200 Years

Summit Campus opens three buildings: Seabury Hall, Jarvis Hall, and Northam Towers. Seabury, Jarvis occupied by fall 1878. 

The iconic statue of Bishop Brownell was relocated to the Summit Campus from the original site.

Formerly enslaved James Williams, 88, employed as laborer for 50 years, dies. Overflow crowd attends his service.

Elm trees planted in rows—one along Long Walk, two running east from Northam—to form “T.” Brownell statue moved to Main Quad.  And the first telephone service is installed. The campus takes shape.

A horse railway service from downtown Hartford to Broad and Vernon streets begins operation.

Augustus Burgwin ’82 sets words for “’Neath the Elms of Our Old Trinity”; it is unofficially adopted as alma mater by 1900.  Listen to the Chapel Singers perform the piece.

Undergraduates make the case to change school colors from green and white (adopted in 1868) to dark blue and gold.  And in a letter to alumni, the Trinity College Athletic Association argues for more adequate facilities for athletics.

The student newspaper credits the Main Quad plantings to Hartford native Frederick Law Olmsted. While no official renderings exist to indicate the renowned landscape architect designed campus, a pencil drawing  indicates his influence, 

Trinity is charter member of Intercollegiate Lawn Tennis Association with Yale, Brown, and Amherst. 

The former president’s house at 115 Vernon Street is completed, converted to the English Department in late 1970s. 

Alumni Hall houses gym; Jarvis Lab facilitates physics, chemistry. Jarvis demolished in 1963; Alumni Hall burns down in 1967.  

Electricity and steam heating are installed on the Main Quad.

Basketball was introduced 1894 when the men won their first game against Hartford Public High School at the local YMCA.

The sport existed as far back as the 1880s but the men’s team officially formed in 1895.

Joseph Buffington ’75 envisions a bantam mascot in the “collegiate barnyard,” ready to take on the Princeton tiger and Yale bulldog. The idea soars. 

Hall of Natural History opens teaching museum of animal, plant specimens from across globe; building is torn down in 1971.  

In 1911, the Trinity College football team would record its first undefeated season.

Williams Memorial completed at 90-degree angle to Jarvis Hall, in nod to original architect’s quadrangle plan.  

Former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt gives speech against pacifism, receives honorary degree. Long Walk plaque marks visit. 

Set in Stone

More than 480 students, alumni serve in World War I. Students on campus, about 172 men, in Student Army Training Corps (S.A.T.C.).  

The building was the target of one of six fires on campus in February 1923.

By 1925, students from all five major regions of the world had matriculated at Trinity. 

Campaign funds new structures: Trowbridge Pool/Squash Facility, Cook Dormitory, Cook Commons, and new chemistry building. 

Anne L. Gilligan and Dorothy M. McVay, teachers from Hartford Public Schools, are first women to earn graduate degrees.  

New Chapel dedicated as gift by William G. Mather ’77; Austin organ installed; 30-bell carillon given by Rev. John F. Plumb and wife.  

The Cook Dormitory, necessitated by increasing enrollment, was made possible by funds from Charles W. Cook.

Newman Club (Roman Catholic), Canterbury Club (Episcopalian), Hillel (Jewish), and Protestant Fellowship begin; Interfaith Council formed.  

By the late 1930s, the number of undergraduates in the student body exceeds 500 for the first time.  

Goodwin-Woodward Dormitory and Ogilby Hall open to accommodate growing undergraduate population.

U.S. Navy begins on-campus training for World War II officers; 900 apprentice seamen, 300 civilian students take part.  

After war, Trinity expands to 900 students; three-quarters are veterans on G.I. Bill. College temporarily goes year-round.  

WRTC begins live radio broadcasts from Jarvis. Among first performers are The Pipes, Trinity’s first a cappella group, founded in 1938. 

The Cave is established in 1948 as a place for students to have some coffee, play bridge, and socialize after hours.

Vernon K. Krieble, Scovill Professor of Chemistry, develops industrial sealant Loctite, later a multimillion-dollar global enterprise.  

Actuarial mathematics specialist Marjorie V. Butcher was named part-time lecturer, then associate professor in 1974, full professor in 1979. 

Built to house administrative offices, Downes Memorial Clock Tower completes enclosure of north side of Main Quad.  

WRTC records Robert Frost’s speech to 1,200 students at Memorial Field House and The Reporter documents a day with the popular poet.  

Austin Arts Center (theater, dance, music; performance spaces; galleries) opens in honor of Fine Arts Department founder A. Everett Austin Jr.  

In 1959, religious services are mandatory only on Sundays. They are eliminated six years later.  

About 800 students flood Trinity’s Chapel to memorialize Martin Luther King Jr.  

Citing lack of financial aid for Black students, sit-in staged at Downes, Williams for 30+ hours. Scholarships for Black students increase.  

E. Max Paulin is first Black admissions administrator. At Trinity 1968–78, he becomes assistant director of admissions. 

Medusa, secret student society in charge of student discipline, loses disciplinary function; in 1969, ends run as recognized group.   

Civil rights leader Julian Bond gives talk in Krieble Auditorium. As NAACP chair in 2002, Bond delivers speech in Mather.  

In the fall of 1969, Trinity College welcomed a new class of fiercely determined and intellectually impressive students. For the first time, some of them were women. 

Pioneers

Cinestudio thrives as cultural asset despite changes in film–viewing habits.

 Albert C. Jacobs Life Sciences Center and the George M. Ferris Athletic Center open.  

The College inaugurates the Rome Program, the inspiration of Professor Michael R. Campo ’48.  

Ann E. Robinson starts as assistant professor of psychology, making her the first Black female appointed to faculty. 

College designates Black Cultural Center. It is renamed Umoja House in early ’80s.

Laura S. Sohval is first female salutatorian. Thelma Marie Waterman is first Black female accepted to Trinity.  

Individualized Degree Program, for students pursuing degrees outside four-year track, starts, then gains popularity.   

Students begin to compete with other schools in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). 

Dori Katz named to Modern Languages Department, becomes the first woman to hold tenure-track position and to be granted tenure.  Watch an interview with the professor emerita. 

New organ dedicated in Chapel by Mrs. Newton C. Brainard. Retired music professor, organist Clarence E. Watters gives concerts.  

On April 21, 1972, the students voted to protest the war in Vietnam.

Trinity Women’s Organization (TWO) formed as forum for concerns of women on campus. Betty Friedan, Ruth Bader Ginsberg lecture. 

The Women’s Center, now Women and Gender Resource Action Center, opens and briefly publishes Feminist Scholarship Review.   

Trinity Coalition of Black Women Organization (TCBWO) is established, co-sponsors speech by Rev. Jesse Jackson before 1,500.  

The Lesbian and Gay Issues Committee composed of faculty, students, and alumni is formed by student Kim Carey ’89. 

President James F. English Jr. confers honorary degree on Desmond Tutu, Anglican bishop of Johannesburg, Nobel Prize laureate.   

The Trinity/La Mama Performing Arts Program begins at the La Mama Experimental Theatre Club in New York City. 

Tom Gerety, Trinity’s first Roman Catholic president, introduces policy against racial harassment, creates Racial Harassment Committee.  

Funds from $50 million campaign go to Mathematics, Computing, and Engineering Center (MCEC), which opens for classes, lab work.  

A neighborhood revitalization effort spearheaded by Trinity and supported by local entities creates the Learning Corridor, which brings together the Trinity College Boys and Girls Club and four schools.  Colin Powell, retired Four-Star General, speaks at the dedication. 

100 years of engineering instruction celebrated; Trinity one of two U.S. liberal arts colleges to have accredited engineering program.  

Human Rights Program promotes student awareness, facilitates courses in disciplines that address human rights issues.   

Former President Jimmy Carter delivers the Commencement address and receives an honorary degree from the College.   

Dream Camp hosts underserved youth in free academic summer program. About 170 Hartford children participate each session. 

The project is the first to be pursued in Phase 1 of the Campus Master Plan.  

Trustees OK $32 million renovation of library, built in 1952 and expanded in 1977. Spaces to have wired, networked computer connections.  

Trinity College in the Twentieth Century, by archivist Peter J. Knapp and wife Anne H. Knapp, is published.  

In Phase I of Campus Master Plan, admissions building is completed, arch at Northam Towers opens as grand entrance to quad.  

Donated by Trustee Henry Zachs ’56, Zachs Hillel House opens, hosting Jewish activities. Vernon Street becomes a cultural and social hub on campus.    

The 9/11 terrorist attacks take the lives of six members of the Trinity community.  

George A. Kellner Squash Center opens with first squash courts in world to have walls of colored—not clear—glass to cut distractions.   

Expanded library renamed Raether Library and Information Technology Center, honoring Paul E. Raether ’68, H’14, P’93, ’96, ’01.  

The Queer Resource Center (QRC) inaugurated at 114 Crescent Street. The center serves as hub for LGBTQ+ student life.   

Founded by Magee McIlvaine ’06 and Jason Azevedo ’08, festival hosts music, dance performances, promotes social justice, racial equity.  

A samba festival—now Samba Fest—begins, drawing musical groups from across the globe, notably Brazil, and from Hartford area.   

Koeppel Community Sports Center opens, with Albert C. Williams ’64 Skating Rink home to Bantam hockey, neighborhood recreation.   

Yearlong, $32.9-million renovation of Long Walk preserves historic, architectural integrity of buildings, adds modern amenities.   

President James “Jimmy” Jones Jr. proposes major reforms to be enacted within 10 years, including changes to Greek life.  

Quad in front of Mather Hall redeveloped with new lighting, walkways, lawn; renamed Gates Quad in honor of John Gates Jr. ’76.  

Under Head Coach Paul Assaiante, the Trinity men’s squash team completes the longest winning streak in college sports history.

The apartment-style Crescent Street Townhouses open, and Vernon Social Center renovations are completed.   

Joanne Berger-Sweeney is the first woman, first African American, and first neuroscientist to become Trinity president.  

Initiative aims to create immediate sense of belonging by encouraging connections among new students, their peers, mentors.   

Trinity goes test-optional; number of first-generation students, Pell grant recipients, international students rises.    

Gruss Music Center and Crescent Center for Arts and Neuroscience open, supporting diverse fields in the liberal arts.   

Summit, a strategic plan for the future of Trinity, is introduced to guide College toward Bicentennial and beyond.   

Trinity opens in downtown’s Constitution Plaza, with Liberal Arts Action Lab; introduces Center for Hartford Engagement and Research.  

Anita Davis is hired in the new role of vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Trinity launches partnership with tech giant Infosys, becomes founding partner of med-tech accelerator, opens Innovation Center downtown.   

Community members support one another through pandemic as Trinity, the world adapt to new ways of living, learning.   

Task force produces Action Plan for Racial Justice, project studies history with slavery, group considers names of facilities. 

With leadership of new sustainability coordinator, Trinity builds on foundation of past projects, efforts to support sustainability.  

Credit-bearing co-curricular experiences, wellness program introduced; new Center for Entrepreneurship supports experiential learning.  

Yearlong Bicentennial celebration kicks off with festival, Charter Day celebrations on campus and around the world.