Trustees, honorees, and their families gathered on Friday, October 16, as Trinity College added five new names to its Wall of Honor. The Wall, which is carved into the chocolate brownstone of the Fuller Arch at the center of the College’s historic Long Walk, recognizes individuals and organizations whose lifetime giving to Trinity has surpassed $1 million.
“It is the right place for a Wall of Honor, because everyone who belongs to Trinity comes through here sooner or later,” said President Daniel G. Lugo. “And what they’ll see is a reminder that this College is built by people who gave and kept giving, often long before the students who benefit ever arrived.”
The tradition dates to 2000, and the induction ceremony is now held each fall during Trustee Weekend. The Wall’s home was chosen in honor of Henry M. Fuller ’38, whose $39 million bequest was, at the time, the largest private gift in the College’s history. This year’s honorees supported scholarships, athletics, the library, and the College as a whole. Lugo noted that each honoree’s story is different, but each shares a belief that Trinity is worth extraordinary investment.
Lugo inducted Amanda Kauff Jacobson ’94, a trustee and co-chair of the Trinity College Fund who has stayed closely involved with the College. “When you look at what she has supported, you see a complete picture of what makes a Trinity education transformative,” Lugo said. She has funded term scholarships that open the door for students who might not otherwise attend. With her husband, Blair, she created the Kauff Jacobson Fellows Program, which supports nonprofit internships that are often unpaid and even covers professional attire and transportation. She also established a music endowment honoring her father, Michael Kauff ’61, and her brother, Russel Kauff ’91.
Gavin Viano, director of athletics and recreation, honored Malcolm F. MacLean IV ’92, a trustee, and Mimi MacLean. Viano said he learned the MacLean name almost as soon as he arrived at Trinity, from the MacLean Lobby in the Scully Center, the first space visitors enter. “They don’t give to be part of something ordinary,” he said. “They give because they believe Trinity can be exceptional, and they want people to feel proud to be Bantams.” Malcolm is co-founder and managing partner of Star Asia Group. Mimi is an entrepreneur and CPA who mentors women founders. “You have raised our expectations and helped us meet them,” Viano told them.
Matt Hyde, vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid, inducted Robert C. Nielsen ’62 posthumously. Nielsen was a Brooklyn attorney who attended every Reunion and returned each year to walk the Long Walk. He left half of his estate, more than $7 million, to Trinity for financial aid, a gift the College learned of only after his death in 2024. Because of that gift, Hyde said, a student will someday open an aid letter and call home to say, “I’m going.” Most students who pass through the arch will walk past Nielsen’s name without knowing his story, he added, “but they will be walking through a college that he helped keep open to them.”
Provost and Dean of the Faculty Sonia Cardenas honored Robert A. “Bob” Pedemonti ’60, M’71, and Veronica Pedemonti. A Hartford native, Bob earned two Trinity degrees and served the College for years as vice president and treasurer. He and Veronica later established the Pedemonti Family Endowment in honor of his parents, Maria and Silvio Pedemonti, to purchase corporate finance books and materials for the Raether Library and Information Technology Center. The fund has grown with support from the family, including daughter Maria Clifford ’88. “Every student who opens one of those books is learning from Bob’s expertise,” Cardenas said.
Lugo closed the ceremony by inducting Tami Voudouris Preston ’79, P’15, and Michael Preston ’79, P’15, who met at Trinity as first-year students. Tami served as a trustee from 2003 to 2007, and the couple have volunteered for decades in Reunion, admissions, and fundraising. “Their philanthropy reflects a deep understanding of what Trinity needs to thrive,” Lugo said. Their giving includes term scholarships and support for the renovation of what is now the Raether Library. It also includes generous unrestricted giving, which Lugo called “an extraordinary act of trust” that lets the College respond to opportunities as they arise.
“Every student who walks through this arch will pass [your names],” Lugo told the honorees, “and will be walking toward a future you helped make possible.”
For more information and a full list of inductees, visit the Wall of Honor page.
See more photos below.
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