🔒Amid decline in international students, University of New Haven President Frederiksen maps out growth agenda for 2026

University of New Haven President Jens Frederiksen is heading into 2026 with an ambitious agenda that includes launching a new innovation center, opening a satellite campus in Saudi Arabia, returning the university’s business school to the main West Haven campus and upgrading its athletic center. “The many significant projects and initiatives we are pursuing are a direct reflection of our growth and the university’s increasing visibility,” he told the Hartford Business Journal. Frederiksen, a Denmark native, joined the University of New Haven in March 2024 from Fisk University, a historically Black university in Nashville, Tennessee, where he served as executive vice president for institutional advancement and enrollment management. He has also served as a professor at his alma mater, Vanderbilt University, and the University of the South, and as a consultant for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. Since arriving at the University of New Haven, he’s been focused on growing the university in the U.S. and abroad. Last year, the school — with just under 9,300 students and campuses in West Haven, Orange and Italy — announced plans to transition its athletics program to NCAA Division I competition, a multiyear move that aims to significantly raise the institution’s national profile.

New innovation center

One of the first major projects to take shape under Frederiksen’s tenure is the university’s new Center for Innovation & Applied Technology. He hosted an open house in November for the 130,000-square-foot facility, located on 12 acres near the school’s main West Haven campus. The building, which previously housed discount home-goods retailer Railroad Salvage, is designed to serve as a hub where students and companies collaborate on production, automation and applied research projects. The ultimate goal, Frederiksen said, is to give students real-world experience that makes them more appealing to prospective employers upon graduation. The university has raised about $10 million in private funding toward a $25 million campaign for the center and expects to begin building out dedicated spaces for corporate partners this spring. “There are two or three large companies that have definitely expressed an interest,” he said. While he declined to name them, he cited Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Medtronic and Pratt & Whitney as examples of companies the university has worked with previously and that would be well suited for the center. In November, the university announced the center had entered into a master research agreement with Bausch+Strobel, a German manufacturer of pharmaceutical packaging equipment that operates a factory in Branford. The partnership is focused on developing strategies to mitigate the business impact of tariffs. “We are confident this will be the first of many (master research agreements) we will create with companies across the state and around the region,” Frederiksen said. Earlier this year, Frederiksen tapped Paul Lavoie, the former state chief manufacturing officer, to oversee development of the center as vice president of innovation and applied technology. “We both share a deep-rooted commitment to the fact that talent and the intersection of industry and academia is going to be all defining for the state of Connecticut and the nation,” he said.

Opening a Riyadh branch

Frederiksen is also looking to grow the University of New Haven internationally. In October, Saudi Arabia’s Council of Ministers approved the school’s plan to open a branch campus in Riyadh, marking the first time a foreign higher education institution has been authorized to establish an international campus in the kingdom, according to the university. The campus is scheduled to open in fall 2026 and aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative, a national strategy aimed at diversifying the Gulf nation’s economy and expanding private-sector participation in higher education. The Riyadh campus will include colleges focused on business and digital innovation, engineering and advanced manufacturing, and arts and applied sciences. It will offer undergraduate and graduate degrees, along with executive education and short-term credentials. Students will also have access to the university’s main campus in West Haven and its campus in Tuscany, Italy. Frederiksen said he began exploring the Saudi expansion within months of joining the university, citing demand for a globally competitive workforce and the scope of Vision 2030. The university has worked with Saudi students for more than two decades through private education programs and degree offerings. He said the university expects to secure a facility by mid-January that could initially accommodate about 300 students. The university has also partnered with Takamol Holding, a Saudi-owned company affiliated with the Ministry of Human Resources and Human Development, to design and deliver executive education and professional development programs for business leaders. The international expansion comes as the University of New Haven heads into 2026 facing a significant financial headwind: a sharp decline in international student enrollment in the United States. International enrollment has fallen nationwide following immigration policies enacted during the Trump administration, Frederiksen said, but the impact has been particularly acute at New Haven, which had the highest share of international students — 37.5% — among Connecticut universities as of fall 2023. At that time, the university enrolled 3,682 international students. Frederiksen said he expects that number to fall to about 1,000 this spring and roughly 700 by the fall. Any enrollment decline affects revenue, but international students are especially important financially because they typically pay full, non-discounted tuition. Frederiksen said the university, which enrolled 9,229 students last fall, plans to continue international recruitment efforts while also pursuing operational efficiencies to offset the decline.

New business school

Even with that potential revenue hit, the University of New Haven plans to break ground in June on a new 80,000-square-foot Pompea College of Business as part of an effort to return the school to the main campus, Frederiksen said. The business school was moved in 2018 to an off-campus location in Orange. Frederiksen said the university began planning the relocation about 10 months ago so business students would no longer be based roughly 20 minutes from the main campus. “To have it located somewhere in Orange at an old Hubble headquarters, quite frankly, doesn’t make sense at this point in time,” he said. Last April, the university received a $10 million gift from alumnus Dennis Martin, chairman of Federal Signal Corp., to help fund construction of the new on-campus facility. Frederiksen said the building is expected to be completed in 2027.

Upgrading athletic center

Another major initiative is a sweeping renovation of the university’s Jeffrey P. Hazell Athletic Center, including expanded seating capacity as the school transitions to NCAA Division I athletics. The project builds on the 2023 opening of the Peterson Performance Center, which includes a 7,000-square-foot weight room adjacent to the Hazell Center. The university officially attained Division I status July 1, and will become eligible for championship competition following a three-year reclassification period. The Chargers have joined the Northeast Conference, competing alongside Central Connecticut State University and other Northeast schools like Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island University, St. Francis University, Wagner College and Stonehill College, among others. The university is fielding Northeast Conference teams in numerous sports, including football, men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, field hockey, lacrosse, volleyball, golf and track and field. Frederiksen acknowledged the transition comes with higher operating costs and increased competitive demands, but said the university views the move as a long-term investment. He said it will provide a financial benefit by boosting enrollment and improving student retention. “It’s huge for enrollment, school spirit, student life, visibility and exposure,” he said, noting that he attended Vanderbilt University on a Division I tennis scholarship. “It energizes a campus.”