Albertus Magnus College Names Community Garden After Recently Retired Professor
Announcement Made at 11th Annual Experiential Learning Day
New Haven, Conn., April 7, 2021 – Albertus Magnus College announced today that its Community Garden is now named after Dr. Hilda Speicher who dedicated much energy and time in developing Experiential learning Day (ELD) as a vital component of an Albertus education. She led the tradition since 2011 before retiring last year -- and the Community Garden continues to be at the core of College’s values and liberal arts-based education, with its Dominican Tradition of the Four Pillars: Study, Prayer, Community, and Service.
The garden has been in operation since 2018. A committee of staff, faculty, and student
interns manage the planting, maintenance, and harvesting. All the food grown is donated
to local food pantries and soup kitchens. Since its inception, 684 pounds of fresh
produce have been shared to provide nutrition to both body and soul. Academically,
the garden is a site of experiential learning for a number of majors including Psychology
and Urban Development to enhance the classroom experience. The photo below is from
a recent Community Garden clean-up.
About Albertus Magnus College
Founded in 1925, Albertus is a coeducational Catholic College in the Dominican tradition. Albertus' values- and liberal arts-based education is recognized by external rankings such as US News & World Report, Money, and The New York Times, and has been named a Top 10 Military Friendly School. For ten consecutive years, at least 95% of Albertus graduates have attained employment or gone on to graduate studies within six months of completing their degrees. The College has an enrollment of approximately 1,300 students across its traditional undergraduate, accelerated adult undergraduate, and graduate program levels. Proud to enroll a student body where nearly half of its undergraduate students receive Federal Pell Grants and are first-generation college goers, Albertus is known for its innovative curricular offerings, recently launching new Bachelor's degree programs in Nursing, including BSN and Connecticut's first LPN-to-BSN; General Health Sciences; Interdisciplinary Studies; and Public Health.
Among its graduate offerings is the State of Connecticut's only Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling program, and it is just one of three schools to offer a Master of Science in Human Services. In 2025-26, Albertus is celebrating its historic 100th Anniversary and completing implementation of the Albertus 2025: Lighting the Way to a Second Century strategic plan, with a bold vision to "be a destination liberal arts-based college, distinguished in its interdisciplinary and experiential approach to education, rooted in Dominican values, that prepares students for lifelong civic engagement and success." To learn more, please visit albertus.edu.