A New Home for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Trinity College

Innovation and entrepreneurship at Trinity College will soon have a new home on campus thanks to a lead gift from former Trustee Elizabeth “Liz” Elting ’87. The Elizabeth Elting Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will be built on Vernon Street, adjacent to the Cornelia Center, which houses the Center for Career and Life Design. The new building will create a dedicated, purpose-built space for Trinity’s Elting Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Construction is scheduled to begin in late spring 2026, with an anticipated opening in fall 2027. Designed to foster collaboration, creativity, and hands-on learning, the building will include student accelerator rooms, classroom and conference spaces, and a gathering space for events. The facility will serve as a visible hub where students, faculty, alumni, and community partners may engage in innovative and entrepreneurial work across disciplines.

“Trinity gave me the foundation to not just dream big but to act on those dreams,” said Elting. “My years at Trinity showed me that the real value of a college education isn’t just what you learn in the classroom; it’s who you become because of it. The professors, the community, the experiences—they shaped my life and helped to set me on a path of exciting discovery and opportunity. I wanted to give something back that would do the same for current and future Trinity students—a dedicated space where they can discover their entrepreneurial spirit, take risks, and turn their ideas into something real. That’s what this center is all about.”

In 2022, Trinity established the Center for Entrepreneurship to expand opportunities for students, faculty, and alumni through experiential learning, programming, mentorship, and partnerships that help students develop an innovation mindset and skills to tackle real-world problems. The new space will build on that work, creating an environment designed to deepen collaboration and broaden access to entrepreneurship across the College.

Danny Briere, Ruane Family Executive Director of the Elting Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, described the new building as the next step in the center’s evolution.

“Over the past three years, we’ve built strong momentum by helping students apply innovative and entrepreneurial thinking to real-world challenges, regardless of their major or career path,” Briere said. “This new space will allow us to create more opportunities for mentorship, collaboration, and hands-on learning and to deepen our connection to the Trinity Plus curriculum, where experiential learning helps students turn ideas into action and innovation into impact.”

Elting is a lifelong entrepreneur. After graduating from Trinity with a B.A. in modern languages, she founded the translation services company TransPerfect from her New York University dorm in 1992, growing it over the following decades into a global, multibillion-dollar enterprise. She currently serves as founder and CEO of the Elizabeth Elting Foundation, an organization dedicated to breaking down systemic barriers and to fostering change for women and other underserved communities so people of all backgrounds can succeed, thrive, and reach their full potential. Elting also is the author of best selling book Dream Big and Win: Translating Passion into Purpose and Creating a Billion-Dollar Business.

“In a rapidly changing world, the graduates who will rise above are the ones who think like entrepreneurs and know how to problem solve, adapt, and take smart risks. Luckily, those entrepreneurial skills can belong to anyone, not just the people who want to start a company,” said Elting. “I want every Trinity student, regardless of their major or future goals, to have access to the mentorship, hands-on learning, and community that can help them develop these critical skills and thrive in their careers. Trinity’s alumni network is an extraordinary resource, and this center will create new ways to bridge that connection, bringing together generations of Bantams who are eager to invest in and inspire each other.”

Trinity College President Dan Lugo emphasized the role the new center will play in strengthening entrepreneurship as a distinctive part of the College and as a bridge to the broader community.

“The Elizabeth Elting Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship makes tangible something that has long distinguished Trinity: the power of a liberal arts education to spark innovation and purposeful leadership,” said Lugo. “At Trinity, innovation grows from curiosity, critical thinking, and a deep engagement with ideas. This center strengthens experiential learning by giving our students the space, mentorship, and support to translate their liberal arts education into real-world impact. It also will deepen our collaborations with Hartford’s innovation economy, civic communities, and alumni whose leadership and creativity continue to shape industries around the world. We are deeply grateful to Liz Elting for her vision and generosity in making this bold investment in Trinity’s future possible.”

Entrepreneurship and the Liberal Arts

At Trinity, entrepreneurship is rooted in the liberal arts and open to all students, not only those interested in starting a business. The approach encourages creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving across disciplines, all of which are core to liberal arts experiences. The new center will further support this interdisciplinary model by creating flexible space for idea development, mentorship, and experiential opportunities that connect learning to real-world application and further connect the College to the broader community.