Public Safety is tracking a significant snowfall that will be arriving in our area late Sunday morning (Jan. 25). It will snow heavily throughout the day and evening eventually tapering off Monday (Jan. 26) with 10-14 inches expected statewide. A sleet and freezing rain mix is also possible along the shore. Temperatures will be in the teens and twenties.
Due to this significant winter storm and the extensive campus clean-up operations that will need to take place, all in-person day and evening classes scheduled for Monday, January 26, 2026 have been cancelled. All scheduled in-person classes will transition to being held online or remotely. Additional information on the virtual format for each class will be provided by your instructor.
Faculty have been asked to prepare for Online or Remote sessions in the event of in-person meeting cancellations. These options will be determined by the Faculty member and all questions should be directed to the Faculty teaching each course section. Faculty also have been asked to be very understanding and accommodating of the individual situations of their students who may have difficulty managing these alternative online or remote class meetings on short notice.
Please note that only essential employees, as previously determined by their respective department leaders, should report to campus. All other employees should fulfill the requirements of their role remotely.
Campus operations for residential students, unless otherwise noted, will operate as scheduled, though hours may be modified or changed based on the conditions. Separate messages will be sent from the Peterson Library, the Beckerman Recreation Center, and Dining Services regarding any changes to their normal hours of operation. The Bergami Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation will remain open for residential students to use for study space and to participate in online classes.
Off-campus students that live in the City of West Haven should abide by the city’s parking ban during inclement weather to avoid having their vehicle tagged and towed. Please check the City of West Haven’s website for further information on their snow parking ban.
The Charger Blog
When teaching remotely, Stephanie Gillespie, Ph.D., has learned how to create engaging, interactive, and hands-on experiences for students.
August 13, 2020
When the University of New Haven transitioned to remote learning during the spring semester amid the global coronavirus pandemic, Stephanie Gillespie, Ph.D. looked at is an opportunity to keep finding new ways to ensure that her students would continue to have meaningful classroom experiences online.
A lecturer in the University’s Tagliatela College of Engineering, Dr. Gillespie has experience teaching first-year engineering courses in an online-only setting. She became a student of teaching remotely, learning that although group projects and engineering design experience are possible, they require different frameworks and support for students. Applying what she learned in her virtual “classroom” this past semester, she focused on interaction and engagement rather than more traditional textbook reading and homework questions.
“My goal when transitioning to teaching online was to maintain our learning objectives and adapt the path we took to reach them,” she said. “Any interaction we can provide, be it discussion, interactive examples, or even application of the topics to the current health situation, made the topics more relatable and engaging for the students.”
Dr. Gillespie found many innovative ways to facilitate discussion and engagement online. For example, students responded to questions via an online text response, instead of verbally, and she used the breakout rooms in a video conferencing platform to hold discussions in small groups.
“I try not to change how I teach, as I want to stay active with an emphasis on class discussion and hands-on activities,” she said. “I try to focus on student knowledge growth over completion of various tasks.”
Endeavoring to provide most of the course materials online, she modified an in-person lab focused on the open source Arduino software and circuits hardware to create a virtual simulation using web resources that were free of charge. Her students were able to make a virtual circuit and code it, and they got the same results they would had they had done it in person.
"My goal when transitioning to teaching online was to maintain our learning objectives and adapt the path we took to reach them."Stephanie Gillespie, Ph.D.
Dr. Gillespie, who also recently hosted engineering workshops for local Girl Scouts online, surveyed her students to get a better idea of the materials they had at home. They still completed hands-on design activities, and she was mindful of what they had access to, allowing them to complete activities with the materials they had. She says that opened the doors to more opportunities for them to create, learn, and innovate.
“One student might have access to a cardboard box and cotton swabs, while another might have a cereal box and paper towels,” she said. “These variations in what students have access to actually allow for greater diversity in discussion after the activity is complete. The goal is for students to gain knowledge from the activity, not to just successfully complete the activity by following the directions we provide.”
University News
New University-wide council will advance strategic partnerships, immersive student opportunities, and innovative research, supporting the University’s strategic plan the development of its pioneering Center for Innovation and Applied Technology.
The Charger Blog
Entrepreneur David Sussman, Pompea College of Business Advisory Board Member and chief visionary officer of The Family Security Plan®, is collaborating with University of New Haven students, faculty, and staff to create a program and app that helps Chargers support each other to achieve academic, personal, and professional goals. It’s called Uccountability.
University News
Vice President for Innovation and Applied Technology Paul Lavoie will serve on the Board of Directors and as America’s Chief Manufacturing Officer for the newly launched American Manufacturing Futures Institute.