The University of Connecticut’s satellite campus in Stamford is celebrating the grand opening of the renovated Center for Academic Success and Engagement on Wednesday, April 2. The festivities will kick off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to be presided over by UConn leaders and Connecticut elected officials.
The new center, also to be known as the “CASE,” is located on the second floor of the UConn Stamford building in downtown Stamford and acts as an extension of the campus’ tutoring facilities. The CASE will be the “home base” for Stamford regional students’ access to the Writing Center and Quantitative Learning Center in addition to virtual access for numerous other course subjects according to the campus webpage.
“CASE is a one-stop hub designed to support students by bringing together essential resources in one place, creating a centralized space where students can access peer tutoring, mentoring, academic workshops, and guidance programs,” a press statement on the new center said.
Campus officials also announced that the new center will incorporate programs from the current UConn Center for Access and Postsecondary Success, which provides support and access for students who are traditionally underrepresented in higher education.
ConnCAP, one of these initiatives sponsored through the Stamford campus, partners with high school students in the region as a pathway for advising and college preparation through unique summer programs based out of the UConn Stamford facilities.
“Students on the Stamford Campus have additional resources and programming, sponsored by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and Dominion Energy, that exposes them to STEM experiences and careers,” the ConnCAP webpage says. “Students selected as part of this program will earn college credit, learn from energy industry leaders and learn more about careers in STEM.”
The new CASE facility was constructed through gift funding from Synchrony Financial, a credit and consumer savings services company based in Stamford. In 2019, Synchrony donated $1 million toward the “Connecticut Commitment,” a program that allowed lower-income students living in Connecticut to attend UConn for free.
The program was “regrettably but unavoidably” cancelled in the fall of 2020 due to fundraising struggles, according to a 2020 UConn Today announcement.
Synchrony is also the namesake of the Synchrony Digital Technology Center based at UConn Stamford, a “next generation tech” lab space with focuses in software engineering and internet-connected innovation, and the Synchrony Cybersecurity Center based at the main UConn campus in Storrs-Mansfield, which helps conduct cybersecurity research and data-focused internship pipelines.
“We’re committed to Connecticut’s economic success and ensuring that local students from diverse backgrounds are equipped with the experiences and skills needed to tackle tomorrow’s challenges,” said Margaret Keane, CEO of Synchrony Financial, to UConn Today following their $1 million contribution.
The UConn community and members of the public are invited to join the ribbon-cutting for the new Center for Academic Success and Engagement at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 2. The celebrations will be held at UConn Stamford on the corner of Broad Street and Washington Boulevard — just a short walk from the Stamford Metro-North train station or Exit 8 off Interstate 95.