Trinity is about to turn 200! On May 16, 1823, the charter to found Washington College was signed. So much has changed since then—from our name to Trinity College to our location from the site of the Connecticut Capitol in Hartford—and yet one thing remains consistent: we continue to be deeply committed to educating academically talented leaders by developing the best of their intellect, curiosity, and spirit of innovation.
Join us next spring when we kick off our yearlong bicentennial celebration. On Charter Day 2022, President Joanne Berger-Sweeney announced the celebration’s theme, Trinity at 200: Committed to the Future since 1823.
In her letter to the community, Berger-Sweeney noted that the festivities will start in 2023, exactly 200 years after the college’s charter was granted. Under the guidance of Philip Khoury ’71, H’21, former vice chair of the Board of Trustees, and Kelli Harrington Tomlinson ’94, a current trustee, the Bicentennial Steering Committee continues to guide the work of three community-wide Celebration Committees tasked with programmatic planning to honor what makes this college special—our People, Places, and the Liberal Arts. Fourteen working groups have been meeting and collaborating on plans to celebrate and engage the full community through intergenerational dialogues and reflections about our collective history and future.
While the planning had been slowed due to the pandemic, you soon will begin to notice a number of communications about the calendar and planning of events, collective storytelling, and community engagement. Committees are actively planning and envisioning ways to illuminate and honor the history—and future—of people, places, and the liberal arts at Trinity.
Of note, Trinity will broaden alumni engagement and is planning events to invite alumni back to campus, including an enhanced all-class reunion in June 2023 to help kick off the bicentennial in true Trinity fashion. The college wants to hear from all alumni and will send an alumni survey this fall, similar to one sent four years ago. This time, responses also will help shape some of the bicentennial programming.
During the planning year, the college is rolling out the branding initiative, which will guide how Trinity tells its story to the world through these lenses: the strength of our connected community, the passion of determined doers, and the dynamic location of our campus and Hartford. As Trinity continues this year to communicate the progress made from the strategic plan, Summit, you also will start to hear about the goals of our $500 million capital campaign, currently in the nucleus phase and expected to launch in fall 2023.
For up-to-date information on the college’s plans to celebrate its 200th anniversary, please visit www.trincoll.edu/Bicentennial.