Back to Facilities Services

Summit Facilities Committee Email to the Community

December 17, 2018

Dear Members of the Trinity College Community,

The Summit Strategic Plan calls for the renewal of our historic campus with the goal of planning and implementing a physical environment that fosters community and learning both inside and outside the classroom. In our role as members of the Summit Facilities Committee, we are working in an advisory capacity with the administration and helping to facilitate long-range facilities planning for the college.

As a starting point toward the development of a long-term plan for the maintenance, improvement and development of our physical plant, we’re writing to share with you a set of categories that has been proposed to help provide structure for a plan.

Proposed Categories:

  • Academic Facilities
  • Student Housing
  • Campus Infrastructure
  • Chapel
  • Athletic Facilities
  • Neighborhood Improvements

We are seeking your feedback: Are these the right categories? What’s missing? Please send us your thoughts and suggestions by emailing the committee at [email protected]. As always, we are grateful for your input, which we will share with the administration.

In addition, even as the college works toward a long-range plan, decisions related to facilities projects are made every year in the annual budget process. We want you to be aware of the general timeframe for that process so that you may be informed and involved. Given the long lead times necessary to develop and plan capital projects, budget considerations start very early: In January 2019, the college will begin considering capital projects to undertake in the 2020-21 academic year.

Here’s a sense of how capital projects work their way through the annual budget process. This process has evolved to integrate our committee and maximize opportunity for community input.

JANUARY-FEBRUARY: Trinity community members are invited to speak with their division heads (or email [email protected]) about ideas for capital projects

MID-MARCH: Deadline for division heads to submit priority project lists to budget director; budget director compiles projects into a master list shared with Summit Facilities Committee

APRIL-MAY: Summit Facilities Committee reviews master list, invites feedback from the community, then shares feedback with the VP for finance/chief financial officer

SUMMER: Cabinet reviews master list and community feedback

SEPTEMBER: Board of Trustees Facilities Committee recommends action on capital projects

OCTOBER: Board of Trustees vote on capital projects for inclusion in upcoming budget

Please let us know if you have ideas for how this evolving process could be improved. We welcome your feedback on this process and look forward to your involvement in it beginning in January.

Sincerely,

Tom Fusciello
Rob Lukaskiewicz
Melanie Stein