An alumni couple who felt compelled to give back to the University of Connecticut for the education they received will now make a similar difference in the lives of future honors students. Robert ’68 and Carlotta ’68 Holster have contributed more than $1 million to fund an endowment for the Honors Program.

“Building on the quality of our outstanding Honors Program is a key strategy to attract the very best and brightest students to the University of Connecticut. This wonderful gift will enable us to expand the opportunities for students to have a truly enriched experience, and will enable us to provide the quality of undergraduate education that our top students have come to expect,” says Provost Peter Nicholls.

A self-described “curious but indifferent” student when he started college, Mr. Holster was excited by the Honors Program. He credits his professors during his first year with inspiring a lifelong passion for learning and preparing him for success throughout his life.

“They were talented, engaged with their material and their students, and it was infectious,” Mr. Holster recalls. “Those freshman courses in economics, English literature and history armed me with models for thinking about things that assisted me later in the Army and in graduate school, and remain relevant to this day in business.”

After graduating from UConn with a B.A. in economics, Mr. Holster served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army and then earned an M.B.A. from Columbia University, where he was a Samuel Bronfman fellow. He is chairman of the board and former chief executive officer of HMS Holdings Corp. HMS coordinates health care benefits between government entitlement programs (e.g., Medicaid) and the health insurance industry, working with more than 40 states and the federal government. Mr. Holster was elected to the UConn Foundation’s Board of Directors in 2009.

Read more at the University of Connecticut Foundation.

Timothy Holt ’75, chairman of the Board of Directors of the University of Connecticut Foundation, is supporting his two great passions—economics and Huskies basketball—with a major campaign gift. Holt and his wife, Beverly, have committed $401,000 including $150,000 to establish the Timothy A. and Beverly C. Holt Economics Fellowship and $251,000 toward the fund for a new basketball practice facility.

Holt, retired senior vice president and chief investment officer at Aetna, credits his education at UConn for helping with his professional success. He was elected to the Foundation’s board in 2001 and assumed the chairmanship in 2009. Additionally, he was inducted into the UConn School of Business Hall of Fame in 2005.

“I received my education at UConn, and I’m grateful for that. That’s why I’m giving back. I’d like to help other people receive as good an education as I did,” Holt says. “UConn stands out for its ability to give people the opportunity to receive an excellent education.”

Holt, who earned a B.A. in economics from UConn and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, wanted to support an area the economics department is seeking to expand. The Holt Economics Fellowship will provide essential support for graduate students who are conducting research, teaching undergraduate classes and preparing to be the next generation of leaders in the field.

“When I was an undergraduate student at UConn, I majored in economics, and so I wanted to do something that would benefit the economics department. We talked to them about what would be the most helpful in achieving their strategic goals. Graduate student support is one of their highest priorities,” Holt says.

Read more at the University of Connecticut Foundation