West Haven, Conn., July 27, 2009- For the second year in a row, the University of New Haven (UNH) is experiencing a surge in first-year fall enrollment. Deposits are up 13 percent over last year, which reflected a 65 percent increase over fall 2007. This year the University expects approximately 1,300 first-year students to arrive on campus on August 23, 2009.

UNH Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management Kevin Phillips notes that the continued increase is due to a number of factors, but says what makes UNH sizzle is, in the simplest terms, momentum. New and expanded academic programs, a vast array of study-abroad options and internship opportunities, new state-of-the-art facilities and the return of the Charger football team are just a few examples of the tremendous progress taking place on campus. Phillips also points out that a number of students find UNH especially attractive given the wide range of programs available and the relative ease in taking on a double or even triple major, such as criminal justice/psychology, global studies/business, or music and sound recording/music industry/business management. As a result, the University’s reputation for excellence and innovation is being recognized throughout the state, the nation and around the globe. New programs including theater arts, digital art and design, and museum studies are sparking interest of students worldwide.

Phillips also attributes the increase to a substantial focus on recruitment using social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and a new 360-degree virtual campus tour. The result, Phillips says, is a nearly 100-percent boost in campus visits. “With both campus and on-line visits, students and parents appreciate the solid connections they make with faculty members and staff,” he says. “And once they are here and get a view of the facilities, they see for themselves that UNH is a really ‘hot’ school.”

The excitement on campus is not only taking place in the classrooms and labs but also on the playing field with the return of football, notes Phillips. The Chargers play their first home game September 25 at the new Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium on the University’s North Campus.

Along with the stadium, numerous other facilities have been built or renovated. The new 400-bed Soundview residence hall – which is expected to receive a gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Program – will open in August. In September, ground will be broken for the new home of the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science on campus, further elevating the University of New Haven’s stature as one of the world’s leading institutions for the study of criminal justice and forensic science. Work has also begun on an expansion of the campus’s student center, Bartels Hall. A two-story addition will create multi-purpose spaces for student use, create a faculty dining room, and increase dining options and the number of student meeting rooms.

Other newly completed projects include the Laurel Vlock Center for Convergent Media, where students combine radio, TV, newspapers and the Internet using the latest media technology. With prominent names in technology including MacProG5, Filemaker Pro and Final Cut Pro, the center is one of the pre-eminent facilities of its kind in the nation.

Not to be outdone, the Samuel S. Bergami Learning Center for Finance and Technology features a Wall Street trading-room floor and Smart Classroom technology. Throughout the campus, Smart Classroom technology has become the norm. Custom-built classroom work stations are equipped with top-of-the-line equipment, and note-taking has reached a new level of sophistication. Classroom discussions are uploaded to the Blackboard Online Learning Portal for students to view, print and study at a later date via the Internet.

The David A. Beckerman Recreation Center is another star attraction on campus. Students flock to the Beckerman Recreation Center each day to socialize, exercise and relax. The center features a glass-enclosed running track; state-of-the-art exercise equipment; multi-purpose courts for basketball, rollerblading, roller hockey, volleyball and indoor soccer; a fitness center with multi-purpose rooms for yoga and Pilates; racquetball courts; lounges; and a juice bar.

A leader in experiential education, the University of New Haven is experiencing a historic and nationally recognized surge in enrollment. Founded in 1920, the University provides its students with a unique combination of solid liberal arts and real-world, hands-on professional training. UNH is a private university with an 80-acre main campus. The University has an enrollment of more than 5,200; approximately 1,700 graduate students and more than 3,500 undergraduates, 70 percent of whom reside in University housing.  The University offers more than 80 undergraduate degrees and more than 25 graduate degrees through its five colleges, in fields such as sports management, nutrition, forensic science, music and sound recording, engineering, computer science and criminal justice. University College at UNH develops programs and courses to meet the emerging educational and training needs of educators, businesses and public and social agencies, focusing on academic excellence, convenience and flexibility. University of New Haven students study abroad through a variety of distinctive programs.

Professor Emeritus and former administrator Warren J. Smith died this past Monday in Florida. His departure is a great loss to the University community, and he will be remembered for his gregarious nature and boundless creativity.

Warren was devoted to UNH, and was an ever-present face at University events. An esteemed educator at UNH for 35 years until his retirement in 1997, he served  in a number of roles at the University. He was chair of the General Management Department, dean of the School of Business Administration, founder and acting dean of the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism, founder and chair of the Faculty Senate, and co-author of the University’s first Faculty Constitution. He taught Management Science, Economics and Quantitative Analysis in an always approachable way. He also helped small business owners with finance and strategic planning as a consultant for the Small Business Administration, and was an avid writer, appearing frequently in Florida’s regional newspapers long after he had officially retired.

As one small example of his tenacity and perseverance, he took up running at 54, ran his first marathon at 55, and ran the Boston Marathon in four hours-at 64-in 1989.

He will be buried in Dedham, Mass. Visiting hours will be this Thursday, July 23, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the George F. Doherty & Sons Wilson-Cannon Funeral Home at 456 High St. in Dedham. The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the Allin Congregational Church, 683 High Street, Dedham. Visit www.gfdoherty.com <http://www.gfdoherty.com/>  for directions to the services and to sign an online guestbook.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made in Warren’s name to the Treasure Coast Hospice, 5090 Dunn Road, Fort Pierce, FL. Condolences also may be shared with his wife, Jean, or daughters Valerie or Deborah, at journeytowellbeing@hotmail.com or by calling 617-926-5120.

LOS ANGELES – Gidget the Chihuahua, the bug-eyed, big-eared star of 1990s Taco Bell commercials who was a diva on and off the screen, has died. She was 15. Gidget suffered a massive stroke late Tuesday night at her trainer’s home in Santa Clarita and had to be euthanized, said Karin McElhatton, owner of Studio Animal Services in Castaic, which owned the dog.

Although she was hard of hearing, Gidget was otherwise in good health up to the day of her death, eating well and playing with her favorite squeaky toys at the home of trainer Sue Chipperton, McElhatton said.

This undated picture provided by Taco Bell shows part of a Taco Bell advertisement featuring a Chihuahua professing his love for tacos.

“She was retired. She lived like a queen, very pampered,” McElhatton said.

Gidget was found at a kennel and wasn’t show quality, McElhatton said; she had an undershot jaw and huge ears.

But Gidget knew she was a star, McElhatton said.

“She was a prima donna, basically. She absolutely knew when she was on camera,” McElhatton said.

In a 1997 Taco Bell television commercial, Gidget was seen as a male dog who, through the magic of special effects and a voice actor, proclaims in a richly accented voice: “Yo quiero Taco Bell” — Spanish for “I want Taco Bell.”

Viewers were charmed. What was supposed to be a single ad became a campaign that ran from 1997 to 2000.

The ads made the Taco Bell mascot wildly popular, although they provoked criticism from activists who accused them of promoting Hispanic stereotypes.

While other Chihuahuas had bit parts, McElhatton said it was Gidget who got the closeups and the quips (Carlos Alazraqui was the voice).

Gidget traveled first-class, opened up the New York Stock Exchange and made an appearance at Madison Square Garden, McElhatton said.

In later years, she did other acting work, appearing in a 2002 commercial for the insurance company GEICO and in the 2003 movie “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.”

She remained the object of affection after her retirement, going on hikes and beach visits with her trainer. She aged gracefully, and liked nothing more than to snooze in the sun.

“She was like a little old lady. She’d kind of gotten smaller,” McElhatton said.

Gidget will be cremated, McElhatton said. Her owners had not decided on a final disposition of her remains. Taco Bell Corp. said in a statement Gidget would be missed by many. “Our deepest sympathies go out to her owners and fans,” the company said.

TAREGNA, India – The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century created near darkness soon after dawn in a swath of India stretching from the west coast to the northern plains where millions gathered in the open to watch.

But millions more shuttered themselves in, gripped by fearful myths in a country that abounds in Hindu mythology-based superstitions and fables, one of which says an eclipse is caused when a dragon-demon swallows the sun.

A thick cloud cover over India that had obscured the sun when the eclipse began at dawn parted in several cities, minutes before the total eclipse — caused when the moon covers the sun completely to cast a shadow on earth — at 6.24 a.m. (0054 GMT).

Solar eclipse seen in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, at 9:16 a.m. on Wednesday, July 22, 2009.

“We were apprehensive of this cloudy weather but it was still a unique experience with morning turning into night for more than three minutes,” said Amitabh Pande, a scientist with India’s Science Popularization Association of Communicators and Educators, after watching the eclipse.

One of the best views of the complete eclipse, shown live on several television channels, appeared to be in the town of Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges river, sacred to devout Hindus.

Thousands of Hindus took a dip in keeping with the ancient belief that bathing in the river at Varanasi, especially on special occasions, cleanses one’s sins. The eclipse was seen for 3 minutes and 48 seconds.

The eclipse — visible only in Asia — will move north and east from India to Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China.

Scientists said the Indian village of Taregna would have the clearest view, where thousands of scientists, nature enthusiasts and students gathered.

Their party was spoiled by thick clouds and overnight rains, but even that was welcome news for the agricultural area which has seen scant rainfall this monsoon season

“It would have been nice to see the solar eclipse but the rain is far more important for us,” said Ram Naresh Yadav, a farmer.

At its peak, the eclipse lasted 6 minutes and 39 seconds in other parts of Asia.

It is the longest such eclipse since July 11, 1991, when a total eclipse lasting 6 minutes, 53 seconds was visible from Hawaii to South America. There will not be a longer eclipse than Wednesday’s until 2132.

Scientists set up telescopes and other equipment in Taregna a day in advance to make the most of the window of opportunity provided by the eclipse.

A 10-member team of scientists from the premier Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bangalore and the Indian air force plan to fly and film the eclipse, an air force press release said.

But millions across India were shunning the sight and planned to stay indoors.

Even in regions where the eclipse was not visible, pregnant women were advised to stay indoors in curtained rooms over a belief that the sun’s invisible rays would harm the fetus and the baby would be born with disfigurations, birthmarks or a congenital defect.

Krati Jain, a software professional in New Delhi, said she planned to take a day off from work Wednesday to avoid what she called “any ill effects of the eclipse on my baby.”

“My mother and aunts have called and told me stay in a darkened room with the curtains closed, lie in bed and chant prayers,” said Jain, 24, who is expecting her first child.

In the northern Indian state of Punjab, authorities ordered schools to begin an hour late to prevent children from venturing out and gazing at the sun.

Others saw a business opportunity: one travel agency in India scheduled a charter flight to watch the eclipse by air, with seats facing the sun selling at a premium.

Additional police and paramilitary troops were posted around Patna and Taregna after Maoist rebels called for a strike Wednesday to protest increases in the price of gas and other essentials.

The rebels, who say they are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, often target police and government workers.

“Adequate numbers of forces have been deployed at Taregna where top scientists and researchers are gathering to view the celestial wonder,” said R. Mallar Vizhi, a senior superintendent of police in Patna.

West Haven, Conn., July 15, 2009-While alternative medicine has been around for millennia, University of New Haven (UNH) senior James Hilaire says he may have discovered one of the newest, and most unusual, remedies of all-meeting and shaking hands with United States President Barack Obama. Hilaire is recovering from a season-ending injury he received while serving as UNH goal keeper in a men’s soccer game in September, 2008. ABC News learned of his arduous battle to recover from the accident, and invited him to the White House for the taping of “ABC News Primetime: Questions for the President – Prescription for America,” on Wednesday, June 24.

James Hilaire

Hilaire was one of a number of individuals from throughout the country invited to the White House to speak with President Obama on the future of the nation’s healthcare system. Though he didn’t have the chance to ask the president his question-regarding the lack of affordable health insurance for college students no longer covered by their parents’ health insurance-he was able to meet Obama while standing in the receiving line following the show’s taping. Hilaire says the President shook his hand, smiled and gave him a wink. “That, to me, was the best cure of all,” Hilaire says. “To think that millions of people in the United States will never have the chance to meet President Obama-but I did-is wonderful. I will carry that moment with me for the rest of my life.”

Hilaire has been an inspiration to the entire UNH community during his recovery process, and was named UNH Male Athlete of the Year for 2008-2009. He notes that his doctors told him he would be unable to get out of a wheelchair for at least six months. “I started walking in two months,” he says, “Yes, I was limping, but I was walking!” he laughs.

A leader in experiential education, the University of New Haven is experiencing a historic and nationally recognized surge in enrollment. Founded in 1920, the University provides its students with a unique combination of solid liberal arts and real-world, hands-on professional training. UNH is a private university with an 80-acre main campus. The University has an enrollment of more than 5,200; approximately 1,700 graduate students and more than 3,500 undergraduates, 70 percent of whom reside in University housing. The University offers more than 80 undergraduate degrees and more than 25 graduate degrees through its five colleges, in fields such as sports management, nutrition, forensic science, music and sound recording, engineering, computer science and criminal justice. University College at UNH develops programs and courses to meet the emerging educational and training needs of educators, businesses and public and social agencies, focusing on academic excellence, convenience and flexibility. University of New Haven students study abroad through a variety of distinctive programs.