I write to inform Reporter readers about two changes in the leadership of the College, both of which will take effect on July 1, 2014.

First, in anticipation of the end of Paul E. Raether’s term as Chair of the Board of Trustees on June 30, 2014, I am pleased to announce that Cornelia Parsons Thornburgh, Class of 1980, has been unanimously elected chair-elect of the Board of Trustees.

Paul Raether, Class of 1968 and Trinity parent ’93, ’96, and ’01, joined the Board in 1989 and assumed the chairmanship in May 2002. He has been the longest-serving chair of the Board and the most philanthropic of all alumni in the history of our College. His contributions are both legion and enduring. These include the completion of the Raether Library, the endowment of five Raether faculty chairs, significant faculty development initiatives, and the Dream Camp summer program for Hartford children. Paul has also supported key Trinity initiatives anonymously, serving as a quiet benefactor of many other endeavors. He has contributed enormous time and energy to his beloved alma mater, and his leadership has guided our institution in more ways than any of us could possibly count.

Trinity is fortunate to have someone as capable, experienced, and committed as Cornie Thornburgh to assume the leadership of the Board of Trustees. Cornie joined the Board in 2005. Since then, she has been actively involved in every facet of the Board’s activities. Cornie served as tri-chair of the Cornerstone Campaign and was national chair of the Trinity Annual Fund. She co-chaired the Charter Committee for Building Community at Trinity and is a founder of the Women’s Leadership Council. She and her husband Richard provided funding for the creation of four theme houses on campus, and Cornie has been an invaluable contributor to the Career Development Center at Trinity. She is currently the liaison to the Board of Trustees as we implement the new social initiatives unanimously adopted in October from the Charter Committee’s recommendations. I know she will provide excellent leadership for Trinity in the years to come.

I am writing also to tell you that I recently approached the trustees to convey my wish, effective June 30, 2014, to step down as president and to resign my tenured appointment as Trinity College Professor in the Humanities one year earlier than my contract stipulates. Several years ago, while we were in the midst of our Cornerstone Campaign and identifying strategic priorities, I agreed to extend my term through June of 2015. With much of this work completed or well under way, Jan and I have concluded that the stage is also set for new presidential leadership at Trinity. A search committee for the next president will be formed and will consist of trustees, faculty, and students. Cornie, as chair-elect of the Board, will head the search committee. Nominations will be sought from the entire College community, and I ask that each of you give some thought as to national leaders whom you may wish to nominate.

Our Trinity community has accomplished a great deal since Jan and I arrived here in 2004. I am proud of our collaborations on many fronts: notably the renovation of our historic Long Walk buildings, the Mather dining facilities, Trinity Commons, and the Gates Quadrangle, the success of our recent capital campaign, the expansion of our study abroad programs, and the recognition of the College by the most distinguished foundations in the country. Even more importantly, I applaud the myriad accomplishments of our faculty and students and especially the fine work so many search committees have done on faculty and administrative appointments over the past nine years.

Another lifetime ago, one of my mentors in the art of the academic presidency insisted that the two most important words in administering a school were simply these: thank you. I look forward to my final year of interacting with students, faculty, and staff on campus, overseeing the implementation of the new social policies, supporting our new Dean of the Faculty Tom Mitzel, and continuing to build our endowment for financial aid. I am likewise certain that I shall spend much of the next academic year just trying my best to express my gratitude to all of you who have made Trinity our home for what will have been a decade come June of 2014. Thank you.

Very truly yours,

James F. Jones, Jr.
President and Trinity College
Professor in the Humanities