University of Hartford - History

History

The University of Hartford was chartered through the joining of the Hartford Art School, Hillyer College, and The Hartt School in 1957. Prior to the charter, the University of Hartford does not exist as an independent entity rather in the chronicles of Hillyer College, The Hartford Art School, and The Hartt School.

The Hartford Art School, which commenced operation in 1877, was founded by a group of women in Hartford, including Mark Twain's wife, Olivia Langdon Clemens, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, as the Hartford Society for Decorative Art. Its original location was at the Wadsworth Atheneum, the first public art museum in the United States. It is still associated with the museum today.

Hillyer College, which was named for the U.S. Civil War General Charles Hillyer, was created as a part of the Hartford YMCA in 1879. Originally, it provided instruction in automotive technology at a time when Hartford was a center for the infant automobile industry. In 1947, it was formally separated from the YMCA and the educational home to large numbers of World War II veterans who were afforded an education under the G.I. Bill. Since the 1957 merger of the three schools Hillyer College, is the major contributor to the body of the university, from the original Hillyer College, came the College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions, Barney School of Business, College of Engineering, Technology and Architecture, College of Arts and Sciences and the contemporary Hillyer College, formerly known as The college of Basic Studies

The Hartt School, which was founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and Moshe Paranov, is among the most recognized schools for music, dance, and theatre in the United States. The Miami String Quartet recently concluded a six-year teaching and performing residency at Hartt.

Athletically, the University of Hartford's "Hartford Hawks" play in the America East Conference. In 1984, the University elevated its athletics program to Division I status, the highest level of intercollegiate competition.

Since 1988, the University has been a lead institution for the Connecticut Space Grant College Consortium.

In the 1990s, pledging its commitment to women's education, the University bought the financially struggling Hartford College for Women (HCW). Since the University itself was in a difficult financial position, several years later HCW was closed.

Although a private institution, the University hosts two magnet schools that serve students from Hartford and its surrounding suburbs: University of Hartford Magnet School and University High School of Science and Engineering (serving grades 9-12).

In the last decade, the University completed several ambitious building projects, including a new residence hall, Hawk Hall; the $34 million Integrated Science, Engineering, and Technology (ISET) complex; the Renée Samuels Center; the Mort and Irma Handel Performing Arts Center; and a new University High School building.

In the summer of 2008, the bridge over the Park River, connecting the academic and residential sides of campus, was rebuilt.