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.
University News
Last fall, the Office of the Dean of Students surveyed students about their spiritual needs. The University’s Muslim students said they needed a central place to pray daily. Students of other religious affiliations sought connections with students who shared their faith and others were simply looking for a place for quiet contemplation.
August 01, 2013
To meet all of those needs, UNH is opening a Meditation and Spirituality Center in the lower level of a University apartment at 15 Ruden Street. It will feature an interfaith room that is expansive enough so students can take part in guided meditation.
"It’s a peaceful spot," said Kara Beth Neike, coordinator of student conduct and technical applications. "Students can just stop in for a time of reflection. Or they can peruse book shelves with materials on different religions and spiritual practices."
One of the tenets of Islam is that Muslims must pray five times daily, kneeling with their faces on the ground. Muslims also wash their face, hands and feet to be purified before praying. The Meditation and Spirituality Center features separate prayer rooms for male and female Muslim students, each with a sink and a foot-washing station.
Students can just stop in for a time of reflection. Or they can peruse book shelves with materials on different religions and spiritual practices." said Kara Beth Neike, coordinator of student conduct and technical applications.
The prayer rooms were designed with the help of Omer Bajwa, Yale University coordinator of Muslim life, to ensure that they are properly aligned with Mecca, said Rebecca Johnson, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students.
Spiritual centers – with interfaith meditation spaces and Muslim prayer rooms – are opening at colleges and universities around the country. In what was considered a ground-breaking longitudinal study by UCLA in 2008, researchers found that while undergraduates spend less time attending religious services, their overall level of spirituality has increased.
With the Muslim population growing at universities around the country and students requesting a central place to pray, public, private, Catholic universities and community colleges – including Yale, Georgetown, George Washington University and several University of California campuses – now have meditation/prayer rooms and many colleges are installing foot-baths.
UNH’s new Meditation and Spirituality Center is part of a larger mission to expand the University’s Office of Spiritual Life and Campus Ministry, Neike said. To gain insights on how best to build the program, Neike, Johnson, University Chaplain Marty O’Connor and Ira Kleinfeld, professor of engineering, met with Yale University Chaplain Sharon M.K. Kugler and Bajwa.
"They shared so many ideas and resources with us," Neike said. "It was such a positive exchange. From the start they asked, `How can we help?’"
Neike also created a Facebook page and a Spiritual Ambassador program. The goal is for students of different faiths to act as ambassadors and share resources with other students.
"Students who have a faith question or need to find a ride to a church service in New Haven can ask one of the ambassadors or go on the Facebook page," she said.
What Neike hopes is that the center becomes yet another place where UNH students can engage in experiential learning. A student stopping by to meditate might have a conversation with a student leaving afternoon prayer.
"And they’ll discover something from each other," she said. "This is where building a community comes from. One day our students will leave campus and go off to their respective places of work and perhaps they will take with them an understanding of other people’s faiths."
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.