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UConn’s future entrepreneurs had the unique opportunity to pitch their businesses to someone who knows what it takes to create a company from scratch: Peter J. Werth, philanthropist and innovator in generic prescription medication.
Werth, who recently made a historic commitment of $22.5 million to UConn, met with students in a private setting at NextGen Residence Hall (now known as the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower). Each presentation had a common thread. The UConn Entrepreneurship and Innovation Consortium’s members provided the critical funding, mentorship, and guidance to help them enter the business world.
“UConn has played a big part in allowing me to establish myself and establish my business,” said Jaclyn Paride ’17 (BUS) (CLAS), co-founder of Zapployment, an application allowing employers to fill no-show slots with qualified workers. “I would never see myself where I am right now and working on my own business. I have all these mentors that I’ve gained.”
Thanks to Werth’s incredible generosity, entrepreneurial activities at UConn will now operate as part of the Peter J. Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Under University leadership, the Institute will continue to bring together student and faculty programs fostering entrepreneurship and innovation that potentially have commercial application and can be used to create new companies.
Peter J. Werth listens to a presentation during an entrepreneurship and innovation huddle on December 4, 2017. (Photo / Peter Morenus, UConn)
This University-wide collaboration is already producing groundbreaking business ideas, including 3D printing for personalized medicine; a certification program for farms that promote farmers’ health; and a musculoskeletal loading device for sit-to-stand maneuvers for patients suffering from lower limb injuries. Werth provided valuable feedback gained from years of experience as the founder of his company, ChemWerth, Inc. In turn, the students were grateful for his support and advice.
“Thank you for your time and for your dedication to the University,” said Ryan Ouimet ’14 (ENG), Ph.D. student and CEO of MediSense Technology, which is developing a breathalyzer device to help diabetics manage their condition without invasive testing. “We greatly appreciate it.”
“It’s invaluable for these students to meet with Peter – someone who’s been in their shoes and knows what it takes to be successful,” said Dr. David Noble, Assistant Professor-in Residence at the School of Business. “We’re grateful for Peter’s tremendous support of entrepreneurial programming here at UConn. We believe we’ve only scratched the surface of innovation at the University, and his most generous commitment will help us go even further. I’m amazed that he is most excited about getting other entrepreneurial leaders to join his efforts with their time and money to make UConn the premier academic institution in the world, with regard to entrepreneurship and innovation.”
As Werth asked questions and interacted with students, one piece of advice stood out for all of the young CEOs in the room.
“Stay focused and execute,” Werth said. “The hardest part of business is to stay focused and execute.”
Philanthropist Peter J. Werth Commits $22.5 Million to Entrepreneurship and Innovation
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.
“Peter’s transformative and historic commitment cements his legacy as a most generous friend to UConn,” said Josh Newton, President and CEO, UConn Foundation. “As a steadfast UConn supporter for many years, Peter has previously given very generously to our athletic programs. We’re 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.”
Announced today at a press conference at NextGen Residence Hall on the main campus in Storrs, Werth’s commitment is the second-largest in University history, behind Ray and Carole Neag’s $23 million pledge in 1999.
$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 has 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.
The remaining $20 million is an estate gift, providing ongoing support for the Werth Institute in perpetuity and ensuring Werth’s 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.
“An investment in UConn is an investment in the University’s spirit of innovation,” said Werth, CEO, President, and Chairman of ChemWerth, Inc. “While I didn’t attend UConn, I have come to believe in its mission, and see the importance of creating opportunities for innovation at our state’s flagship university. I’m delighted and honored that I could make this gift in support of young entrepreneurs, as they create innovative solutions for today’s unique challenges.”
Peter earned his bachelor’s degree from Fort Hays State University in Kansas and his master’s 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, Conn. home, he established ChemWerth Inc., a full-service generic drug and development and supply company, in 1982.
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.
His dedication to improving the lives of people through affordable generic medicine is matched by his most generous philanthropic spirit. Werth’s previous commitment provided the lead gift for the Werth Family UConn Basketball Champions Center, a world-class facility for the UConn women’s and men’s 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’s services, human services, the arts, and the environment. Werth is also a 2015 honorary Doctor of Science degree recipient from UConn.
“Words cannot express how thankful we are to Peter for his extraordinary gift,” said UConn President Susan Herbst. “This 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.”
History was made on the UConn campus today, as the UConn Foundation handed over to the University the first building financed entirely with private donations and no taxpayer money. The UConn Basketball Champions Center was dedicated in the name of Peter J. and Pamela H. Werth, who made their second gift in three years for the new practice and training home for the Huskies’ championship basketball programs.
The $40 million state-of-the-art basketball practice facility behind Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, the on-campus home of the 2014 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball championship teams, will ensure that no university will surpass UConn when it comes to supporting its student-athletes.
“We believe the Werth Family UConn Basketball Champions Center is the key to sustaining UConn’s tradition of great basketball,” says Coleman Levy ‘61, ’62, ’66, chairman of the UConn Foundation Board of Directors. “Built solely with private donations, this new facility is a real tribute to the steadfastness of our friends and alumni and their willingness to support UConn’s transformation and vision for the future. We are so grateful to the Werth family and the many generous donors who helped make this great new facility possible.”
The 75,000-plus square-foot facility features complete facilities for the men’s and women’s championship basketball programs. The building includes common academic support, sports medicine and strength training areas along with separate practice gyms, locker rooms, coaches’ offices, meeting rooms and video analysis facilities.
Upon entering the Werth Family UConn Basketball Champions Center, the lobby will feature a display of NCAA trophies representing the four men’s championships and the nine women’s titles. On each side of the main lobby leading to the women’s and men’s areas, visitors will be greeted by a floor-to-ceiling image of an iconic Husky representing each program—Maya Moore and Ray Allen.
Last year men’s head coach Kevin Ollie ’95 and women’s head coach Geno Auriemma led the Huskies to dual championships, a feat accomplished just once before in NCAA history when Jim Calhoun and Auriemma led UConn to both national championships in 2004.
The Werth family is also making history; their original gift for the practice facility three years ago was one of the largest single private gifts ever made to the Division of Athletics. Now the Werths are making another investment in UConn’s quest for additional championships.
“UConn is a very special place,” says Peter Werth, a season ticket holder for both basketball teams and the football team, who says he has a special fondness for UConn women’s basketball. “The young people who go to UConn come out better than they went in, not only in terms of education but also in attitude and life skills. UConn does a great job and my family is pleased to be able to support it.”
Pamela Werth, a strong supporter of programs that marry the arts and sports to education, said she was impressed by the building’s focus on education resources for student athletes. “The sound-proof study rooms and educational support areas are a tribute to the importance of academics to our student-athletes,” she says.
Peter Werth is the founder and CEO of Chemwerth Inc., a full service generic drug development and supply company based in Connecticut. He and his wife have been active UConn Athletics donors since 2003. Their strong connection to the University began with their children—Peter III, Debbie and Jackie—all of whom attended UConn.
Warde Manuel, UConn director of athletics, says the Werth Family UConn Basketball Champions Center will provide important support for student-athletes who join one of the nation’s best-known championship basketball programs.
“I look at this building as an important resource for our championship basketball programs and for Coaches Geno Auriemma and Kevin Ollie, who provide the leadership that allows our student athletes to excel in their sport and in their classrooms” he says.
The Werth Family UConn Basketball Champions Center was designed by Populous, the former HOK Sport, which designed The Burton Family Football Complex and Mark R. Shenkman Training Center located across the street from the new facilty.
