Three $1 Million Gifts Launch Public Phase of UNH Campaign
Three longtime University of New Haven contributors have each pledged $1 million toward
the university's first-ever comprehensive capital campaign.
May 25, 2016
The campaign, The Charger Challenge, announced last month, has a goal of raising $100
million in time for the university's centennial in 2020. The campaign had raised $49
million during its quiet phase.
Two of the gifts, from Philip H. and Susan Bartels and from Charles E. Pompea '71,
'90 EMBA and his wife, Tamera, will support the university's proposed $35 million
Innovation Center. The center will provide students and faculty with a collaborative
learning space and a cutting-edge maker space for interdisciplinary special projects.
The third gift, from William Bucknall '63 A.S., '65 and his two daughters, Kristin
Loranger and Elise Bucknall, through their family foundation, will endow the Bucknall
Family Scholarship for students in science, technology, engineering or math.
"The transformational displays of generosity that have taken place over the last several
weeks illustrate how strongly these individuals - and many others like them - are
committed to what is taking place at UNH," said President Steven H. Kaplan. "Most
importantly, they believe, like I do, in the tremendous potential of our students.
I know firsthand that their belief is well-placed and that their investment will pay
significant dividends for generations to come."
Philip Bartels, an attorney with Shipman & Goodwin, one of Connecticut's largest law
firms, is chair of the UNH Board of Governors. He and his family have been generous
donors to UNH, supporting, among other projects, the Bartels Student Center.
Charles Pompea, a former vice chair of the UNH Board of Governors, spent two decades
advancing up the ladder at Primary Steel, a company he eventually purchased in 1993
and oversaw for 15 years. A Florida resident, he is the majority owner of the Springfield
Falcons hockey team.
Pompea and his wife also have supported a number of UNH projects including the Bergami
and Pompea Graduate Center, the campus in Orange acquired by UNH two years ago.
Bucknall, who rose through the ranks at United Technologies Corporation to senior
vice president, became one of the top human resource professionals in the nation before
his retirement in 2008. His generosity has supported the Bucknall Theater in Dodds
Hall, among other projects.
About the University of New Haven
The University of New Haven is a private, top-tier comprehensive institution recognized
as a national leader in experiential education. Founded in 1920, the university enrolls
approximately 1,800 graduate students and more than 4,600 undergraduates.