UConn to name Hall of Champions after Denis Nayden
Longtime trustee was removed from university board by Lamont this year
Denis Nayden served on UConn’s board for 18 years until 2019, when Gov. Ned Lamont chose not to appoint him to a fourth six-year term, a move decried by Republicans as political retribution for Nayden’s donations to support Lamont’s opponent, Bob Stefanowski.
The University of Connecticut will name its Hall of Champions after a longtime trustee who was removed from the board by Gov. Ned Lamont earlier this year.
Denis Nayden served on UConn’s board for 18 years until 2019, when Lamont chose not to appoint him to a fourth sixyear term, a move decried by Republicans as political retribution for Nayden’s donations to support Lamont’s opponent, Bob Stefanowski.
The former GEO chairman and chief executive officer said Wednesday that he and his wife are avid supporters of UConn athletics, and that they were asked to make the donation for the Hall of Champions, which houses the university’s championship trophies.
“We’ve been talking about this for a while,” he said. “It was important to finish what is a focal point of the campus.” The donation, which both UConn and Nayden declined to specify the amount of, was “putting the finishing touches on the capital commitment required to finish the job.”
President Thomas Katsouleas wrote in a recommendation to the Board that Denis Nayden and his wife, Britta Nayden, “have pledged a gift consistent with the amounts recommended for naming the Hall of Champions.”
“Gifts for naming endowments in athletics start at $125,000,” UConn Foundation spokeswoman Jennifer Huber said. No further information about the donation was available.
UConn’s Board of Trustees Institutional Advancement Committee held a special meeting Wednesday morning, ahead of the full board meeting; the “Nayden Hall of Champions in the Werth Family Basketball Champions Center” was the only item on the agenda.
Committee Vice-Chair Andrea Dennis-LaVigne said they unanimously approved the naming; the full board also voted unanimously in favor of the decision.
“He had, slash has, a reputation for asking the hard, sometimes uncomfortable questions, but he did so because of his love and dedication to the University of Connecticut,” she told trustees. “Both he and Britta are UConn graduates, and have a soft spot in their hearts when it comes to education, as well as the student athletes.”
They are “lifetime significant donors to many programs at UConn including Athletics,” Katsouleas wrote to the board, and “have been instrumental in moving several projects forward during their history with UConn.” He also highlighted Nayden’s service on both the board of the UConn Foundation and the university’s board.
“I loved my time on the Board of Trustees. I think I contributed a huge amount to the university,” Nayden said Wednesday. “It’s the governor’s right to appoint whoever he wants, he did not reappoint me.”
In April, Stefanowski tweeted “Denis Nayden helped UConn raise $300 million in private donations and was a valued trustee for years. He also supported my campaign of no tolls and lower taxes. And Governor Lamont suddenly asks him to step down? Putting politics ahead of students and taxpayers is not right.”
“Gov. Ned Lamont with all his wealth and privilege is throwing a temper tantrrm because a prominent UConn Trustee supported Bob Stefanowski,” Republican Party Chairman J.R. Romano said at the time. “In this shocking display of political retribution, Ned removed a major asset to UConn and the state from his position because of how Mr. Nayden cast his ballot in November.”
Lamont’s office did not respond to request for comment Wednesday. In April, the governor told the Connecticut Mirror that Nayden’s political donations were not a factor in his departure from the board.
“That’s well documented, that I did support Bob Stefanowski,” Nayden said. “Politics is one thing, making the decision of who’s capable and who’s a huge contributor to the university is another.”
“He obviously decided he wanted somebody else,” Nayden said.
He and his wife, Britta Nayden, both graduated from UConn in 1976; he also earned a master’s degree from the School of Business in 1977.
In 2013, the Naydens made a $3 million donation that included $1 million for the UConn Basketball Champions Center, which was under construction at the time and in which the Hall of Champions is now housed. That gift also included $1 million for scholarships for student athletes and trainers studying business, physical therapy or kinesiology, and a “challenge match” for gifts from former UConn basketball players, UConn said at the time.
Nayden was one of two appointees who left the board after Lamont’s election. Board Chairman Thomas Kruger resigned in April, as the governor indicated that he planned to make changes to the board.
Kruger urged Lamont not to replace Nayden in his resignation letter, according to the Mirror, calling him “one of the most effective trustees.”
“While I know that his political affiliations may seem problematic on one level, I am hopeful that the best interests of UConn and the State will trump those considerations,” Kruger wrote.
After Nayden’s term ended in June, Lamont replaced him with former Tulane University president and UConn alumnus Scott S. Cowen.
That seat is once again open: Board Chairman Dan Toscano said Wednesday that Cowen has submitted his resignation from the board due to the recent death of his wife. “We hope to see him back at some point, he’s offered to continue to be a resource to us as a board,” he said.
That leaves another vacancy on the board, which is made up of 12 gubernatorial appointees, two elected student representatives and two trustees elected by alumni. Nayden was not aware of the upcoming vacancy, he said Wednesday.