UNH Raises $4 Million at Innovation Celebration Announcing Campaign
The University of New Haven raised more than $4 million at the unveiling of its first
comprehensive campaign, The Charger Challenge.
May 09, 2016
The event, the 33rd Annual Alumni Scholarship Ball, was called the Innovation Celebration
and was attended by more than 400 of the university’s most devoted benefactors. They
gave generously to kick off the $100 million campaign designed to coincide with the
university’s centennial in 2020.
The funds they contributed at the black-tie event support student scholarships and
the construction of a new $30 million Innovation Center, which will provide space
for students and faculty to collaborate on groundbreaking projects.
"The response was nothing short of extraordinary," said President Steven H. Kaplan.
"More than $4 million was committed that night, which is remarkable considering that
an event like this usually generates far less. The outpouring of support set the stage
for a campaign that we believe will exceed all of its goals and further strengthen
the foundation of an already great university."
A highlight of the Innovation Celebration was the student showcase that illustrated
some of the cutting-edge work being conducted by UNH students.
"Many of the guests commented to me about how impressed they were by the students,
their high level of intellect and their lofty goals for the future," Kaplan said.
"The students were wonderful ambassadors for the university and terrific examples
of the transformational impact of a UNH education."
The showcase featured a hovercraft and bartending robot built by students from the
Tagliatela College of Engineering; a music and sound recording studio manned by students
from the College of Arts and Sciences, where guests could record their singing; 3-D
paper sculptures made by students at UNH’s Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts; a crime
scene with portable DNA, fingerprinting and other equipment manned by students at
the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences; and economy game
theory exercises demonstrated by the College of Business.
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 5,000 undergraduates.