CASE is a vibrant new hub designed to support students and brings essential resources in one place
Students celebrate the opening of the new Center for Academic Success and Engagement (CASE) at UConn Stamford (Sean Flynn/UConn Photo)
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at UConn Stamford on Wednesday, April 2 to celebrate the new Center for Academic Success and Engagement (CASE) on its campus.
CASE is a vibrant new hub designed to support students and brings essential resources in one place. It creates a centralized location where students can access peer tutoring, mentoring, academic workshops, and guidance programs.
It also fosters a sense of community where students can study together in the same space. The area is designed to encourage collaboration, connection, and shared growth.
"The concept for this space evolved over time, but stemmed from our focus on student success, retention, and persistence to graduation," said Jennifer Orlikoff, campus dean and chief administrative officer of UConn Stamford during the ceremony. "As I have said since I first arrived here, once we bring a student on our campus, it is our moral obligation to do everything we can to help them achieve success and graduate."
With 55% of UConn Stamford students being First Generation, CASE breaks down barriers and the silos that academic services can exist in.
"CASE is bringing our vision to life - a once-stop hub for academic support where students find the resources, guidance, and encouragement they need to thrive," said Laura Tropp, director of academic affairs and associate campus director at UConn Stamford. "It's where a student excelling in one subject can lend a hand to a peer facing challenges in another. It's a gathering place for study groups, collaboration, and shared growth. As both a space and a service, CASE will continue to evolve."
The center is funded in part through a gift from Synchrony, a premier consumer financial services company headquartered in Stamford. Synchrony is a valuable partner of UConn Stamford and provided funding for the campus' Digital Technology Center, which provides on-campus internships, and the launch of several student success initiatives.
The 460 Foundation of Westport supported the renovation of the CASE space and contributes to the salary of an academic coordinator at UConn Stamford.
GE Aerospace donated the furniture being used in CASE.
"I have been coming to this campus since I was an assistant professor and to see UConn Stamford grow and thrive in so many ways has really been inspiring," said UConn provost and executive vice president for academic affairs Anne D'Alleva. "The consistent things about this campus with all the growth and changes has been a focus on this community and a focus on student success. When our president (Radenka Marc) says students first, she means it and we all mean it. That's the guiding principle and guiding light here at UConn. We are committed to their success. We want them to grow intellectually and personally, and graduate."
CASE has already hosted approximately 60 workshops and over 1,000 students have been tutored in person. Workshops being held in the spring 2025 semester include the areas of "mindful academics", "calculator crash course", and "footnote and citation bootcamp."
"CASE is a place where you meet all kinds of people, from strangers to friends, and the amazing staff," said Bug Amonte '26 (BUS), a marketing management major and a peer leader at CASE. "I want to send my gratitude to everyone who had a part in providing and developing a space that is really flourishing."
