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OCTOBER 2, 2017 • HARTFORD BUSINESS JOURNAL | 29 Education Despite the rising popularity of online education, the growth of brick-and-mortar college campuses in Greater Hartford defined the higher-ed industry over the last quarter-century. One of the biggest stories during the 2000s to today has been the growth of the University of Connecticut's Storrs campus. Initially through the UConn 2000 program, and later through 21st Century UConn, the state pledged more than $2 billion to enhance Connecticut's flagship public university. The result has been a dramatic transformation of Storrs, including the construction of a number of new educational buildings as well as dormitories. Construction continues at UConn today, with a number of infrastructure projects underway as well as the high-profile Innovation Partnership Building, which is a 110,000-square-foot facility that anchors the university's Technology Park. A more recent trend has been growth of college campuses in downtown Hartford, as schools seek out urban environments. It started with Capital Community College's Main Street campus followed by the University of St. Joseph's pharmacy school. UConn has moved its Greater Hartford campus downtown into the former Hartford Times building and Trinity College is planning a downtown presence as well. Sheff v. O'Neill In the K-12 education world, there is a simple three-word phrase that defines the sector from the mid-1990s until today: Sheff v. O'Neill. The landmark court case was issued by the Connecticut Supreme Court in 1996 and it attempted to right the segregation of public schools in the Hartford area. That decision has resulted in a tremendous boom in magnet schools in the region, managed in large part by the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC). Today, CREC runs 40 facilities in a dozen towns and 16 interdistrict magnet schools that draw students from throughout the Hartford region. The magnets operate largely around themes. For example, there is the Academy of Science and Innovation, which educates children in grades six through 12 from its New Britain location. There's also an elementary arts magnet CREC school in Avon. In short, there's a school for almost every specialized interest operated by CREC. Greg Florio, executive director of CREC, says the proliferation of magnets in the region has helped accomplish the goal set out in Sheff v. O'Neill, which was to give poor, inner-city Hartford College campuses grow as legal changes shift K-12 education By Christina H. Davis Special to the Hartford Business Journal Industry Lookbacks The UConn campus in Storrs has undergone billions of dollars in renovations over the last quarter- century, transforming the school into one of the nation's top public universities. SECTION SPONSOR: