If you have ever taken a bird's eye view of the Trinity College main quad from the top of the chapel or a top floor in the library or Northam Towers, you would notice that the trees on the main quad are arranged in the form of a "T". At the base of this "T" is a statue of Bishop Thomas C. Brownell. One of the Episcopalian founders of Trinity College in 1823, Brownell was Trinity's first president. "The Bishop," as Trinity students commonly refer to the statue, was made in 1869 for the original campus of Trinity in downtown Hartford. When the campus moved, so did The Bishop.

The placement of "The Bishop" at Trinity's new campus was not accidental. This statue is a centerpiece and focal point of the main quad and all its activity. The Bishop can be clearly seen from the playing fields, the chapel, and all dorms and administration buildings around the quad and the library. The "T" of trees forces your attention toward the statue. The Bishop faces Trinity and points toward the center of the long walk, the Northam Towers arch. Standing directly on the plaque in front of Northam provides the viewer with the best angle of The Bishop. From here it is possible to look directly down the shaft of the "T" and see the front of The Bishop unobstructed.

The Bishop was created by Chauncey Ives of Rome and done in all bronze. He holds a book in his left hand, possibly a bible or a scholarly book. Since Trinity was previously an Episcopalian school, The Bishop represents this combination of religion and education. The statue is not to scale and the bishop towers over anyone who would be frequenting the quad. Yet, dwarfed by the enormous architecture of the Chapel and the Long Walk, The Bishop appears as a little man with a big purpose. He helped to create and support the college that surrounds him. Although it appears as just a statue honoring a great man, The Bishop also has many other functions at Trinity. He is the focal point of fraternity pranks, initiation ceremonies, Ultimate Frisbee games, Frisbee Golf, parents weekend pictures and commencement. He also provides shade and a place to sit and study on a sunny spring day.

I, personally, do not think The Bishop is a successful piece of artwork at Trinity College. This is not to say that it is unsuccessful, just not really noticed. It is not obvious from looking at the statue or from its informal title who The Bishop really was and what he is doing on our quad. Many people that I've asked about The Bishop say that they look at him every once in a while or use it for different "quad games" but no one would be sad or disoriented if The Bishop disappeared from the quad. Senior editor Jack Hoblitzell was the only person who mentioned having particularly negative feelings toward The Bishop. He would be disappointed if I didn't point out that Bishop Thomas Brownell did own slaves, and for this reason should not necessarily be considered in an entirely heroic light. On the whole though, the observations various students and myself imply to me that The Bishop does not profoundly affect people's perceptions of the Trinity main quad.