The University of Hartford was formed in 1957 from the merger of three older institutions. By the 1970s, it was still defining itself — a 350-acre campus built on what had been one of the last working farms in the city. Engineering students, art students, and music majors all shared the same grounds.
The Gengras Student Union was the center of daily campus life. It housed the offices of the student newspaper, The Informer, along with other student organizations. A cafeteria and food court gave students a place to gather between classes.
The university was actively moving away from its commuter school roots. Through the 1970s, it pushed to grow its residential student population, a shift that had started in the 1960s.
The Hartt School of music was a major source of cultural energy on campus. In 1970, it acquired a new Gress-Miles pipe organ. Throughout the decade, it hosted the International Contemporary Organ Music Festival, bringing composers and musicians from around the world to Hartford.
University archives document a packed schedule of events. In 1974, jazz saxophonist Jackie McLean led master classes on campus. In 1971, classical violinist Pinchas Zukerman performed at a concert marking the Hartt School’s 50th anniversary.
The decade opened with strong student activism. The Students for a Democratic Society had an active chapter at the university. Students engaged directly with national debates, especially around the Vietnam War. A publication called the UH NEWS Liberated Press documented this activism at the start of the decade.
The Hartford College for Women (HCW) was one of the university’s distinct colleges and held a national reputation. It was rated the second-best junior college in the United States. HCW focused on a liberal arts education and built a diverse, close-knit student community.
Life at HCW reflected the era’s cultural shifts. The formal dress code requiring skirts was abolished. Students wore jeans, tie-dye shirts, peasant blouses, and bell-bottoms. They gathered in the sunroom of Butterworth Hall for informal talks or played guitar in the gardens.
President Archibald Woodruff led the university until 1977, when Stephen Joel Trachtenberg took over. The academic range was wide — students could study engineering at Ward College of Technology, music at Hartt, or business at the Barney School.
