3 Questions for ...
Paula Russo
Vice President of Planning, Administration & Affirmative Action
1) As vice
president of planning, what is your vision for what Trinity will
look like at 200 years old in 2023?
I would hope to come back in 2023 and see a Trinity College that
has a clear sense of its mission and is proud of it. In real
terms that might manifest itself in a variety of ways:
-
The College
would have a coherent curriculum that reflected its core values
and mission.
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The academic
programs, particularly in the arts and sciences, would be
flourishing.
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I would hope to
see a college whose generous financial policy has resulted in a
completely diverse student body.
-
I would see more
students comfortable walking outside the College boundaries,
whether it be over to the Learning Corridor to work with the
students there or down to Park Street or Franklin Avenue for a
bite to eat.
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Virtually all
students would seek out opportunities to study about and in the
city of Hartford.
-
Faculty and
students would be seen hanging out on benches and on the grass
engaged in exciting, sometimes heated, intellectual discussions.
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Every member of
the Trinity College community would feel valued and respected.
2) What do you
miss most since moving from the faculty to the administration?
I really miss interacting with students on a regular basis. After
all, they are the reason we are all here. I particularly miss
getting to know the first-year students. During my years at Trinity,
I always enjoyed teaching students during their first semester on
campus. They are delightful in their enthusiasm and eagerness to
explore what the College has to offer. I hope to be able to manage
my schedule so that I can teach a first-year course next year.
3) If you were granted three wishes for Trinity, without budget
or personnel constraints, what would they be?
-
That the College
realize its potential and take full advantage of all the
wonderful things it can offer its students and the community.
-
That it could
adopt a truly need-blind admissions policy.
-
That it could
develop a more challenging, coherent, and distinctive
curriculum.
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What they’re reading
…
Chris Card
Associate Dean
of Students
The Rules of Seduction—that
was the title
that grabbed my attention in a cramped bookstore in Burlington,
Vermont. It was Daniel Magida’s first novel and it proved to be an
engaging piece of fiction. In it, we follow Jack Newland, a charming
young man of distinct privilege, and his struggle to stay within
those social boundaries that high society has placed on its own. For
those of us who weren’t born with the proverbial silver spoon in our
mouths, we can travel vicariously into the lives of the rich and
socially mobile: tales of trust funds and elite boarding schools,
life in elaborate Manhattan apartments with jaunts to the weekend
mansion in the country (Connecticut), black-tie fundraisers for the
arts, and always being “on the list” and in the most exclusive club.
And every once in a while, we get some tantalizing gossip of
decadence and deviance…
Predictably, The Rules of Seduction
turns to affairs of the heart as we watch Jack struggle with a
difficult choice: does he play by the rules or follow his heart? And
while predictable in certain parts, Jack Newland exposes for us the
mysterious patterns of the wealthy. Here is perhaps the most
compelling aspect of this novel—that it commands an examination into
how class and status impact the human spirit! Even though history
will never deem The Rules of Seduction to be any literary
masterpiece, it is nonetheless an engaging, witty, and entertaining
story that’s well worth reading. An added bonus: Trinity is
mentioned in the book!
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