President Dan Lugo Speaks about Vision for Trinity’s Future, Relationship with Hartford

Trinity College President Dan Lugo, who became the College’s 23rd president on July 1, spoke recently with WTNH News 8 chief political anchor Dennis House about his plans for Trinity and the future of its relationship with Hartford.

In the interview on “This Week in Connecticut,” Lugo said, “The future really is designed for our types of graduates to lead—commerce, business, civic, community engagement of all kinds … My vision is to further strengthen Trinity and its academic core so we are ensuring that our curriculum is the right content for a 21st century graduate to be able to compete out there in the world.”

Among his additional goals, Lugo wants Trinity to continue to support its faculty members in their fields of scholarship and to encourage them to involve students in that scholarship.

Lugo also plans to further enhance Trinity’s relationship with the city of Hartford. “When Hartford thrives, Trinity thrives, and vice versa,” Lugo said. “We’re very, very proud of all that we have done historically with the city of Hartford, and there’s more that can be done in the future.” House and Lugo discussed ideas for partnering with other colleges, as well as state and city officials, to build Hartford’s reputation as a college town.

When House asked about Trinity’s athletics—which won national championships last year in women’s squash, men’s basketball, and men’s rowing—Lugo said, “I’m so happy to be at Trinity College, which gets the student-athlete experience right.” The NESCAC conference and Division III competition produces well-balanced student-athletes, Lugo said. “[Trinity students-athletes] compete at the highest level, but it’s not their job. They want to be college students first and then have a really robust student-athlete experience.”

Lugo added that American higher education has long been able to adapt to change, and that the liberal arts approach sets students up to thrive. “The speed of change is picking up as technology is picking up … and I’m proud that Trinity is on the leading edge of that curve,” he said. “But at our core, I’m very, very proud of the evergreen nature of what you get out of a liberal arts learning environment that is truly emphasizing using all of the different multidisciplinary approaches toward solving complex problems.”

Watch the full conversation here.

In addition to this interview, a profile of Lugo was published recently in the Hartford Business Journal.