21st Century UConn owes its approval in large part to the tremendous success of UCONN 2000. And 2001-2002 was the year when that success was clearly visible from every UConn campus perspective.

It was a year of ribbon cutting and breaking new ground. The School of Business building opened, with 1,800 computer plug-ins giving students ready access to the world of electronic information and e-commerce. The new Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory was finished, a magnet for scholars on the high frontiers of bioscience. Ground was broken on the School of Engineering's Information Technologies building, to be ready in 2003.

This was the year that doors opened on a variety of new options in University living and learning. The Hilltop Apartment community and Hilltop Suites provided students more spacious, independent living environments. Between campus neighborhoods, paths wind, creating residential communities high in aesthetics and convenience.

It was the year when students could begin the new term with a single destination for answers to questions about University business and services. UConn's signature landmark, the gold-domed Wilbur Cross building, was completely renovated to consolidate all student services, from financial aid to residential life.

It was, most of all, another profoundly successful year of UCONN 2000. What The New York Times called "a building boom that would be the envy of most university presidents," UCONN 2000 has yielded a crop of exclamation points since the program began in 1995: a 56% increase in freshman enrollment. A 62% rise in freshman minority enrollment. The SAT scores of incoming freshmen have jumped nearly 30 points. UCONN 2000 has made the University a top choice for Connecticut's sons and daughters, spurring a fourfold increase in UConn's endowment.

The objective is to amplify our position of national leadership in public higher education. Thanks to UCONN 2000 (and a boom year), we're achieving that goal.