Trinity College (Connecticut)

Trinity College is a private liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. It was founded in 1823 as Washington College in downtown Hartford. Founded by the Rt. Rev. Thomas Brownell, it was the second college in the state of Connecticut following Yale University. The first president, the Rt. Rev. Brownell, was an Episcopal bishop. Due to this fact, the college had difficulty obtaining its charter from the state because of the dominance of the Congregationalists. One of the conditions for granting the charter was that despite its Episcopal origins, the charter must prohibit imposition of religious standards on any students, faculty members, or any other member of the college. In 1845 the name was changed to Trinity College. The college originally occupied "College Hill," the current site of the state capitol. In 1878, the college moved to its current 100 acre (405,000 m²) campus.

Trinity College at Hartford, Connecticut

Campus

Trinity moved to its current location just south of the Frog Hollow neighborhood of Hartford in 1878 after selling its original site to the state of Connecticut for a new state capitol. The first buildings completed on the new campus were Seabury and Jarvis halls which, along with Northam Towers, make up what is known as the "Long Walk". The Long Walk is the earliest example of Collegiate Gothic architecture in the United States.

Trinity's other landmark is its distinctive chapel. The Trinity College Chapel, referred to by Trinity students as "the Chapel," was built in the 1930's to replace Trinity's original chapel, located in Seabury Hall (now a lecture hall). The Chapel's facade is made almost entirely of limestone and it seamlessly blends into the adjacent Downes Memorial Clock Tower. The Chapel, due to its location on Trinity's Gallows Hill, is the highest (but not tallest) building in the city of Hartford.

A distinctive feature of Trinity College is its central green known as the Main Quad. While a central green is a feature in many college campuses, Trinity's is unique in that it is unusually large, running the entire length of the Long Walk, and has no paved or unpaved walkways running through it. This makes the main quad ideal for outside work and picnics in the autumn and spring. Additionally, the steep hills on its north-eastern edge make it ideal for sledding in the winter months. Another feature of the quad are the trees located in it. They are placed in the shape of a T (for Trinity) with its base located at the statue of Bishop Brownell and its top running the length of the Long Walk. Rumor has it that the trees were designed this way to distinguish Trinity from Yale. Also located on the Main Quad are two cannons used on the U.S.S. Hartford during the civil war. The Main Quad is bound on the west by the Long Walk, on the east by the Lower Long Walk, on the north by the Chapel, and on the south by various dormitories.

The whole of Trinity's campus is set out on a 100 acre superblock bound on the south by New Britain Avenue, on the west by Summit Street, on the east by Broad Street, and on the north by Allen Place. Trinity's former northern border, Vernon Street, has been transferred from the city of Hartford to Trinity college and closed off at Broad Street, turning it into a cul-de-sac within Trinity's borders. Trinity's four border streets each have a unique character: Summit Street, cut off from the city by a 60 foot rock ledge and a park, almost has the feel of a country road, Allen Place is purely residential while New Britain Avenue is a typical inner city street with shops and apartments. Broad Street, formerly a rundown haven for prostitutes, has been revitalized in recent years with the creation of the Learning Corridor. The Learning Corridor, completed in 2001, is a collection of K-12 public magnet schools created by Trinity and the governments of Hartford and Connecticut. It is located on what was formerly an abandoned bus depot adjacent to Trinity's campus.

Trinity is distinctive for having no real through-streets running through campus. The only exception until recently was Vernon Street in north campus, which was closed off in 2001 on its east end to limit traffic. Since the street was transferred to the school from the city Trinity has done much to reinvigorate a street that was once fairly run-down. The street has been widened and repaved. Lightposts have been installed about every ten feet (which causes the street to look like a landing strip at night according to many students called "Runway V") and granite crosswalks, curbs, benches, and fenceposts have been added to the street. Vernon Street is also considered to be the social heart of campus, it is the location of most of the campus cultural houses and Greek organizations, as well as the new Vernon Social Center (known by students as the "party barn" due to its appearance).

Important buildings on campus

*Mather Hall â€" located just south of Hamlin Hall (the southern terminus of the long walk), Mather Hall is the main student center of Trinity College. The building contains the main dining hall as well as "The Cave" dining hall, a post office and student mail boxes, a coffee house, as well as meeting rooms and a large auditorium.
* Raether Library â€" This library was built in the 1950's to replace the library in Williams Memorial. It was renovated once in the 1970's and again in 2002. With the newest renovation a new atrium, a new grand reading room, and a coffee cafe (see Peter B's below) were added, as well as a new computing center and media center.

The Trinity College Raether Library in a December snow storm

*Seabury Hall â€" This section of the Long Walk contains classrooms, professors offices, and four dance studios.

Trinity College Life Science Center in the Summertime

*Jarvis Hall â€" This section of the Long Walk contains single, double and quad freshman dorms. It is rumored that when the doubles were designed for students while the singles across the hallway were intended for their servants.
*Northam Towers â€" This tower, with its distinctive archway, connects Jarvis and Seabury Halls. It contains upperclassman housing.
*Austin Arts Center â€" The AAC was designed in the 1960's and connects to the Gallows cafe and bookstore (see below). Some take the building to be inadequate, and it may be rebuilt in coming years.
*Life Sciences Center â€" Built in the 1970's, it was designed to be an abstract representation of the Long Walk. Most take this building to be an eyesore, but others find comfort that Castle Grayskull is watching over them, and keeping their life sciences safe.
*Math, Science, Engineering Center â€" MCEC is located on the Life Sciences Quad (named for the Life Sciences Center, which dominates the quad) it is made of brick and sandstone. It housed the computing center until it was moved to the renovated library.

Burge's original plan for the campus of Trinity College

Trinity College and Hartford

See Main articles white flight and Hartford
Hartford gives Trinity many advantages over other liberal arts colleges, or LACs. Trinity's urban location is atypical for a LAC in that most are located either in rural or suburban environments. Also, Hartford's distinction as the seat of government for the state of Connecticut (the state capital is within walking distance of campus) provides students with many opportunities for internships and special learning opportunities. Downtown Hartford is also in the process of revitalizing, with the Adriaen's Landing entertainment district and the Connecticut Convention Center nearing completion downtown is slowly becoming popular again with Trinity Students.

There is some conflict between Trinity and the surrounding neighborhood, as is the case with many wealthy colleges surrounded by poverty. Wesleyan has similar conflicts with the residents of Middletown, CT, which involve an array of petty crimes. Cars are broken into, preteens ride around on bikes shouting racial epithets, general thievery and the occasional violent crime.

Trinity and the Community

Trinity College has also been an instrumental player in Hartford and especially in the neighborhoods surrounding it. Trinity College along with the Learning Corridor, Hartford Hospital, and the Institute of Living make up the Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance or SINA. SINA has been instrumental in creating affordable housing in Hartford's Frog Hollow and Barry Square neighborhoods as well as in the creation of the Learning Corridor and the Trinity College Boys and Girls Club, the only Boys and Girls Club located on and run by a college or university.

In addition, Trinity students are actively involved in the community through outreach programs and community service projects. Many students work or volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club or at one of the Montessori Schools of the Learning Corridor. Additionally, Trinity has made an effort, especially since the inauguration of President James F. Jones, to include the community in its own internal improvements. The two most visible examples of this are the free use of Trinity's library and computer resources afforded to Hartford residents and the new Community Sports Complex currently under construction. The new complex will double as a rink for Trinity's ice hockey teams and as a public skating rink.

Academics at Trinity College

Selectivity

Trinity College consistently ranks as one of the top Liberal Arts Colleges in the nation. The US News and World Report routinely ranks the school in the top 25 institutions in the nation. Recently the Wall Street Journal ranked Trinity as the 43rd top "feeder school" for the top graduate school programs. Data compiled by the National Science Foundation lists Trinity as a liberal arts college that educates disproportionate numbers of future scientists.

Trinity College is a highly selective and respected institution. It attracts students from all over the world with its reputation. Further, Trinity has established partnerships with premier academic institutions worldwide, along with global sites on every inhabited continent.

Areas of study

Trinity College currently offers the following majors:

Contributions to the Arts

A student run film festival, known for the stalwart efforts of its creators.

Cinestudio is one of the premier Art Cinemas in Connecticut, and is known for its diverse selection, 1930's style design, and rapid rotation of the film schedule. Recently the Hartford Advocate wrote about this non-profit organization, which runs off of grants and volunteer workers, who are paid in free movies. Cinestudio has been located in the Clement chemistry building since the 1970's and was one of the few theaters to play A Clockwork Orange when it first came out.

The Eyeball Film Festival is also held annually in Cinestudio, where young film makers premier their latest works in front of their peers. The Eyeball Film festival was started in 2004 by Russell Adler and Elsa Crowley. It takes place on April 20th of every year. The festival has judges, each schooled in film from a different perspective, who judge the student's films, the 2004 award went to Three Colors Green. There is also a runner up prize which is voted upon by the audience, the 2004 people's choice went to Homeless Casanova by Michael Caputo.

History of Trinity College

Early history

Founded in the spring of 1823 as Washington College (the name was changed in 1845), Trinity was only the second college in Connecticut. Although its earliest heritage was Episcopalian, its principal founder and first president having been the Rt. Rev. Thomas Brownell, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, its charter prohibits the imposition of religious standards on any student, faculty members or other members of the college, consistent with the forces of religious diversity and toleration in force at the time.A year after opening, Trinity moved to its first campus, which consisted of two Greek Revival-style buildings, one housing a chapel, library, and lecture rooms and the other a dormitory. Within a few years the student body grew to nearly one hundred, a size that was rarely exceeded until the 20th century.

A new campus

In 1872 Trinity College was persuaded (the degree of free will at work in the college's move is disputed) by the State of Connecticut to move from its "College Hill" location (now Capital Hill) to its current 100 acre campus a mile to the southwest. However, although the college sold its land overlooking the Park River and Bushnell Park in 1872, it did not complete its move to its Gallows Hill campus until 1878. Trinity's first plan for the Gallows Hill site proved to be too ambitious (and too expensive) to be completely built. Only one section of the proposed campus plan, the Long Walk, was ever completed.

Trinity in the Twentieth Century

Trinity ended the nineteenth century as an institution primarily serving the Hartford area. The founding of the University of Hartford in 1877 however allowed Trinity to focus on becoming a regional institution rather than a local one. The early years of the century were primarily growth years for Trinity. Enrollment was increased to 500 men and in 1932 under President Ramsen Ogilby the impressive gothic chapel which is the symbol of Trinity College was completed. The chapel replaced the Seabury chapel which had become too small for the student body. The late 1960's were a time of great change for Trinity as well. In 1968 the trustees of Trinity College voted to make a commitment to enroll (with financial aid as needed) a much larger number of minority students. It is interesting to note that this decision was preceded by a siege of the administrative offices in the Downes and Williams Memorial buildings during which Trinity students would not allow the president or trustees to leave until they agreed to the aforementioned resolution. Less than one year later, in order to keep pace with sister institutions, Trinity became co-educational and admitted its first female students as transfers from Vassar College. Today women make up about 51 percent of the student body at Trinity College.

Trinity College Presidents

*James F. Jones. 2004 -
*Borden W. Painter, Jr. '58, H'95 2003 â€" 2004
*Richard H. Hersh 2002 â€" 2003
*Ronald R. Thomas H'02, Acting President 2001 â€" 2002
*Evan S. Dobelle H'01 1995 â€" 2001
*Borden W. Painter, Jr. '58, H'95, Acting President 1994 â€" 1995
*Tom Gerety 1989 â€" 1994
*James Fairfield English, Jr., '48 1981 â€" 1989
*Theodore Davidge Lockwood '48 1968 â€" 1981
*Albert Charles Jacobs H'68 1953 â€" 1968
*Arthur Howard Hughes, Acting President 1951 - 1953
*George Keith Funston '32 1945 â€" 1951
*Arthur Howard Hughes M'38, H'46, Acting President 1943 â€" 1945
*Remsen Brinckerhoff Ogilby 1920 â€" 1943
*Henry Augustus Perkins, Acting President 1915 â€" 1916
*Flavel Sweeten Luther '70 1919 â€" 1920
*George Williamson Smith H'87 1904 - 1919
*Thomas Ruggles Pynchon '41 1883 - 1904
*John Brocklesby, Acting President 1874 1874 - 1883
*Abner Jackson '37 1867 - 1874
*John Brocklesby, Acting President 1866 - 1867
*John Barrett Kerfoot H'65 1864 - 1866
*John Brocklesby H'45, Acting President 1864
*Austin Bradd Kern 1863 - 1864
*Samuel Eliot H'57 1861 - 1863
*John Brocklesby, Acting President 1860 - 1861
*Daniel Raynes Goodwin 1853 - 1860
*John Williams '35 1848 - 1853
*Silas Totten 1837 - 1848
*Nathaniel Sheldon Wheaton 1831 - 1837
*Thomas Church Brownell 1824 - 1831

Interesting facts about Trinity

*The first WebZine ever published was started at Trinity College in 1992, the Trinity Journal.
*Trinity's president since 2004 has been James F. Jones Jr. formerly of Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Among his accomplishments during his first year was the ground-breaking for a new community/college ice hockey complex on New Britain Avenue.
*Trinity was a men's college until 1969 when the college became coeducational. The first female students at Trinity were transfer students from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Among those women was Judy Dworin, chair of the Theatre and Dance Department at Trinity College.
*Trinity has one of the finest electron microscopy facilities of any small college in the nation. Trinity was one of the first academic institutions in the US to establish an undergraduate Neuroscience Program, a program initiated in 1992. It also was one of the first to establish undergraduate research as a staple of its science curricula.
*The college mascot is the Bantam.
*Trinity is a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference or NESCAC.
*The Trinity Football team (1877-present) is one of the oldest college football teams in America and currenlty holds the longest winning streak in NCAA Football at 30 games.
*The Trinity Men's Squash Team have held the CSA Potter's Cup National Championship title for eight consecutive years (1999 - 2006).
*The catalytic converter was invented at Trinity College.
*An anaerobic sealant called Loctite was invented at Trinity College by Vernon Krieble. [1]
*Gallows Hill, now the Ogilby Hall dormitory on Vernon Street, was named for the loyalist executions that took place there during the American Revolution. The Gallows Hill Bookstore adjacent to McCook Academic Building is named for this site.
*Cinestudio, the only student run movie theatre on a college campus, is located at Trinity College.
*MyTunes: the thorn in Apple's side, was invented at Trinity by Bill Zeller [2]
*In the 1800s, "Number Fifty" and "Number Forty-Nine" were Trinity College slang for privies, Jarvis Hall having forty-eight rooms.