Davarian L. Baldwin, Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies at Trinity College, has received a two-year grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for his Smart Cities Research Lab.
This award will provide educational and research support for communities examining the financial relationships between campuses and their host communities through the lab’s Payment in Lieu of Taxes and Wealth Redistribution Analysis Project.
It also helps to support collaboration with the University of Minnesota on The Renewal Project, which provides archival and pedagogical training to project teams at nine institutions working on archival research, curriculum development, and commemorative placemaking.
Funding will support travel, research, training, and workshops in communities both nationally and internationally. In addition, it will support undergraduate fellowships for case studies, program management, and event scheduling.
Housed within the Trinity Social Justice Institute, the Smart Cities Research Lab studies and consults on best practices for building equitable urban communities. Baldwin, author of In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities, founded the lab in 2021.
Read more about Baldwin’s work with the Smart Cities Research Lab in this story from earlier in the year.
For 20 years, the Trinity International Hip Hop Festival has brought together artists, students, and community members from Hartford and across the globe. A new photo exhibit opening in conjunction with this year’s festival celebrates its history and legacy.
Multi-time tech CEO, entrepreneur, and Trinity Trustee N. Louis “Lou” Shipley ’85 will be the speaker at the College’s 200th Commencement on Sunday, May 17. Honorary degrees will be awarded to Joanne Berger-Sweeney, Trinity College president, emerita, and Carolyn “Carrie” Pelzel ’74.
Majerus comes to the College from the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), where he serves as vice president of expeditions. He previously held leadership roles at Queens University of Charlotte and Colby College. Majerus will join the Trinity community on April 27, 2026.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters has recognized Associate Professor of English Ethan Rutherford with the Rosenthal Family Foundation Award for Literature for his debut novel, North Sun: Or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther.
