More than a century of Huskymania.
Jonathan, the legendary Husky mascot, has a new station in life. His proud form now greets visitors to the new J. Robert Donnelly Husky Heritage Sports Museum at the heart of the new UConn Alumni Center in Storrs. The 2,700-square-foot museum is named after Robert Donnelly, a former UConn basketball and football captain. The museum dramatically displays the school's athletic history, housing such artifacts as a 1931 football signed by the entire UConn squad and team photos snapped in 1902. The Basketball Rotunda features life-size cutouts of star players and a six-screen multi-media presentation of championship highlights. Visitors have been pouring in since last fall.

Vaccine may put the sting on ticks, mosquitoes.
Lyme disease, West Nile virus and Dengue fever are illnesses borne by ticks and mosquitoes. Currently, there is no single vaccine that combats all of them. But Stephen Wikel and his UConn Health Center team are working on a vaccine that could give people immunity to any virus or bacterium the pesky blood-feeders carry. This year, the UConn researchers received a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop the "super-vaccine" for military personnel deployed overseas. Vaccine development could take years, but if a safe solution is found, mosquitoes and ticks will no longer be agents of disease.

Business school benefactor invests in "human capital."
Robert Cizik '53 has once again invested in faculty excellence at UConn. With a generous gift, he created the Robert Cizik Professorship in Manufacturing and Technology Management, assumed by School of Business Professor Jeff Rummel. In 1997, Cizik created an endowed chair of strategic technology management with a $500,000 donation. An ardent supporter of the arts and academics, he was the former chairman and CEO of Cooper Industries, a Houston-based manufacturer. His generosity helps UConn focus on technology in business by recruiting top faculty experts.

New gathering place for School of Social Work.
Seminars, receptions and meetings now have a bright new space at the School of Social Work's Hartford campus. The Zachs Community Room was made possible by a $300,000 gift from Judith and Henry Zachs. A 1977 UConn master's of social work graduate and former director of the UConn Foundation, Judith Zachs previously committed $1 million to establish an endowed chair for doctoral studies in social work. She sees the new gathering place as fulfilling a significant, unmet need for faculty and students. "This also provides an opportunity for UConn and the School of Social Work to reach out to the community at large," she says.

Designer molecules detect disease and switch off pain.
On the surface of every cell are biochemical switches that certain molecules can turn on or off to trigger healing or relief. The applications are diverse, as Alexandros Makriyannis, director of UConn's Center for Drug Discovery, is demonstrating. His work with specially engineered molecules that interact with cells led to three major discoveries recently: a way to detect diseases such as Huntington's chorea long before they destroy the brain; a possible way to treat conditions such as multiple sclerosis; and a new way to block intense pain from diseases like shingles. Makriyannis's long record of accomplishment was recognized this year when he received the Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Award, UConn's highest academic title.

People's Bank puts money where it works.
What makes a state economically viable? Its workforce, according to People's Bank, which pledged more than $500,000 to UConn in support of programs that bring students into Connecticut's classrooms, government agencies, health professions and businesses. People's calls its effort "a partnership to nurture Connecticut's future." The point is to prepare bright students to meet global competition while keeping them in Connecticut, says John A. Klein '71, People's president and CEO. The pledge is the largest donation from a bank in UConn's history and one of the largest by People's to any educational institution.