About the Office
The Office of the Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs functions as a coordinated team, supporting faculty, students, and staff at Trinity. Learn more about the academic deans, our dedicated staff professionals, and faculty directors.
Academic Deans |
Sonia Cardenas, Acting Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation, and Professor of Political Science
Responsibilities: Appointments and promotions; academic programs; faculty development and mentoring; academic centers and institutes; global study and urban educational programs; as well as strategic academic planning, including position allocations, the academic budget, academic assessments, graduate studies and intersessions; and various strategic initiatives, including Trinity’s downtown campus and academic capital planning. Contact: Sonia.Cardenas@trincoll.edu. Williams Memorial. 860-297-4193. |
Takunari Miyazaki, Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Associate Professor of Computer Science
Mitchell Polin, Associate Dean for Curriculum and Associate Professor of Theater and Dance
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Administrative Staff |
Sylvia W. DeMore, Special Assistant to the Dean of Faculty
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Dania Field, Associate Director of Intersession Programs and Special Assistant for Strategic Initiatives
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Ashley Hebert, Assistant to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Office
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Patricia Moody, Director of Academic Finance
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Leo Schuchert, Associate Director of Academic Experiences
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Faculty Directors, 2020-21 |
Tennyson O’Donnell, Director of Academic Outcomes and Director, Allan K. Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric and Allan K. Smith Senior Lecturer in English Composition
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Irene Papoulis, Director of First-Year Seminars and Principal Lecturer in the Allan K. Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric
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Sarah Raskin, Director of Faculty Mentoring and Charles A. Dana Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
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Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre, Faculty Director of Innovation Initiatives and Co-Director of the Academy of Lifelong Learning
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Responsibilities: Academic Departments and Programs: Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Educational Studies, Engineering, Environmental Science, Formal Organizations, Human Rights, International Studies, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Public Policy & Law, Sociology, Theater and Dance, Urban Studies. Functional Responsibilities: Faculty Searches, New Faculty Orientation, Faculty Leaves, Faculty Retirements, Remote Teaching (faculty), Teaching Awards. Committees: Faculty Research, Emergency Management, Institutional Review Board, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Library and Information Technology Committee. Centers: Center for Teaching and Learning, Aetna Quantitative Center, Interdisciplinary Science. Contact: 
Responsibilities: Academic Departments and Programs: American Studies, Art History, Classical Studies, Computer Science, English, Film Studies, History, Jewish Studies, Language & Culture Studies, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Studio Arts, Women, Gender & Sexuality; Gateway Programs. Functional Responsibilities: Curricular Implementation, External Reviews, Inter-Sessions Curricula, Liaison to Library, Remote Learning (students), Honorands. Committees: Curriculum Committee, Academic Affairs, Summit Facilities, Learning Spaces. Centers: Allan K. Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric, Trinity Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, Center for Academic Advising, Greenberg Center for Religion in Public Life. Contact: 
Assists the dean with all matters pertaining to the Appointments & Promotions and Educational Policy Committees, contract renewals, appointment letters, leave requests, faculty profiles, and faculty searches. She also assists the Ann Plato Search Committee. 
Plays a key role in leading the summer and J-term intersessions for Academic Affairs, and assists the Vice President for Academic Affairs on coordinating major strategic initiatives at the College, including the partnership with Infosys and programming at Constitution Plaza. Contact: Downes Memorial 106, 860-297-5331/ 
Oversees the various budgets for which the Dean’s Office has responsibility. Pat also tracks expenses, performs budget analysis, and processes Academic Affairs faculty and staff reimbursement requests and invoices, and develops budgets for study away programs. She is the liaison to the Business Office and represents the Dean’s Office on the Benefits Committee. Contact: Williams Memorial 230, 860-297-2128/ 
Responsible for coordinating, designing and supporting key initiatives that shape the academic experiences of students, including First-Year students, as well as faculty. The associate director works closely with the academic deans and a wide variety of offices across campus, coordinates the First-Year Mentor Program, and provides support to the Faculty Research Committee, student research initiatives, and academic advising. Contact: Williams Memorial 231, 860-297-5368/ 
Responsible for supporting academic assessment, and coordinating and facilitating conversations between student facing offices and academic affairs. Contact: 
Responsible for overseeing first-year seminars, including all aspects of faculty development. Contact: 
Responsible for creating and supporting mentoring programs for faculty, working closely with the associate dean for faculty development. Contact: 
Responsible for supporting learning spaces and digital learning, including program content development for the Trinity-Infosys Applied Learning Initiative, and co-directing the Academy of Lifelong Learning. Contact: