The Dodd Center for Human Rights celebrates the life and legacy of Senator Thomas J. Dodd and Senator Christopher J. Dodd. Combined, the father and son served over 50 years in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate representing Connecticut. The center honors their dedicated public service at home and abroad.
Home to robust academic programs and innovative external engagement in human rights, The Dodd Center houses the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute and its Dodd Human Rights Impact programs, the University Library’s Archives & Special Collections, and the Center for Judaic Studies & Contemporary Jewish Life.
First established in 1995 as the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center to honor Senator Thomas J. Dodd who sought justice in the wake of the unspeakable tragedies of the Holocaust, the building holds and archives his personal papers from his role as a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials. On October 15, 2021, President Joe Biden rededicated the building as The Dodd Center for Human Rights to recognize the legacies of both Thomas J. and Christopher J. Dodd.
Christopher J. Dodd's lifelong commitment to human rights is strongly evidenced by the laws and policies he co-authored during his tenure as Senator. Through legislation such as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which requires companies to disclose their use of conflict minerals, Senator Dodd’s work continues to uphold and protect human rights globally.
Events at The Dodd Center
Sport & Human Rights
October 22-24, 2025
The Dodd Center for Human Rights
The Human Rights Summit at The Dodd Center for Human Rights examines the key human rights challenges of our time and generate new ideas to promote social justice and human dignity globally. Through a mix of high-profile lectures, practical workshops, and roundtable discussions, the Human Rights Summit will serve as a critical venue for sharing insights, building relationships, and inspiring action.
The 2025 Summit, titled Sport and Human Rights, brings together prominent professional and collegiate athletes, thought leaders, policymakers, activists, scholars, students, artists, and business leaders from around the world to examine the promise, too often unfulfilled, of sport as a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment for everyone, no matter one’s color, race, religion, ethnicity, tribal affiliation, socioeconomic status, gender or sexual orientation.
The Summit will serve as a critical venue for sharing insights, building relationships, and inspiring action to align the world of sport with the principles of human rights. Through a mix of high-profile keynote addresses, fireside chats, and panel discussions, the Summit will engage a range of global and domestic issues at the intersection of sport and human rights, including: Gender, Sport, and Human Rights; Race, Sport, and Human Rights; Disability, Sport, and Human Rights; Business, Sport, and Human Rights; Children, Sport, and Human Rights; and History, Sport, and Human Rights.
In the News
Human Rights Close to Home: A Unique Civics Education Program for K-12 Students, Supported By the Redstone Family Foundation, Launched at UConn
December 12, 2023 | Jaclyn Severance
'I think we fundamentally underestimate how much our kids can learn even about the biggest and most important issues of today. We just need to teach them in ways that are relatable'
Memories of the Past, to Support the Future: UConn Presents 2023 Dodd Prize with Sweeping Conversation about Global Democracy
October 26, 2023 | Jaclyn Severance
'This year’s recipient of the Dodd Prize embodies the understanding that human rights are a cause that cannot be limited to individual countries'
Inaugural Human Rights Summit Comes to The Dodd Center with Critical Focus on Global Assault on Democracy
October 23, 2023 | Jaclyn Severance
UConn community and leaders, activists, academics, artists, policymakers, and students from across the country and around the world will come together in Storrs to place critical focus on human rights at the inaugural Human Rights Summit at The Dodd Center