When alumni or parents come to campus any time after May, they will notice immediately the first major construction project at the University since the completion of the Harry Jack Gray Center over a decade ago.

On May 4 we will break ground for the University of Hartford Magnet School, a pre-kindergarten through fifth grade public school that will serve 396 pupils from Hartford, West Hartford, Avon, Farmington, Simsbury, and Wethersfield. We hope to have the school completed and open for its first pupils in the fall of 2001.

Our magnet school will be unusual in many aspects but its curriculum will be the most important innovation. Organized around the multiple intelligences theories of Howard Gardner, a Harvard University education professor, the school will pioneer teaching methods that will address the multiple ways students learn. Gardner, whose work has earned him a MacArthur Fellowship, has developed a theory of cognition that enumerates seven ways of learning. The Magnet School's curriculum will seek to use those ways of cognition to stimulate students to learn.

The School's design, developed by Smith Edwards Architects, reflects Gardner's theories by providing space in innovative ways for student learning. You can see an artist's rendering of the School at the bottom of this page. For instance, its large bay windows will allow the pupils plenty of exposure to the natural habitat of the Hog River, which reflects Gardner's thinking about naturalistic ways of learning.

The School will be built with state funds, and the state and local school districts will fund its operation through Connecticut's magnet school act. The Capital Region Education Council (CREC) will operate the school, and the City of Hartford is serving as the fiscal agent for the project. All six school districts are involved with our education faculty in designing the school's curriculum.

The magnet school is not only a wonderful addition to our campus, but also a symbol of the important public-private partnership between the University, the state, CREC, the City of Hartford, and six school districts. It has taken a great effort by all involved, and I am grateful to many, many people for making this all work so well. I especially want to thank Marcia Yulo, executive director of CREC; David Caruso, dean of the College of Education, Nursing, and Health Professions; Norman Young '84, director of facilities; and John Carson '65, senior advisor for corporate and community relations, for their leadership in this project.

When the School opens in Fall 2001, I think it will quickly mark the University of Hartford as a center for multiple intelligences theory and practice. It will also establish us as a University where students who are interested in education can take on hands-on work in a public school from the moment they step on campus. Our education division has been a dynamic and exciting educational center for many decades, but this school will really distinguish us as a leader.

And one other thing that all visitors will notice: construction of the School will also enable us to completely redesign the entrance to our Bloomfield Avenue campus during the summer of 2001. When it is all finished -- miracle of miracles -- we will emerge with a new entrance and a two-way loop road all the way around campus. And, what's more, we'll even reduce those nasty speed bumps!

So, when you visit us during the next 20 months or so, please take a look at the construction site and forgive us the necessary mess that goes with it. When it is all finished, we're going to have a magnet school of which we can all be proud, and which will play a vital role in the future of our university and our region.