We sat down with UConn Football Coach Randy Edsall and asked him questions submitted by UConn Nation.

Finally Complete, Storrs Center gives Alums and Parents a Vibrant College Town

UConn alumni who haven’t been to Storrs for a few years won’t believe their eyes when they see the new college town that has sprung up next to campus.

A small cityscape of four- and five-story apartment buildings anchored by retail stores and restaurants stands along Route 195 where lonely stores and rundown strip malls used to be.

Ice Monster, offering thin sheets of Thai ice cream rolled up like an eggroll, and Grille 86, a restaurant with 40 flat-screen TVs, filled the last two vacancies in the development this spring. A total of 81 shops and services, ranging from Insomnia Cookies (for midnight warm cookie cravings) and cafes to an Amazon pickup center and boutiques, fill the vibrant downtown area.

Returning alums and parents will find an array of restaurants to choose from, including pizza, frozen yogurt, sushi, Indian, and Korean choices.

“Our alumni simply cannot believe that there are stores, restaurants, and shopping available in Storrs!” said Montique Cotton Kelly, the UConn Foundation’s vice president for alumni relations. “As the town continues to evolve, we want to make sure that we continue to invite our alumni back to take part in helping to make this area a true destination.”

Nestled in the center is a town square with an outdoor stage and a smattering of red tables and chairs. On summer evenings, it is host to concerts and family-friendly movie nights. Locals and students come to a Celebrate Mansfield Festival in September, and the Storrs Stroll is now part of Huskies Forever Weekend every October.

“Before, if you were a student, there was really nothing going on beyond classrooms and sporting events,” said Philip Lodewick ’66 (BUS), ’67 MBA, ’14 H, who chaired the Mansfield Downtown Partnership that developed and helps manage the project. “We wanted to provide a sense of place, a destination where people would come and loiter.”

“Alumni reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. They love it. The main thing I hear is ‘Why wasn’t this here when I was here?’ ” said Cynthia van Zelm, executive director of the Mansfield Downtown Partnership.

The $220 million project, which is reminiscent of Blue Back Square in West Hartford, greatly expands Mansfield’s rental market. All of Storrs Center’s 618 apartments are all fully leased, mostly by students who enjoy the granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and rooftop terraces. Also, the project has 32 town homes and 10 condos, all but one of which is sold.

The compact development also includes a parking garage with free parking for the first two hours, encouraging folks to visit and wander. A new Price Chopper supermarket anchors one end of the project.

While talk of having a real college town in Storrs has been going on for decades, planning for Storrs Center actually began in earnest in 2002. Construction began five years ago and finished in November 2016. The Mansfield Downtown Partnership, a public-private partnership, developed and assists with managing the Center.

“The Storrs Center project to me is probably the most important project done at the University for decades,” Lodewick said. “It really allows the University and community to come together. The number one reason a lot of top students and faculty were not coming to the University before was that there was really nothing going on at the University. Now there is a walkable, viable, vibrant downtown. I think the project has had an immense impact on the University and the community.”

Learn more about Storrs Center on their website.

Parents and family are invited to return to campus Oct. 6-8 for a fun-filled Family Weekend featuring an exciting football game, a performance by comedian Billy Gardell, who played the character Mike in the CBS sitcom “Mike and Molly,” and the annual Legacy Breakfast.

The weekend will kick off at 7 p.m. Friday night with a football game at Rentschler Field in East Hartford as the UConn Huskies take on the Memphis Tigers.

Festivities continue Saturday morning with a breakfast for alums who have a child, grandchild, or sibling currently attending UConn. Share memories and participate in a special pinning ceremony at the buffet-style Legacy Breakfast at the Alumni Center from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Current students and children under 10 are free. Find ticket information here. Legacy families are encouraged to wear their favorite UConn garb for the breakfast.

On Saturday night, Gardell will perform his comedy act at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts at 8 p.m.

Learn more about Family Weekend and join us.

As we gear up for a new academic year, we want to know: What was your favorite class at UConn and why?

Lisa DenBleyker ’90 (CLAS)

It was senior year, and I was an English major. I will never forget my Chaucer class with David Benson. The class was actually held in a science lab. He took our pictures to help remember our names. One day at the end of the term, we went out in the quad area in front of the science building and played softball. He also made us memorize a passage from a Chaucer piece and recite it to him in his office. He taught us how to read Middle English. The following year, when I went on to graduate school and took another Chaucer class, I read Chaucer aloud better than my graduate professor!

Chrissy Wakefield ’13 ENG, ’16 MS

Microcontrollers! I was an engineering major, and my core courses were taken care of but I needed an elective to be a full-time student my last semester. So my friend and I took Microcontrollers, which was basically just a lab. We learned to program a microcontroller and hook it up to a power source to actually do things! For our final, we had to do a project in teams of two. We opted to make a Whack a Mole game with these large, red buttons in a foam poster board. It was awesome!

Next Question

Freshmen will be arriving on campus in two weeks. What’s the one thing that should be on every incoming Husky’s bucket list?

With summer vacations starting to wind down, it’s time to start looking ahead. Here are some key dates for the fall semester and links to the academic calendar, residential life, and more to help you get ready.

Aug. 25, 2017 – First Year students move-in
Aug. 25-28, 2017 – Husky Wow (Week of Welcome)
Aug. 28, 2017 – First day of classes
Oct. 6-8, 2017 – Family Weekend & Legacy Breakfast
Oct. 20-22, 2017 – Huskies Forever Weekend
Nov. 19-25, 2017 – Thanksgiving break
Dec. 11, 2017 – Winter recess housing application deadline
Dec. 11-17, 2017 – Final exams
Dec. 18, 2017 – Halls close at noon for winter recess
Jan. 16, 2018 – Spring semester begins

Helpful Links

• Residential Life
• Student and Family Resources
• Division of Student Affairs
• UConn Foundation
• UConn Parents Fund

How does someone prepare for a career that can include a morning meeting with a foreign minister, followed by an afternoon investigation inside a cave full of bats?

The Career. The Preparation

For Paige Armstrong ’11 (MED), her degree from UConn School of Medicine launched a career in public health that would take her across the globe to identify and stop deadly diseases.

Armstrong found her interest in public health early on, discovering a passion for science in grade school and finding a role model in her father, an emergency medical technician. “Caring for people has always been in my life,” she said.

Her father’s work, as well as a service trip she took as a teenager with Amigos de las Américas working to build latrines and stoves in Guanajuato, Mexico, led her to think about public health and the course her life could take. “When I returned from Mexico, I had my sights set on medicine,” said Armstrong.

She says UConn was a critical part of her plans to become a public health officer specializing in deadly fungal diseases. Before entering UConn School of Medicine, Armstrong earned a Master of Health Sciences (M.H.S.) degree, as well as a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University. “I wanted to make sure I got that foundation in public health and understood what kind of projects I should work on during my time in medical school and my residency at George Washington University,” said Armstrong.

“I have to give UConn School of Medicine a lot of credit for the way they structure their medical education,” she said. “It was a rigorous, intense four years of my life, but UConn was always supportive of developing and trying new things.” For example, Armstrong and some classmates sought and earned the support of the Dean to create a medical Spanish interest group.

Because of the strong interest in this group, the Dean also approved their request to create an elective focused on the communications needs and cultural considerations of Spanish-speaking populations. “We actually taught that elective and brought in guest lecturers,” said Armstrong. “This openness and willingness to let us take an idea and run with it allowed me to continue fostering my interests in public health. It gave me experiences I continue to use.”

Disease Investigation

Today, Armstrong applies her education and experiences in emergency medicine and public health to her role as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer in the Mycotic Diseases Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In her role, she investigates and analyzes outbreaks fungal diseases including Histoplasmosis, Coccidioidomycosis, Aspergillosis, Mucormycosis, Scedosporiosis in collaboration with international and domestic colleagues and government officials.

In recent years, Armstrong assisted in the Emergency Operations Center at the CDC on the Zika response, and worked alongside the Ministries of Health in El Salvador and Nicaragua to evaluate their national surveillance systems.

She also led two outbreak investigations, one of which focused on the outbreak of Histoplasmosis in tunnel workers in the Dominican Republic. The outbreak response focused on providing diagnostic support to confirm the diagnosis of Histoplasmosis and investigating and providing additional occupational and environmental recommendations.

A team of 35 men had the unenviable job of cleaning out bat guano from tunnels that allow access to a hydroelectric dam. Many of these men developed the respiratory form of the disease. Histoplasma capsulatum spores exist in bat guano, and when inhaled, can cause this respiratory disease that results in sickness and, in some cases, death. (In this case, 27 of the 30 men who became ill survived.)

The second investigation Armstrong led focused on Candida auris, a multi-drug resistant yeast, in Colombia. Armstrong co-authored the results of this research on this fungus that acts like a superbug bacteria and is difficult to identify.

While there are inherent challenges and potential risks in a field investigation, the CDC provides comprehensive resources. “We have amazing support systems that provide everything we need, from radios for our use in remote areas to mosquito repellant.”

When they arrive in a country, their teams are also supported locally by a ministry or hospital that devotes a group of staff to support their efforts. “We sit down with leadership to understand the significance of the event that’s occurring in the community,” says Armstrong. “You appreciate the gravity of the situation and want to make sure you are taking the steps necessary to identify the concern, address it, and relay the appropriate recommendations to the leadership to ensure they are implemented.”

The local staff and government officials are supportive and critical to their success. “Every interaction with them is constructive,” said Armstrong. “Our work wouldn’t be possible without them.”

It’s also true that this work would not be possible without those, like Armstrong, who possess the combined passions of medicine and public health. “Sometime during my residency, I realized that when I was able to work in a position that combined my UConn medical education with my passion for public health, I could a make a large-scale difference and affect the lives of a lot of people.”

Give to the School of Medicine Scholarship Fund

When she was in high school, Carolina Giraldo ’95 DMD would drag race boys in her lime-green VW Rabbit after school at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Conn.

“I was a sight to see. You barely could see my head. But I would win. That is the car that inspired me, if you could believe it. I knew if I could win in that thing, I had some kind of talent.”

Dr. Giraldo, who is all of 4-foot-10, is all about perseverance. Born in Bogota, Colombia and raised in Bridgeport, she put herself through college and UConn School of Dentistry.

She opened her own dental practice 21 years ago and now wants to help other students like her. So she recently started a scholarship with an initial gift of $10,000 to the UConn dental school for students from underrepresented groups.

“I want the minority population to grow in the field,” she said. “I want a bigger presence of women, of minorities, to get into the field and make a difference.”

Dr. Giraldo wants to give back to help make the path easier than hers was. She and her older sister, Diana, had to grow up quickly. While their parents each worked three jobs, the sisters practically ran the home front and raised their youngest brother, Randy. Dr. Giraldo remembers cooking dinner for the first time when she was only seven.

“We cooked, we ironed, we cleaned. We pretty much raised ourselves,” she said.

She always knew that if she wanted to have an education past high school, she’d have to do it on her own. So she juggled work and books and put herself through college—then dental school.

Scholarships like the one Dr. Giraldo is giving really make a difference in the lives of dental students, said Sarita Arteaga ’99 DMD, MA, MAGD, the school’s associate dean.

“It’s not just help with tuition,” she said. “I get comments back that it also helps them with the little things so they don’t have to take out another loan. It also helps them to know that someone is investing in them. They say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe somebody was in this position and not only wants to give back to the school, but wants to do the same thing for me’.”

Dr. Giraldo’s dental practice, All Smiles, in Norwalk, is like her, vibrant and welcoming. She designed the industrial-chic medical suite herself and decorated it with original artwork.

She remembers first becoming interested in dentistry as a child when she would watch customers visiting her father’s deli in Yonkers, N.Y.

“I would always look at people’s teeth. I don’t know why,” she said. “Whenever they spoke, I would see how their teeth met and I would try to figure it out—this tooth doesn’t belong there, I’d move it over this way. It was really like art mixed with medicine, so it was perfect. I love the art aspect of it. I still get to move teeth and design a smile just like I did behind the counter.”

These days, she lives in Redding, Conn., with her children, Enzo, 17, and Savannah, 16, her fiancé, Hernan, and his son, Alejandro, 18.

And she still likes driving fast. She even tried her hand at hand at Indy-style racing at the Mario Andretti Racing School in Las Vegas, Nev. recently. Her short stature made it challenging and a bit painful.

“I couldn’t reach the pedal. It was pitiful. They put seven cushions around me,” she said, chuckling.

The g-forces slammed her head up against the side of the car and made it difficult to move. Even so, she pushed through and made it up to 149 miles per hour.

Dr. Giraldo’s scholarship supports the UConn Foundation’s ongoing Transform Lives initiative to raise $150 million for student scholarships. You can support future dentists with a gift to the UConn School of Dentistry or contribute directly to Dr. Giraldo’s scholarship for underserved dental students.

The three-tiered generosity of Trustee and alum Rick Carbray

Rick Carbray ’75 (PHARM) sums up his University experience simply: It’s as if he never left. Shortly after graduation, Carbray became a member of the former UConn Alumni Association, serving as its president from 2004 to 2006, and is now in his second four-year term as a Board of Trustees member.

“I’ve always been involved with volunteering,” he said. “There are a lot of ways you can give back to the University, and certainly giving of one’s time and talent are important. But in light of what’s happening overall with state institutions seeing decreases in operating budgets, which we as Trustees see every year, more has to be made up through philanthropy.”

It’s this perspective that guides his generosity.

“I’ve been an athletics donor for years, so it was a tug of war with me: Should I give to athletics in scholarship, or should I give to pharmacy?” Carbray explained. “But I realized that my first priority should be establishing a pharmacy scholarship. That’s my profession and how somebody helped me get started.”

That somebody was Curtis Gladding, whose named scholarship covered one-third of Carbray’s educational costs during his five years at UConn. Carbray was never able to thank his donor—Gladding, who had served as the president of the State Pharmacists Association in 1896, passed away many years before Carbray arrived at UConn. Carbray is hoping to have a connection with pharmacy students who will benefit from his $150,000 gift to create the Richard T. Carbray Jr. Pharmacy Scholarship.

“I thought this was a great way to make the commitment to a couple of students every year, and then I can watch them progress through their professional career, see them every year, and hopefully mentor them along the way,” he said.

UConn’s School of Pharmacy, considered one of the top choices for pharmacy education in the U.S., is a six-year program and costs can add up. In fact, tuition can double for students to offset additional costs associated with laboratory and rotation experiences in their final two years. This makes Carbray’s gift even more significant.

“Rick has been the most enthusiastic, energetic, and loyal supporter of the School of Pharmacy that a dean could possibly hope for,” said Dean James Halpert, Ph.D., UConn School of Pharmacy. “As a newcomer to Connecticut, I especially appreciated how Rick welcomed me and introduced me to other alumni and friends of the school.  His advice on so many occasions has been invaluable. His and [his wife] Pat’s generous and recent gift will make a tremendous impact on pharmacy students today and in the future.”

Carbray hopes others will follow his lead.

“If you’ve been fortunate enough to come to UConn’s School of Pharmacy and have had a successful career, what better time than now to have another pharmacy student share that experience,” he said.

Carbray has fond memories of his UConn days, so it’s been exciting for him to witness the progression and growth of the University.

“When I come back, especially now, I’m so impressed by the campus itself,” he said. “I remember going to school here and the pharmacy building was older with less modernization. Today, you see this beautiful $85 million Pharmacy School and how it just transforms this University. This instills a lot of the pride in the fact that UConn is moving forward and that the state has been supportive of its flagship University.”

The former owner of Apex Pharmacy and Home Care Center in Hamden, Conn., Carbray credits his UConn education for his successful 40-year career. But he adds that he couldn’t have done it without his family’s support.

“I really have to thank my family—my wife Pat and my three children, Matthew, Amy, and Brendan—for all the time I was not around those evenings when I was out volunteering or spending time in my profession,” Carbray said. “Without their support, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Support future pharmacy students

Donors Peter ’55 (BUS) and Re’ Telep are committed to supporting UConn Stamford students today – and in the future.

In 2009, the couple established the Telep Family Scholarship to support UConn Stamford students. Recently, the two decided to ensure the scholarship’s longevity by creating an endowed scholarship through their estate plans. For the Teleps, this scholarship is an opportunity to give back and help others move ahead in the world.

“We’re just big believers in education,” said Re’ Telep. “If you’re going to put your money anywhere in this country, it should be toward improving people’s lives so they can improve the country.”

Peter Telep has strong ties to UConn. He entered the University in the second semester of 1952, graduating in three and a half years from the School of Business. Calling his time at UConn “absolutely wonderful,” Peter was drafted into the U.S. Army upon graduation, and after two years of service he began his career in New York in the business and advertising sectors. He met his wife Re’ on a business flight, where Re’ worked as a TWA air hostess, and the couple eventually moved to Stamford and raised two sons.

For years, the Teleps stayed connected with UConn through their giving and by attending alumni events. Then, the couple met with UConn Stamford officials to discuss ways of giving closer to home.

“We always were charity-minded and we decided to look at our giving,” said Peter. “In reappraising everything, we decided that we wanted to increase our giving but give it locally, where we knew that the money was going to go directly to the recipient.”

The Telep Family Scholarship was created soon after. Each year, the scholarship is awarded to two or three full-time undergraduate students enrolled at UConn Stamford.

“That satisfied our reason for giving,” said Peter. “We want to see this place succeed because I think it’s good for the University and it’s good for the city of Stamford.”

The Teleps also felt it was important to support the diversity on campus. In 2015-16, minority students made up 44 percent of UConn Stamford’s student population.

“Peter is first generation in this country, and his parents from Eastern Europe really stressed education,” said Re’. “It was always, ‘Get an education – you’ll do better than we did.'”

Since its creation, the Telep Family Scholarship has had a significant impact on its recipients, including Alena Yaseva ’16 (CLAS). Alena graduated in May with a double major in Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies. She credits the scholarship for substantially contributing toward her tuition and allowing her to finish her degree on time.

“The Telep Family Scholarship had a tremendous impact on my life,” said Alena. “It gave me an opportunity to finish my undergraduate degree, enroll in graduate school to finish my career goals, and attend great courses throughout my senior year at UConn.”

Alena is just one of the many students that the Teleps have touched with their giving. Now, with their decision to create an endowed scholarship, the Teleps will help students in the Stamford area in perpetuity.

“Basically, [we wanted] to continue our yearly scholarship here,” said Peter. “I think without an education, your prospects in the future are dim. If you’re able to give back and help someone else, it’s a very good feeling.”

In fact, the Teleps consider it a privilege to give – and they hope that others will consider giving as well.

“Once you get involved in the process, it’s a very gratifying feeling,” said Peter. “I think a lot of people think that it has to be a big number. It doesn’t have to be a big number. A lot of little numbers add up to a big number. Every little bit that you can contribute helps someone else move ahead in the world. Certainly, it’s brought us a feeling of joy to be able to help someone.”

As Alena pursues her master’s degree in social work this fall at Columbia University, she is extremely grateful for the Teleps’ generosity.

“Without your help, I wouldn’t have been able to finish my undergraduate degree or enroll at Columbia University,” said Alena of the Teleps. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”

A dental hygienist who took her patients’ advice to become a dentist and a brilliant UConn sophomore who has already invented a heart monitor battery charger will star in new radio spots on NPR to promote the UConn Foundation’s scholarship drive.

In her 60-second spot, Greenwich dentist Dr. Christine Tierney explains that she wants to help students who are the first in their family to get a professional degree. Environmental science major Bridget Oei talks about how her scholarship not only gave her financial aid, but the motivation to push herself.

The UConn Foundation has raised more than $56.5 million for scholarships and fellowships for UConn students since the Transform Lives scholarship initiative launched last year.

Tierney ’86 (DMD) grew up in a large family where the most advanced degree was an associate’s in dairy science. Tierney was earning her associate’s herself in dental hygiene and working after school as a dental assistant when her patients urged her to become a dentist. She had never really considered getting a professional degree, but decided to apply and got in to the UConn School of Dental Medicine.

Tierney, who has a successful dental practice in Greenwich, recently created a fellowship to help students who were the first in their families to attend professional school.

“It’s something I’m really proud of,” she said. “I really do think we have an obligation to give back, and UConn makes it easy to do and makes you feel really good about it.”
[Listen to Tierney’s NPR Segment]
In her NPR spot, Oei, a sophomore from Hebron, explains that scholarships have helped her to take charge of her academic path and motivated her to push herself.

Oei, who is on the pre-med track, has already done some innovative research at UConn. She has invented a paper-thin device that can charge the batteries in a heart monitor by using the wind from a person’s breathing. She won the Robert and Carlotta Holster Honors Scholarship and Stamps Scholarship, among others.

“The scholarships mean more than money. They’re not just subsidizing my education,” she said. “Meeting donors, you realize that there are people out there who actually believe in you personally and they’re willing to support you because of what they believe what you can do. That’s inspiring and extremely motivational for me and for so many other students who have received scholarships.”

Oei, who intends to become a dermatologist, is also a competitive Irish dancer, ballet dancer, violinist, and fiddler.
[Listen to Oei’s NPR Segment]
Transform a life by supporting scholarships at UConn

By Claire Hall

Alumnus Gordon Flynn ’56, an industrial engineer and research consultant who enjoyed collecting prints, paintings, clocks and unusual artifacts, has left his $1 million estate to the School of Business, the biggest bequest in the school’s history.

“I am really happy that I can help students get their education and get started on their careers,” Flynn told a writer for the UConn Foundation in 2012 in announcing his unrestricted, planned gift. He was motivated to give, in part, he said, because of the rising cost of higher education.

“I’m told that Mr. Flynn appreciated many of the finer things in life, such as art, culture and collectibles. But it strikes me that what he cherished even more was his UConn education and the ability to share that gift with our students,” said School of Business Dean John A. Elliott. “We are tremendously grateful for Mr. Flynn’s unrestricted gift to the School of Business, which will be earmarked for the School’s most imminent needs.”

Flynn graduated with a degree in marketing and started his career with the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. He later joined Safeway Inc., one of the nation’s largest food and drug retailers, which transferred him to San Francisco. He worked for the company for approximately 25 years. He was also a member of the Society of Senior Industrial Engineers of California.

Flynn joined the Catholic Alumni Club, and that’s where he met Jeanne McInnis, a nurse and educator, who would become his wife of 30 years. Together they enjoyed going to the theater, opera, museums and special cultural events, as well as dining in the San Francisco restaurants and touring wine country. They had many close friends, whom they loved to entertain in their Oakland, Calif., home with views of San Francisco Bay. Jeanne Flynn predeceased her husband in 2006.

Flynn, a native of New Haven, Conn., also loved gardening. Flynn died in 2013, but his estate gift just arrived at UConn. His obituary said he was a kind and compassionate man, who will be remembered for his Irish sense of humor.

This story was originally featured in the UConn School of Business newsletter