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
A dark period of his life inspired Randall Horton, Ph.D., when he wrote {#289-128}: Poems. It has now received the same honor that has been awarded to such renowned writers such as Toni Morrison.
Aug 31, 2021
More than 20 years ago, when Randall Horton, Ph.D., was incarcerated in Maryland, convicted of smuggling cocaine, he began writing as a way to escape his confinement. It was through this writing that he began to reevaluate his life while dreaming of a better one than he’d had before he was incarcerated.
Dr. Horton’s Maryland Department of Corrections number now has a new significance. It is the title of his fourth book of poetry, {#289-128}: Poems, which has been awarded the prestigious American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. Previous recipients of the award include Toni Morrison and Isabel Allende.
“I was quite stunned,” admits Dr. Horton, an English professor who joined the University in 2009. “It is indeed a tremendous honor to be selected – for this award, particularly. While it is always nice to be recognized, I am grateful that {#289-128}: Poems has made an impact in the way we discourse on social justice issues. Given the list of distinguished poets who have received this honor, this award is indeed special.”
Created to recognize outstanding literary achievement, the American Book Awards recognize writers without restrictions as there are no categories. The awards honor literary achievements from the entire spectrum of the country’s diverse writers, and winners range from well-known authors to writers who have written their first work. Winners will be formally recognized at a virtual ceremony in September.
In addition to this award, the experimental performance group Heroes Are Gang Leaders, of which Dr. Horton is a member, received the American Book Award in Oral Literature. The group formed after the death of the writer Amiri Baraka as a tribute to his legacy.
Dr. Horton’s work on {#289-128}: Poems began with a series of artist grants and fellowships, including Poet in Residence at Civil Rights Corps, a Right of Return USA Fellowship, and the Art for Justice Grant through the University of Arizona Poetry Center. He drew inspiration from his experience in prison and everything he learned from it.
“I think the time I spent on the inside allowed me to not only reassess my life, but it opened my eyes to the many disparities that often occur to those doing time,” said Dr. Horton, who has also received the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award and the Bea González Poetry Award, as well as a National Endowment of the Arts Literature Fellowship. “At the core of things, I am interested in being a good moral citizen, and that means questioning systems that have the tendency to oppress and recycle oppression.”
Dr. Horton, who went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in English, a Master of Fine Arts in poetry, and a Ph.D. in creative writing after spending five years at the Roxbury Correctional Institution in Maryland, has now written several books, including Hook, his award-winning memoir. In Hook, he shares the story of how he went from a Howard University student to a homeless drug addict, a cocaine smuggler, and, eventually, a convicted felon. Writing, he says, helped him recover and get his life back, and he has since become an accomplished and acclaimed author. He also works with youth who are incarcerated in juvenile detention centers.
In his upcoming book, Dead Weight: A Memoir in Essays, Dr. Horton uses flashbacks to vacillate from the present – the lens of his professional life as a professor, social advocate for prison reform, and poet – to the past. He explores how his past shaped his future, as he was denied college reentry and had a job offer rescinded. The book will be published in February 2022.
“I use my experiences as a teacher, educator, prison reform advocate, and lover of literature and poetry to highlight the challenges of negotiating a meaningful life within the fabric of an American society with seven felony convictions,” he explains. “I have firsthand knowledge of what the ‘dead weight’ of felonies means and how hard it is to change public opinion, no matter how many markers of achievement are displayed to denote rehabilitation and worthiness.”
A devoted educator, Dr. Horton brings his own life experiences and the lessons he has learned to the classroom. He shares his passion for poetry with his students at the University, and he hopes to inspire them to write their own futures.
“I really want my students to know that I will always do my best to understand where they are coming from,” he said. “I want them to understand the value in poetry, whether or not they become poets. Whatever profession they are choosing in their life, I want my students to understand the power of literature as it relates to their lives.”
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.