Barney School of Business, University of Hartford, West Hartford Connecticut

History of the University of Hartford

The University of Hartford is an independent, comprehensive institution of higher learning offering educational and career programs in 86 undergraduate majors and 57 graduate programs of study in its nine schools and colleges. It emphasizes quality teaching complemented by scholarly and creative expression and dedicated community service.
The University of Hartford was chartered in 1957, although the first of its original schools was founded in 1877. It currently enrolls nearly 7,000 graduate and undergraduate students, representing 47 states and 66 foreign countries. The student-to-faculty ratio is 13-to-1, with educational experiences taking place in small, supportive classroom environments. The University's faculty, 78 percent of whom hold the top degrees in their fields, enjoy world-renowned academic reputations and take a personal interest in helping students reach their goals.
The University of Hartford is located on a spacious and scenic 320-acre wooded main campus in suburban West Hartford, just minutes away from the city of Hartford. The campus includes housing for 3,200 students, a modern sports and recreation complex, an art gallery, a performing arts center, conference facilities, and a museum that holds one of the nation's top collections of political memorabilia. With an auxiliary campus at Hartford College for Women, the University of Hartford has extended its reach and renewed its emphasis on helping students, businesses, and the community meet the needs of the 21st century.

Planning for the Future

Under the leadership of current president Harrison, the University has seen a resurgence of energy, vitality, and enthusiasm. Harrison has brought a firm commitment to improving the University's distinctive role in higher education and its long-time relationship with the Greater Hartford community. He has overseen a strengthening of the University's financial base and a dramatic increase in its enrollment. The University is now larger and more selective than at any time in its history.

Harrison led the effort to fund and build the University of Hartford Magnet School, a pre-kindergarten to fifth grade public school serving children from seven communities in the Hartford region. The school, which features Howard Gardner's theories of multiple intelligences, opened in September 2001. It is now the most popular and successful magnet school in the Greater Hartford area.

The University recently acquired a former automobile dealership for an expansion of The Hartt School, the University's well-known conservatory of music, dance, and theatre. The opening years of the new century also saw a renewal of the University's physical plant, including a new energy system; the renovation of the former power plant into a new classroom and office building; a major redesign of the roadways on campus; and an expansion of the parking lots.

In the planning stages are:
New athletic fields, State of the art integrated science, engineering and technology complex (ISET), Magnet High School focusing on science and engineering