to transfer to Storrs with the credits they have earned.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have the ability to do all of that at the scale of a small liberal arts college, with all of the rich benefits that UConn offers as a Research 1 university,\u201d Overmyer-Vel\u00e1zquez said.<\/p>\n

UConn\u2019s presence in Hartford also includes the School of Law<\/a> in the West End; the main campus at 10 Prospect St. and the nearby School of Social Work<\/a> at 38 Prospect St.; UConn Health\u2019s Health Disparities Institute<\/a> at 241 Main St.; and the Graduate Business Learning Center<\/a>, Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation\u2019s BUILD Hartford course<\/a>, both at Constitution Plaza.<\/p>\n

The newest UConn presence in Hartford is a big one: The University recently opened its new Community Intersections & Innovation Space<\/a> for research and academic uses at 229 Trumbull St, also known as Hartford 21 (H21), very close to the student housing location.<\/p>\n

UConn is leasing space<\/a> in that office building to house lecture halls, academic centers, classrooms, and faculty offices, providing opportunities to partner on support for community engagement, and on research projects and research grants.<\/p>\n

\"UConn
UConn President Radenka Maric talks with Speaker of the House Matt Ritter about UConn’s future in Hartford (Ashley Stimpson\/UConn Foundation)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UConn moved its campus<\/a> from West Hartford to its current location in 2017, and has worked since then to position it as a centerpiece of a thriving capital city by bringing people downtown to learn, live, and support the regional economy.<\/p>\n

The University has also significantly bolstered the wrap-around student services available at UConn Hartford and other regional campuses. They include increasing medical and mental health care<\/a>, adding Husky Harvest food pantries<\/a>, helping students establish and expand clubs, boosting on-site career services<\/a>, and other academic and social programs to help build a sense of community and support student success.<\/p>\n

Connecticut State House of Representatives Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford (\u201907 LAW), noted at the recent reception that after the pandemic, many companies vacated their city office spaces as more employees worked remotely. Student housing like UConn\u2019s planned units are a critical evolution in the vitality of those communities, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is such a big deal because of what it\u2019s going to lead to,\u201d Ritter said. \u201cThis is going to be what UConn is about: UConn changes the lives of young people and communities that it impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘This is such a big deal because of what it\u2019s going to lead to’ <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":219905,"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":[1715,1727,2193,99,2235,92,2227,2233],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1932],"class_list":["post-220005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-impact","category-construction","category-hartford-county","category-student-life","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-hartford","category-uconn-edu-homepage","category-university-news"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-30 07:59:52","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\/220005","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\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220005"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":220052,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220005\/revisions\/220052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/219905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220005"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=220005"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=220005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}