University Community Celebrates Founders Day

Kacie Cressey ’18, ’20 M.S., a cellular and molecular biology student, says being part of the class that will graduate during the University of New Haven’s Centennial year in 2020 is "truly awesome." A member of the Student Centennial Committee, Cressey is an active part of the team planning events that commemorate the milestone and engage the campus community.

"It is important to celebrate the Centennial because we, as a community, have achieved so much in the last 100 years, and every student has contributed to the University’s success," said Cressey, who is a member of the Graduate Student Council and will serve as its president in 2020. "It is a time to recognize for how far we have come since 1920, but it also is a celebration of what is yet to come, and all of that is worth celebrating."

The Centennial was on the minds of students at Founder’s Day, the annual celebration of the University’s founding with games, food trucks, and fun. Members of the University’s Class of 2020 aren’t the only students who are looking forward to it.

"It’s very exciting that I get to be a student at the University of New Haven at the time of the Centennial," said Aalyssa Mercing ’22, a criminal justice major. "I am looking forward to being a part of the celebration of the University’s achievements."

That excitement extends beyond the University’s main campus. In advance of the milestone anniversary, the University is hosting a series of regional celebrations. The first event was held at the Museum of Science in Boston in late April, and the next event will take place in New York City on May 18. The Centennial is an opportunity for the entire community to reflect on the past and to celebrate the University’s future.

"The University’s success reflects just how much has gone into supporting academics and into supporting students.Lily Salmeron ’22

"I see a university that will do for higher education what Steve Jobs and Elon Musk have done to their sectors of the economy by turning it on its head," University of New Haven President Steve Kaplan said at the event in Boston. "In doing so, the University of New Haven will impact over its next hundred years not just the economy of the region, but that of our nation and the world."

At Founders Day, the floral centerpieces with "1920" cutouts were a nod to the past, and a reminder of the impact that the University will continue to have in its next century.

"This milestone shows how much we, as a University, have progressed over the past century," said Lily Salmeron ’22, a forensic science major. "The University’s success reflects just how much has gone into supporting academics and into supporting students."