Phillip H. Kaplan, Ph.D., was president of the University of New Haven from 1973 to 1991. He died in early 2016.
During his tenure, the University matured from a primarily undergraduate commuter school to an institution with an expanded residential student body and more than 20 graduate programs. The campus was expanded to include the Marvin K. Peterson Library; Arbeiter Mäenner Chor (the German Club); Harugari, Echlin and Dodds Halls; the Psychology Building; Vieira Field; the Robert B. Dodds Athletic Field; and several dormitories. In 1993, the new building for the Graduate School, Kaplan Hall, was formally named in his honor.