Archive

Largest Human Rights Gift to UConn To Provide Scholarships, Build Endowment

Avatar photo
Grace Merritt

3 min read

Philanthropist George Soros and UConn alumnus Gary Gladstein ’66 with his wife, Dr. Phyllis Gladstein, announced a $4 million gift to the UConn Human Rights Institute, the largest donation to the internationally renowned program.

The gift, which requires the UConn Foundation to raise an additional $2 million in matching funds, would give the Institute a $6 million endowment and provide scholarships to undergraduates majoring in human rights.

“The vision and generosity of our donors continues to make an incredible impact on this program and is helping to make UConn a global leader in human rights education and scholarship,” said UConn President Susan Herbst. “We could not be more grateful to both Gary Gladstein and George Soros for their support and commitment to our university and the field of human rights.”

The Institute, with its interdisciplinary focus, is one of the top human rights programs in higher education worldwide. Faculty members are drawn from most schools and colleges across the university, including anthropology, political science, business, and law. The program has a strong focus on collaborative research and scholarship. The Institute has a rapidly growing student population and its graduates have landed key humanitarian jobs.

a photo of uconn students on an internship in guatemala
UConn Students on a human rights internship in Guatemala.

“I was a child in Hungary when the Nazis invaded. I then lived under Soviet rule, so I know what it is like to live under brutal regimes that deprive people of their basic human rights,” Soros said. “I am pleased to support UConn’s critical work in researching and promoting human rights. I am glad to partner with Gary to help build UConn’s program.”

Gladstein, who has been the Institute’s primary benefactor, is giving the Institute a gift of $2 million. Soros, a businessman, philanthropist, and political activist, has pledged to give a $2 million challenge grant. Soros’s grant is through the Open Society Foundations, his grant-making network dedicated to building democracies with accountable and open governments.

Soros’s grant requires the UConn Foundation to raise an additional $2 million in matching funds from donors. Once completed, the $6 million endowment will provide scholarships, fellowships, internships, and program support for signature programs, such as the Scholars-at-Risk Initiative.

Gladstein said he was pleased to partner with Soros, a friend and colleague who first raised his awareness of the vital importance of human rights.

“All civilizations must learn to share and respect the human rights of others,” Gladstein said. “The true differences around the world are not between different religions or races, but more about those who embrace peace and those who would destroy it. We can all do much better when we work together.”

“These gifts are transformative because they provide us with a financial foundation that we haven’t had before,” said Dan Weiner, UConn’s vice provost for global affairs.

The Institute is a leader in human rights education and scholarship. It has the largest number of undergraduates studying human rights in the U.S. with 80 students majoring and 55 minoring in human rights. Another 35 participate in the Institute’s graduate certificate program.

“On Martin Luther King Day, as we celebrate a man who stood for civil rights and justice, it is a fitting time to announce a gift that will strengthen UConn’s own commitment to human rights,” said Joshua R. Newton, president and CEO of the UConn Foundation.

The Institute’s cross-disciplinary research teams of faculty and graduate students focus on three distinct areas: economic and social rights, humanitarianism, and global health and human rights.

“This gift will sustain cutting-edge, interdisciplinary scholarship on human rights at the University of Connecticut,” Institute Director Kathryn Libal said.

Program graduates have gone on to hold positions at leading universities and in the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International USA, AmeriCares, and Jewish World Watch.

“We are educating the next generation of human rights scholars, teachers, and practitioners,” Weiner said.

Jonathan at an event in Hartford CT
Connect with fellow Huskies
Don't miss out on alumni events and more

Related Posts

UConn Receives $1M Gift and Match Challenge for Human Rights Institute

UConn Receives $1M Gift and Match Challenge for Human Rights Institute

Read More
The Business of Human Rights

The Business of Human Rights

Read More
UConn Mourns Loss of Alum Ray Neag, Largest Benefactor

UConn Mourns Loss of Alum Ray Neag, Largest Benefactor

Read More

Sikorsky Funds UConn Engineering Scholars

Avatar photo
Jack Kramer

3 min read

Through a new initiative by longtime partners Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and the University of Connecticut School of Engineering, Sikorsky will provide $67,000 in scholarships to selected UConn engineering students this fall. Sikorsky Aircraft is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).

“We have a strong alumnae base of UConn graduates at Sikorsky and establishing this program at UConn has been a top priority,” said Dulcy O’Rourke, Sikorsky’s Research & Engineering Manager of University Relations. “With such a strong representation of UConn graduates already working at our company, the potential is there for this initiative to grow.”

UConn’s engineering graduates are an integral part of Sikorsky’s workforce. Many began their professional work experience at Sikorsky while they were students at the university.

“I personally benefited from Sikorsky’s commitment to engineering education when Sikorsky sponsored my Ph.D. research at UConn,” said Michael R. Urban, Ph.D., structural analysis manager at the company. “Sikorsky’s support allowed me to obtain a UConn doctorate degree that I may not have otherwise been able to realize.”

Dean of the School of Engineering Kazem Kazerounian said, “Sikorsky is a willing, and great, partner for us. The variety of scholarships funded will reach a number of our top students and help them here, at UConn, and down the road as they launch their engineering careers.”

O’Rourke said the UConn scholarship program will help Sikorsky “blend its portfolio,” noting the company has a similar program at the University of Maryland.

“UConn is a focus school for Sikorsky because it provides a wealth of engineering talent and leadership for the corporation,” said Doug Shidler, Director, Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR TD) program and Executive Sponsor for UConn.

Sikorsky’s gifts to UConn’s School of Engineering—and its students—include:

  • Bridge scholarships, totaling $12,000, to enable underrepresented groups in Engineering to attend a five-week residential intensive study of mathematics, chemistry, physics and computer programming the summer before their freshman year.
  • Scholarships for undergraduates, totaling $30,000, designated for mechanical and electrical engineering students in their sophomore through senior years. The scholarship will follow a promising student throughout his/her undergraduate education, contingent upon the student remaining in one of these majors and maintaining an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.5.
  • A graduate student fellowship, totaling $25,000, will be awarded to top graduate students in mechanical or electrical engineering to create a pipeline of refined expertise recruited from the best young engineering graduate students. Fellows may be invited, but are not required or entitled, to work beside UConn faculty on Sikorsky research.

Recent Sikorsky hire Lauren Salisbury, another UConn graduate, added that her engineering coursework at UConn, sponsored by Sikorsky, provided “the practical engineering skills that I am using now.”

As a UConn alumnus and long-time Sikorsky engineer, Technical Fellow Paul Inguanti added, “I am excited that Sikorsky is expanding UConn’s School of Engineering scholarship funding. Sikorsky must excel compared to global competitors by building the best helicopters in the world, and to accomplish that goal we must attract and retain engineers who have a passion for solving the toughest technical problems.”

And Brian Rothermich, a recently hired blade design engineer, said, “UConn prepared me to make the transition from being a full-time student to an effective practicing engineer at Sikorsky immediately after I graduated. Many of my professors at UConn previously worked in the aerospace industry, which provided an opportunity to learn how concepts learned in school apply to real-world engineering.”

“Sikorsky’s generous gift will benefit our top achieving engineering undergraduate and graduate students, and helps us in our overall effort to increase the number of students who receive financial aid,” said Josh Newton, president of the UConn Foundation.

 

Jonathan at an event in Hartford CT
Connect with fellow Huskies
Don't miss out on alumni events and more

Related Posts

Engineering Her Future

Engineering Her Future

Read More
Leaders of the Pack

Leaders of the Pack

Read More
From Forest Labs to Rare Diseases

From Forest Labs to Rare Diseases

Read More

RELEASE: New UConn Hartford Campus Creates Giving Opportunities

Avatar photo
Jack Kramer

2 min read

Philanthropists looking to transform a college student’s life have a myriad of opportunities to realize that goal—including a new scholarship program—at the University of Connecticut’s downtown Hartford campus, slated to open in the fall of 2017.

The goal of the Adopt-a-Husky program is to ensure that the Hartford campus is accessible and affordable for all students. Close to half of the 2,300 students are expected to be first generation college students and many will seek financial aid.

“Philanthropy will play an important role in attracting students to the campus and in providing a high-quality education, helping to make UConn Hartford a success while adding new vitality to the downtown neighborhood,” said UConn President Susan Herbst.

The Adopt-a-Husky program includes many options for donors:

  • $2,500 pledged over four years, or $10,000 in total, to Support a Husky at the Hartford campus.
  • $50,000 or more to establish an endowed fund that provides annual support for a student at a specific college or school at UConn Hartford.
  • With an endowed fund of $100,000 or more other criteria can be added; for example, a preference for students from a particular region.

Tuition and fees at the campus, currently located in West Hartford, are $10,658 annually.

“It takes more than bricks and mortar to build a great campus,” said Joshua R. Newton, president & CEO of the UConn Foundation. “For as little as $10,000 over four years, donors will be able to support a Husky at the Hartford campus and help build a solid foundation for these students.”

The downtown space for the campus encompasses 217,000 square feet and will bring students closer to potential internships, service projects, and jobs in urban K-12 schools, government agencies, businesses, nonprofits, and other entities.

The main building, the former Hartford Times newspaper headquarters, will accommodate approximately 70 percent of the academic programmatic needs, and is scheduled for completion by July 2017. The UConn Hartford campus will also be home to 250 faculty members.

The Adopt-a-Husky program is part of the UConn Foundation’s “Transform Lives’’ initiative, a five-year effort to double the amount of financial support—including merit and need-based scholarships—that the Foundation raises for the benefit of the UConn student body, at all the university’s campuses.

The Foundation, in its mission statement, said: “The University’s strong upward trajectory comes at a time when, nationwide, the cost of higher education is soaring. Now, more than ever, farsighted, caring donors are essential to bringing an education within reach of every deserving student.’’

Beyond Adopt-a-Husky programs, there will be also other opportunities for donors to invest in students at the UConn Hartford campus.

Naming rights include:

  • $1-2 million for a research/laboratory center
  • $500,000-$1 million for a lecture hall
  • $250,000-$500,000 for a seminar room
  • $25,000-$50,000 for a student study lounge

 

Media Coverage

Jonathan at an event in Hartford CT
Connect with fellow Huskies
Don't miss out on alumni events and more

Related Posts

Coming to Hartford in 2017: A new UConn campus and opportunities to transform lives

Coming to Hartford in 2017: A new UConn campus and opportunities to transform lives

Read More
Leaders of the Pack

Leaders of the Pack

Read More
New Haven Promise Sends More Freshmen to UConn

New Haven Promise Sends More Freshmen to UConn

Read More

School of Business Alumnus Gives to Make College Accessible to All

Avatar photo
Jennifer Doak-Mathewson

< 1 min read

UConn alumnus Dan Toscano says the best part about giving to scholarships is seeing the blossoming that can happen to a student during his or her college career. “You see a career start to play out, and it started with a good foundation,” he said in a segment that will play on Connecticut NPR stations from April 20 through Memorial Day weekend.

Listen to Toscano’s NPR segment on SoundCloud

Toscano (’87 BUS), a UConn Foundation board member and resident of Darien, Conn., established the Joseph P. and Rose M. Toscano Memorial Scholarship Fund and the Santos and Patricia Mercado Memorial Scholarship with his wife, Tresa. Both scholarships are need-based and support students in the School of Business.

“We created these scholarships [because] we believe that helping to make college accessible to all students—especially those who didn’t come from wealthy backgrounds—can impact a family for generations,” said Toscano. “I’m thrilled to report that the fund has already helped a young man from Bridgeport become the first person in his family to graduate from college. He now has a good job as an accountant in Connecticut.”

Toscano, along with the other members of the board of directors, recently endorsed a five-year, $150 million fundraising initiative to double the amount of support the Foundation raises for scholarships and fellowships.

“Several students say, ‘I could never pay you back for this,’ and I say there’s nothing to pay back,” said Toscano. “You need to pay it forward.”

 

Related Posts

Honoring Richard L. Schwab ’79 MA, ’81 Ph.D

Honoring Richard L. Schwab ’79 MA, ’81 Ph.D

Read More
RELEASE: Two UConn Foundation Board Members Among Inductees into School of Business Hall of Fame

RELEASE: Two UConn Foundation Board Members Among Inductees into School of Business Hall of Fame

Read More
Law School Foundation Makes Strategic Move to Join UConn Foundation

Law School Foundation Makes Strategic Move to Join UConn Foundation

Read More

First-Generation Student’s Life Transformed by Scholarship

Avatar photo
Jennifer Doak-Mathewson

2 min read

Without scholarships, Justis Lopez wouldn’t be on the verge of realizing his dream to be a public school teacher. Lopez is about to gain statewide recognition as part of the UConn Foundation’s efforts to raise $150 million over the next five years for scholarships and fellowships.

Lopez, 22, is a graduate student in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. He will graduate this May with a master’s degree in education and is featured in a series of National Public Radio spots that begin running April 20 and continue to Memorial Day Weekend.

[Listen to Justis’s WNPR segment on SoundCloud]

“My family is not wealthy and I knew early on that I would need to work hard and earn scholarships if I was to become the first person in my family to graduate from college, let alone graduate school,” said Lopez, who finds time for a little fun at community and athletic events by performing as Jonathan the Husky.

Since Lopez arrived on campus four years ago from his hometown of Manchester, Conn., he has supervised more than 150 first-generation students from low-income backgrounds, served as a peer mentor advisor, experienced an “alternative” spring break helping the disadvantaged in Atlanta, studied World War II and the Holocaust in Germany, worked as a graduate assistant in Neag’s Dean’s Office as part of an initiative to improve diversity in teaching, and taught English and special education to public school students.

“One of the happiest days of my life was learning that not only had I been accepted to the Neag School but that I had secured the financial support from UConn to actually attend. Generous donors to the Foundation gave me an opportunity but I understood that what I did with it, was up to me,” said Lopez. “My goal is to become a social studies teacher with aspirations of becoming a principal and superintendent working on educational policy.”

Jonathan at an event in Hartford CT
Connect with fellow Huskies
Don't miss out on alumni events and more

Related Posts

Recently Established Pichette Scholarship Names First Neag School Student Recipient

Recently Established Pichette Scholarship Names First Neag School Student Recipient

Read More
Students and Donors Celebrate the Impact of Scholarships

Students and Donors Celebrate the Impact of Scholarships

Read More
How One Act of Generosity Can Change a Life

How One Act of Generosity Can Change a Life

Read More

RELEASE: Hall H.S. Valedictorian Stars in Conn. Scholarship Campaign

Avatar photo
Jennifer Doak-Mathewson

2 min read

WNPR spots part of effort to double amount raised for scholarships over next 5 years

Jan. 20—The co-valedictorian of Hall high School’s 2013 class is about to gain statewide recognition as part of the UConn Foundation’s efforts to raise $150 million over the next five years for scholarships and fellowships. Ashwini Joshi, a sophomore studying biomedical engineering at UConn, will be featured on WNPR radio spots beginning Feb. 2. The reoccurring segments will run for a six-week period and describe how scholarships have helped to transform Ms. Joshi’s life.

“I was surprised and thrilled that I was selected for this important cause,” said Joshi. “Scholarships have helped me to afford a college education and I hope that by telling people about their importance, I will inspire others to donate to students like myself.”

After graduating from Hall, Joshi was awarded the Stamps Leadership Scholarship, entitling her to full scholarship support to attend UConn, as well as funding for enrichment activities, including summer research projects, national conferences, international travel and study. The funding enabled Joshi to study in France and pursue volunteer and research opportunities at UConn, as opposed to searching for work.

Over the past five years, the UConn Foundation has raised an average of $15.6 million annually for student support—including scholarships like the kind Joshi earned. In total the University offers aid to more than 10,000 students each year year. The new initiative calls for the Foundation to increase the amount raised for scholarships, fellowships and assistantships to $30 million annually.

“The Foundation’s initiative will not only help UConn attract and retain students like Ms. Joshi, but also combat student debt levels after graduation,” said Josh Newton, President of the UConn Foundation. “Right now 83-percent of UConn undergraduates receive some form of financial aid. Scholarships truly are transforming lives.”

The average student loan debt at UConn for 2013 graduates was $24,600 – nearly 20 percent lower than the national average ($30,000) for students at private and public institutions.

“Being able to graduate from UConn without incurring a lot of debt is a dream come true and will help me pursue my career goal of becoming a doctor,” said Ms. Joshi.

Coleman B. Levy, a West Hartford resident, is Chairman of the Board of the UConn Foundation. “Our mission at the Foundation is to ensure that UConn not only remains competitive with other nationally ranked universities, but that we are a leader in terms of affordability and accessibility. The marketing campaign will play an important role in raising awareness and motivating people to give.”

The Foundation’s student support initiative comes at a time when UConn has risen dramatically in stature. It currently ranks No. 19 on the U.S. News & World Report list of the nation’s top public research universities. Investment in facilities and faculty has played a key role in UConn’s ascent, enabling the University to attract greater numbers of high-caliber students. In recent years, each incoming freshman class has exceeded the previous one in academic accomplishment. This year’s freshman class has an average SAT score of 1234, the highest in UConn history.

Last year the UConn Foundation received philanthropic gifts and commitments totaling $81.1 million, a 23 percent increase over the preceding year and the highest level of giving in the 50-year history of the UConn Foundation.

 

Jonathan at an event in Hartford CT
Connect with fellow Huskies
Don't miss out on alumni events and more

Related Posts

Co-Valedictorian Chooses UConn Thanks to Scholarship

Co-Valedictorian Chooses UConn Thanks to Scholarship

Read More
Recently Established Pichette Scholarship Names First Neag School Student Recipient

Recently Established Pichette Scholarship Names First Neag School Student Recipient

Read More
$4 million scholarship gives students path from Bridgeport to UConn

$4 million scholarship gives students path from Bridgeport to UConn

Read More

A Parental Tribute Supports Future Students

Avatar photo
Jennifer Doak-Mathewson

2 min read

David Samuels '83
David Samuels ’83.

Beverly and Harold Samuels worked hard to support their children, David and Nancy. To supplement his position as a banking executive, Harold had his own business preparing income tax returns for more than 200 clients each tax season. Both were dedicated civic leaders, serving on the boards of several Hartford-area community organizations. Their children learned at a very young age that it was essential to give back to the community.

To honor his parents’ memory, David Samuels has established the Beverly and Harold Samuels Scholarship Fund at the UConn School of Business. “I hope to enable even one more student to complete his or her degree at UConn,” he said.

David was the first in his family to graduate from a four-year college when he obtained his bachelor’s degree from UConn in 1983. “Attending the University of Connecticut enriched my life immeasurably,” he said. David was an active member of business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, graduated magna cum laude, and went on to obtain his M.B.A. from The George Washington University. He began his career with KPMG and has worked in both the real estate and technology industries. David is currently the CFO for a Maryland-based health care IT company.

David has taken his parents’ example to heart in other ways, too, serving as chairman for the Charles E. Smith Life Communities, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit eldercare service providers, and holding fundraising roles for the D.C. chapter of the National Kidney Foundation, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, and several other organizations.

While he has found much success in the D.C. area, David has not forgotten his roots. “College was an expensive endeavor for my parents,” he said, recalling how hard his father worked to support part of his children’s education. “Thirty years later, it is almost impossible for students in the financial situation I was in to fund his or her own college education,” he said. “That’s why I wanted to establish this scholarship.”

David’s commitment to philanthropy is affirmed with a bequest intention, which will take the form of a life insurance policy that will add to the fund after his passing. If you’d like to follow David’s example, take a look at our planned giving section.

Learn More About Planned Giving

Jonathan at an event in Hartford CT
Connect with fellow Huskies
Don't miss out on alumni events and more

Related Posts

At-risk high schoolers learning personal finance basics at UConn

At-risk high schoolers learning personal finance basics at UConn

Read More
UConn Students Show Middle Schoolers How Fun Engineering Is at Science Center

UConn Students Show Middle Schoolers How Fun Engineering Is at Science Center

Read More
Mental Health Q and A

Mental Health Q and A

Read More

RELEASE: UConn Foundation Board Endorses $150 Million for Scholarships

Avatar photo
Jennifer Doak-Mathewson

2 min read

Five-year plan will double money Foundation raises for scholarships and fellowships, ensure UConn attracts best and brightest

STORRS—On Nov. 7, the Board of Directors of the UConn Foundation endorsed a five-year, $150 million fundraising initiative that will double the amount of financial support—including merit and need-based scholarships—that the Foundation raises for the benefit of the UConn student body.

Over the past five years, the Foundation has raised an average of $15.6 million annually for student support—including scholarships, fellowships and assistantships—helping the University’s efforts to offer aid to more than 10,000 students each year.

The new initiative calls for the Foundation to increase that number to $30 million annually.

“A university’s success is measured by the students it attracts and educates, which today means that growing our financial aid capabilities is more important than ever,” said UConn President Susan Herbst. “This initiative by the Foundation’s Board of Directors will help ensure UConn’s status as a destination for the types of talented, ambitious students who are the heart of a great university.”

This ambitious undertaking comes at a pivotal time for UConn, as the number of students applying to the University is approaching 32,200—triple the number of applications in 1995.

UConn is also adding 6,580 students over the course of a decade, an increase of almost 30 percent. Much of the expected increase in enrollment is connected to Next Generation Connecticut, a $1.5 billion state-supported plan to strengthen UConn with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math.

“As UConn adds 30 percent more students over the next decade, the need for scholarship and fellowship support will grow considerably,” said Josh Newton, president of the UConn Foundation. “The UConn Foundation’s $150 million initiative will bring a UConn education within reach of more families and strengthen the University’s standing among top public institutions.”

The Foundation’s initiative will not only help UConn attract and retain students, but also combat student debt levels after graduation. Currently 83 percent of UConn undergraduates receive some form of financial aid. While the average student loan debt at UConn for 2013 graduates was $24,600, that is nearly 20 percent lower than the national average ($30,000) for students at private and public institutions.

“UConn is a great value and we’re proud that on average its students are graduating with less debt than their peers at other schools,” said Coleman Levy, Chairman of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. “We must ensure that UConn not only remains competitive with other nationally ranked universities, but that we are a leader in terms of affordability and accessibility.”

The Foundation’s student support initiative comes at a time when UConn has risen dramatically in stature. It currently ranks No. 19 on the U.S. News & World Report list of the nation’s top public research universities.
Investment in facilities and faculty has played a key role in UConn’s ascent, enabling the University to attract greater numbers of high-caliber students. In recent years, each incoming freshman class has exceeded the previous one in academic accomplishment. This year’s freshman class has an average SAT score of 1234, the highest in UConn history.

The student support initiative, which was unanimously endorsed by the Foundation’s Board of Directors at a full board meeting on Friday, Nov. 7, will be officially launched early next year. Last year the UConn Foundation received philanthropic gifts and commitments totaling $81.1 million, a 23 percent increase over the preceding year and the highest level of giving in the 50-year history of the UConn Foundation.

-END-

Jonathan at an event in Hartford CT
Connect with fellow Huskies
Don't miss out on alumni events and more

Related Posts

UConn Foundation Welcomes Nine New Members

UConn Foundation Welcomes Nine New Members

Read More
UConn Foundation Reaches Donation Milestone

UConn Foundation Reaches Donation Milestone

Read More
UConn Foundation Raises $78 Million in FY 2015, Surpasses Goal

UConn Foundation Raises $78 Million in FY 2015, Surpasses Goal

Read More

Holster Scholarship Supports Honors Research, Independent Study

Avatar photo
Jennifer Doak-Mathewson

3 min read

Early in the academic year, Robert Holster ’68, travels from his Florida home to UConn to listen to some students talk about their summer vacations.

The students, all enrolled in UConn’s prestigious Honors Program, spent their summer working on a self-designed research project made possible by the Holster Scholars First Year Project. The endowed fund was established by Holster and his wife, Carlotta,’68, in 2010 to support independent study projects by a few motivated Honors Program students in the summer following their freshman year. Accepted students receive a stipend, individualized mentoring and guidance from faculty and staff, and experience designing, implementing and presenting creative work.

“I am delighted by the way the program is working,” says Holster, who was a member of the inaugural Honors Program cohort and went on to a long business and financial management career with large public and private companies involved in the health care industry. “The students keep getting better and better,” he added. “Every year, I learn about serious work through clear and successful presentations, and that’s important. Great ideas don’t add up to much if you can’t figure out how to present them effectively.”

“One of the original goals for the program, which I think has been nicely met, is to provide students with an opportunity for research at the very beginning of their academic career. It gets them engaged right away and they get more out of college,” says Holster.

“I feel that the success of the Holster Scholars program to date—and it has unquestionably exceeded my expectations in terms of the quality of the students and their work—is attributable more than anything else to the effort of Jill Deans, the director UConn’s Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships, and to the faculty and student mentors who coach the Scholars. Jill has been the one constant since the inception of the program four years ago and a key reason for the growth of the program and the accomplishments of the students,” says Holster.

Prospective Holster scholars must complete a highly selective application process in the fall of their freshman year, submitting a thorough project proposal that they fine-tune during their spring semester. Generally, six students are selected for the program but the latest group of Holster Scholars totals nine.

“The Holster scholars come alive with this opportunity to delve deeply into a field they are passionate about,” says Jennifer Lease Butts, assistant vice provost for enrichment programs and director of the Honors Program.

“I felt fortunate to be a member of the Honors Program,” says Holster. “I think it made a great difference to be part of a small group that had the benefit of experienced and engaged faculty members.”

Nine Holster Scholars gave presentations on projects ranging from implementation of voter identification laws and the role of mental health services in public high schools to the centipedes of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park and the role of the cytoskeleton in neurodegenerative diseases.

“Few schools provide freshmen the opportunity to do independent research right off the bat,” says John Ovian, who researched oxoammonium salts and their uses in green chemistry. “Thanks to Mr. Holster, I was able to perform research on something I was truly interested in, while gaining crucial laboratory experience that will benefit me throughout my undergraduate years and when I go to graduate school. This opportunity has enhanced my candidacy for other prestigious scholarships.”

Patrick Adams, who researched the economic model known as two sided-matching, says he learned “academic research is not a competition. It’s a collaborative effort, and the most effective way to gain insights into a new problem is often to build off of what others have done before you.”

Learn more about the Holster Scholars First Year Project.

Jonathan at an event in Hartford CT
Connect with fellow Huskies
Don't miss out on alumni events and more

Related Posts

From Forest Labs to Rare Diseases

From Forest Labs to Rare Diseases

Read More
A Love Story, With Honors

A Love Story, With Honors

Read More
Recently Established Pichette Scholarship Names First Neag School Student Recipient

Recently Established Pichette Scholarship Names First Neag School Student Recipient

Read More