Toward a More Perfect Union
America is in need of marriage counseling. Enter Bill Doherty, a couples therapist for some 40 years — but over the past eight, he’s taken on a new type of client.
Department: Feature
Banner Year: 2024
After the Huskies trounced Illinois to head to the Final Four, men’s player Alex Karaban said, “We know it’s not normal to go back to back. But there’s not a single normal person in this locker room.” We pay tribute to the 2024 banner year for our elite men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Net Worth
To save the sea turtles, says alum Jesse Senko, you first need to help the fishers whose very nets entangle them.
Superfans
There’s school pride, and then there’s UConn Pride. There’s school spirit, and then there’s UConn Spirit. Among a seemingly endless tide of blue-bleeders, there are some Husky Faithful who take their fandom to still another level.
Star Power
How a team of employees, students, researchers, an alum, and an elite telescope builder brought an important piece of research equipment — and UConn history — back to life.
Who Tells Our (Pandemic) Story?
Too often history is written by the powerful. A UConn anthropologist made sure the story of COVID-19 was chronicled by the rest of us.
The Anatomy of a Fruit Fly
Two professors and a grad student devise a class to help students get the wet lab experience they need for grad school — with an assist from the mighty fruit fly.
Prince Marvin
Alum Marvin Prince gives color commentary on his role as a producer and Danette on top sports broadcast “The Dan Patrick Show.”
Baby’s Firsts
Follow in the adorable Jonathan XV’s paw prints as the mascot-in-training experiences his UConn milestones.
The Moments That Made Sue Bird
Husky royalty and WNBA icon Sue Bird reflects on some of the most fateful moments in her 30 years of trailblazing. Think you’ve heard them all? Think again!
Unmasked
How a UConn puppeteer went from being the beer guy at Whole Foods to creating animatronics for the biggest theme parks, robotics for cinematic superheroes, and crazy-clever costumes for Masked Singers.
Billion Dollar Bailey
Behind business supernova Trisha Bailey is a “deeply disturbing” story that shaped her into the resilient, generous individual she is today.
Basketball Capital of the World
We might as well just change Storrs’ name to this. As Jim Nantz writes here, “People don’t say Duke and UConn in the same sentence often enough, but they need to now.”
Kicks
Why does everyone — count Lil Nas X, Matt Damon, Alicia Keys, and Penny Hardaway — want to shop for sneakers with Joe La Puma?
First-Years
Three UConn School of Medicine graduates take us through year one of residency —with its fast-and-furious rotations meant to teach the finer points of chosen specialties and the broad realities of what it means to be a practicing doctor.
So Hot
The work the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation at UConn Avery Point is doing today promises to make our city summers less oppressive tomorrow.
All Roads Lead Home
A storied Spanish hiking trail delivers a full-circle moment for ’90s alum Alex Chang and some lucky current students. “On the Camino, everyone writes their own story,” says Chang.
Truth Is Dead. Long Live Truth.
Can truth withstand incessant attacks from all sides? UConn Journalism Professor Amanda Crawford reflects on Sandy Hook, Alex Jones, and our culture of disinformation.
G-Man: Frank Figliuzzi’s FBI Story
Frank Figliuzzi ’87 JD, host of the podcast “The Bureau with Frank Figliuzzi,” MSNBC analyst, and author of “The FBI Way,” maintains a “fidelity, bravery, integrity” mission despite retirement.
Who Betrayed Anne Frank?
“I love the hunt,” says Rosemary Sullivan ’69 MA, a queen of compelling biography. Her latest tome tackles one of World War II’s most persistent and villainous mysteries.
Caribou and Coffee
How a chance discovery at a quirky coffee shop turned up one of Connecticut’s most significant archaeological sites.
Surviving “Survivor”
Chanelle Howell ’14 (CLAS) wanted her very presence on Season 42 of the long-running reality competition show to make a difference. It did.
Play Ball!
From spitballs to spin rates, these two alums have stayed with every curve thrown at them in a combined four decades of umpiring Major League Baseball.
“There Was Suddenly a Fatwa on my Head”
For reporting on terrorism, extremism, and atrocities against women in her country, Marvi Sirmed found herself under the most serious of death threats. The Pakistani journalist found the freedom to live — and to work and teach — at UConn.
Giants Among Us
A walk with history professor Frank Costigliola, a gentleman farmer and a scholar, who imparts wisdom on everything from powerful presidents to powerful speed naps.
Revenge of the Data Scientists
Talitha Washington ’98 MS, ’01 Ph.D. is turning tables on the data science that has worked against Black and Brown people — by creating science and math pathways for students of color.
The Secret Life of Dexter Gabriel — aka P. Djèlí Clark
In which the separate worlds of a sci-fi novelist and a history professor collide.
An Epic UConn Love Story
The story begins in McConaughy Hall, aka The Jungle, back in 1986. It is still developing.
Walk This Way
An alum and Guggenheim Fellow whose art is about nature, adventure — and sneakers.
Call Cowen!
The more extraordinary the challenge, the more likely UConn Distinguished Alumnus Scott Cowen will be asked to help.
And Now I Spill the UConn Secrets
The graphic memoir that’s getting so much attention for Margaret Kimball ’06 (SFA) had its beginnings in her UConn English course “Coming of Age in American Autobiography.”
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Lectures
The man behind those gorgeous campus photos on Instagram is a longtime UConn professor and wildlife biologist.
The Long Game
Neag School of Education professor and former Major League Baseball star Doug Glanville has no right to be this good at this many things.
Finally!
They had waited long enough. UConn’s classes of 2020 and 2021 gathered in person at The Rent for five days in May to celebrate endings and beginnings — together.
Farms = Food = Life
When alum Steven Were Omamo sees someone planting, he sees hope. The Nobel Peace Prize Committee seems to agree.
Our American Girls
What do you do with a history doctorate and a pop culture obsession? If you’re these two alums, you create a hit podcast centering on ’90s nostalgia.
Uphill Battles
Growing up in Jamaica, Rohan Freeman could not have envisioned himself as an engineer, re-creating the Hartford landscape. And he certainly could not have seen himself as the first Black American to climb the Seven Summits.
Helping Kids Decode Their Brains
After nine months of Covid-19 quarantine and endless online meetings, Fumiko Hoeft has webinars on the brain.
Pioneering the New Field of Regenerative Engineering — and Championing Social Justice
A master of multiple fields, Dr. Cato T. Laurencin, holds UConn’s highest academic title: University Professor.
Dispensing Stress Vitamins
Have you been wanting to try a meditation practice but just haven’t known where to start? Greg Sazima ’90 MD might just be the guru for you.
Stoking Our Apocalyptic Fantasies
“They have popped like crazy,” says literature professor Pam Bedore of the apocalyptic and dystopian books that are one of her specialties.
Keeping Students Crafty
Sommer and her colleagues are using their teaching skills in the war against Covid-19 by bringing virtual arts to students.
Humanizing Human Rights
“My clients restore my faith in humanity,” says Ellen Messali ’10 JD of her immigration work with New Haven Legal Assistance.
Raising Her Voice to Amplify Other Voices
Saving a festival youth program in her hometown of Paraty, Brazil, made Pauline Batista ’16 MA a hero there.
Helping Dolly Fight Illiteracy
As CEO of the Dollywood Foundation, Dotson has helped legend Dolly Parton realize and expand her vision of improving childhood literacy.
Feeding the Fish that Feed Us
Peter Goggins ’21 (CAHNR) started his company with a school of goldfish and an aquarium purchased at Petco.
Advocating for Animals
Professor Jessica Rubin worked with animal rights groups to pass and implement the groundbreaking 2016 Desmond’s Law.
Inspiring Students to Save the Planet
“Sustainability is arguably the biggest challenge we face in the 21st century,” says Michael Willig.
Redefining “Wealth”
For Richie Mutts ’06 (CLAS) the impulse to do good is as irresistible as an infectious melody.
It’s All Good!
The secret to happiness is revealed in the good works of these very good Huskies.
Elevating English Majors
English professor Gina Barreca, dubbed the “feminist humor maven” by Ms. Magazine has kept us laughing through 10 books from “I Used to Be Snow White But I Drifted” to “If You Lean In, Will Men just Look Down Your Blouse?” Her latest, though, invites others to the party.
For Scott Wallace, Remote Learning Means Getting off the Beaten Path
The photographer and National Geographic contributor shares with us some of the hard-won wisdom he imparts to UConn’s lucky journalism students.
In the Driver’s Seat
What’s keeping us out of self-driving cars? Hint: The answer has nothing to do with technology.
Who is the Class of 2024?
Their admissions essays — submitted shortly before “Covid” and “pandemic” became part of our daily lexicon — reveal dreams undaunted.
The New Reparations Math
Professor of public policy Thomas Craemer realized that the typical calculations concerning slavery reparations in this country simply did not add up. So he did some new math.
Dancing on a Sunday? Don’t Do That!
Mike Chase ’11 JD, author of the wildly popular @CrimeADay Twitter account, treats UConn Nation to exclusive diabolical drawings and criminally funny ruminatings.
Our Defining Moments
These Huskies — students, staff, professors, doctors, nurses, and graduates new and old —are finding innovative ways to help us all navigate a global pandemic.
Greener Greens
“We did all of this without rocket science,” says Richard Piacentini ’84 MS, of turning Phipps Conservatory into a model of green building. “It was all done with off-the-shelf technology. That’s what we need to show people, that it’s possible to do this.”
Genetics for Justice
Anthropology professor Deborah Bolnick analyzes ancient DNA in a state-of-the-art Clean Lab in Storrs where her work is, among other things, helping to shed light on Native American histories.
The Isis Terminator
“The intellectual rigor at UConn, in the political science program, really prepared me for everything from the Supreme Court to the White House to building up one of the largest counterterror coalitions in the world,” says Brett McGurk ’96 (CLAS).
The Making of Champions — On and Off the Court
Thirty-five years ago Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey ’99 MA created a legacy of UConn players who continue to make an unmatched impact not just on the world of basketball but on the world at large.
The Wait Is Over
Bongi Magubane ’76 is determined to fix the Connecticut DMV.
The Students Asked For…
If you build it, they will come. If you build it according to their specifications, they will come in droves.
tiny
The Lilliputian Landscapes of Judy (Hall) Robinson-Cox ’71 (SFA) shine a spotlight on small.
I. Am. Outraged.
Why fake news catches fire and spreads so quickly on social media.
The Shape of Storrs
Geology professor Robert Thorson says UConn is UConn because glacial ice slid by 20,000 years ago and shaped the landscape that today includes our iconic Horsebarn Hill.
Show Runner
Jenn Suozzo ’99 (CLAS) was named executive producer of “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” last fall. The former dancer says she directs each episode as if it were a ballet.
The Next Wave
This August, Thomas Katsouleas takes the helm as UConn’s 16th president.
The Fortunate Ones?
Unique among species, the horseshoe crab has persisted, unchanged, for hundreds of millions of years. But now, its survival is threatened by the harvesting of its prized baby-blue blood. A team at UConn seeks to map its DNA and save it from extinction.
Master Class
Grammy-winning composer Kenneth Fuchs shares with students the lessons he’s learned from industry giants — and from his beloved high school band director.
Team Impact
This national nonprofit matches children with serious and chronic illnesses with college athletic teams. UConn has the most pairings of any Division 1 school in the country.
The Susan Herbst Years 2011-2019
As we prepare to say goodbye in July to UConn’s first female president, we take a look at her rich legacy
Location, Location, Location
Small, urban, and ambitious, UConn Stamford keeps its head in the liberal arts but both feet in the job market. Meet six Stamford students doing the same
Clubbing
Photos and info on every one of the 650 student clubs and organizations at UConn. Just kidding — we highlight a dozen
Where The Wild Things Are
Tracy Rittenhouse, associate professor of natural resources and the environment, knows just how many bears and bobcats could be lurking in your Connecticut backyard
The Knockout Doctor
Ringside, cageside, in the bullpen, and on the field, Dr. Anthony Alessi is on a mission to save as many human brains as possible
Graduating With A C.E.O.
Meet 20 entrepreneurial alums and students so young and successful it will make your teeth hurt
The Everything Algorithm
How to win your NFL pool, thwart a terrorist, maximize your delivery routes and find the perfect kidney match
What’s Next
“My expectations are higher than those of the most delusional fan,” says men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley
The Fight for Physical Literacy
Elementary schools are associate professor Lindsay DiStefano’s Battleground. “Move” is her rally cry!
No, Kanye, That’s Not How It Happened.
Manisha Sinha’s history lessons tell the truth about slavery in the United States
A “Brainpower Job”
Alum Michael Bradford’s Highly Unlikely Path to Heading UConn’s Dramatic Arts Department
By a Thread
How Three Professors are Saving Cambodian Refugees — 40 Years After the Genocide
Hidden UConn Quiz
Test Your Storrs Savvy: What and Where are These 27 Treasures and Oddities
Don’t Flush That Tick!
The Many Benefits of Bringing it to This UConn Testing Facility Instead
Taking It To The Streets
This past summer, for the first time in more than 50 years, Japanese citizens poured onto the streets in regular protest. Alexis Dudden takes us there.
Bitcoin Believers
If You Can Understand Pizza and Poker You Can Understand Bitcoin — and Why You Should
The First Draft of History
Glenn Smith’s belief in community journalism often drives him toward scenes of violence including, recently, the shootings at the Emanuel AME church in Charleston.
Very Superstitious
Whether it’s to gain some control or out of simple superstition, athletes will do interesting things for a little extra luck, and UConn Huskies are no exception.
Hot or Trustworthy?
UConn Communications professors made waves with a study measuring how users of dating sites evaluate trustworthiness from potential dates’ photos.
Going, Going, Gone…
Around the globe, on every continent, UConn professors are working to prevent species extinction in the face of escalating climate change.
How To Succeed In Business Without Really Crying
Taking on new responsibilities that require on-the-job learning can push young managers out of their comfort zones, which is when an individual’s EQ comes into play, says Yuntao Dong, assistant professor of management in the School of Business.
The Big Four for the Big Four
The UConn women’s basketball team made more than a little history this spring with their 82–51 win over Syracuse in the NCAA National Championship game.
“It’s time to write, to read, and to drive with the top down.”
The English professor and humorist, Gina Barreca discusses writing about those we love, and shares an excerpt from her new book: If You Lean In, Will Men Just Look Down Your Blouse?
Black Hats, Cyber Bots, Zombies, and You
Cyberattacks come in all shapes and sizes and expert say it’s just a matter of time before they pose real threats to each of us. Fortunately, this crack team of cybersecurity specialists is working to protect our information.
Rock On
Robert M. Thorson is crazy about stone walls. He spent years trying to dig up proof that former University president Homer Babbidge shared that love — and along the way found evidence of UConn’s first recorded student protests.
Among Angels
Chamberlain invites children with Angelman syndrome and their families into her lab to meet the students working with her to research the single-gene disorder. It is a surprisingly happy day.
The Case for Bilingual Deaf Children
Deaf children are just as intellectually capable as hearing children— but if they do not have early access to language and communication, that intellectual capacity can quickly erode.
50 Years of the Benton
In honor of The Benton’s anniversary, we present highlights from favorite visiting exhibitions and examples of pieces added to the permanent collection, one for each year from 1967 to 2016.
The I.Q. of A.I.
UConn researchers are teaching robots to think like humans. Is that a good idea?