From the December 2009 issue of Our Moment, the UConn Foundation's e-newsletter.
Timothy Holt ’75, chairman of the Board of Directors of the University of Connecticut Foundation, is supporting his two great passions—economics and Huskies basketball—with a major campaign gift. Holt and his wife, Beverly, have committed $401,000 including $150,000 to establish the Timothy A. and Beverly C. Holt Economics Fellowship and $251,000 toward the fund for a new basketball practice facility.
Holt, retired senior vice president and chief investment officer at Aetna, credits his education at UConn for helping with his professional success. He was elected to the Foundation’s board in 2001 and assumed the chairmanship in 2009. Additionally, he was inducted into the UConn School of Business Hall of Fame in 2005.
“I received my education at UConn, and I’m grateful for that. That's why I'm giving back. I’d like to help other people receive as good an education as I did,” Holt says. “UConn stands out for its ability to give people the opportunity to receive an excellent education.”
Holt, who earned a B.A. in economics from UConn and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, wanted to support an area the economics department is seeking to expand. The Holt Economics Fellowship will provide essential support for graduate students who are conducting research, teaching undergraduate classes and preparing to be the next generation of leaders in the field.
“When I was an undergraduate student at UConn, I majored in economics, and so I wanted to do something that would benefit the economics department. We talked to them about what would be the most helpful in achieving their strategic goals. Graduate student support is one of their highest priorities,” Holt says.
“This generous gift from Tim and Beverly Holt supports one of our campaign priorities: graduate fellowships,” says Jeremy Teitelbaum, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Our lively community of economics graduate students brings outstanding, Nobel Prize-winning economists to campus for visits, and the program places students in academia, the World Bank, the Federal Reserve and elsewhere. The Holt Fellowship will help us continue to recruit first-rate economics graduate students.”
A season ticket holder for 30 years, Holt has been an avid Huskies fan since his undergraduate days at UConn. He wanted to help fund a new basketball practice facility that will reflect the vision of the athletics staff and coaches.
“I really enjoy UConn athletics and in particular the basketball teams. I want them to be successful. A new state-of-the-art facility will help them achieve their goals,” he says.
Plans for the facility include dedicated practice areas with two gymnasiums for the men’s and women’s teams. In addition to offices and strength training, sports medicine, and video areas, the facility will include an academic support space to assist student-athletes in becoming as successful in the classroom as they are on the court.
“We are grateful to Tim and Beverly for their continuing commitment to UConn athletics and our University as a whole,” says Director of Athletics Jeffrey Hathaway, who notes that donors have pledged approximately $7 million of the $25 to $30 million needed for the new facility so far.
“The Holts’ generous contribution will assist us in our efforts to construct an outstanding basketball practice facility to benefit our student-athletes and coaches both academically and athletically. This project is critical to maintaining and further enhancing the extraordinary success achieved by our basketball programs under Hall of Fame coaches Geno Auriemma and Jim Calhoun,” adds Hathaway. “We appreciate the leadership shown by the Holts as we begin to share the importance of this capital project with current and potential donors.”
For more information about supporting the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences or Division of Athletics, please contact the UConn Foundation’s development department.
