Davarian L. Baldwin, Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies at Trinity College, has received a two-year grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for his Smart Cities Research Lab.
This award will provide educational and research support for communities examining the financial relationships between campuses and their host communities through the lab’s Payment in Lieu of Taxes and Wealth Redistribution Analysis Project.
It also helps to support collaboration with the University of Minnesota on The Renewal Project, which provides archival and pedagogical training to project teams at nine institutions working on archival research, curriculum development, and commemorative placemaking.
Funding will support travel, research, training, and workshops in communities both nationally and internationally. In addition, it will support undergraduate fellowships for case studies, program management, and event scheduling.
Housed within the Trinity Social Justice Institute, the Smart Cities Research Lab studies and consults on best practices for building equitable urban communities. Baldwin, author of In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities, founded the lab in 2021.
Read more about Baldwin’s work with the Smart Cities Research Lab in this story from earlier in the year.
Trinity College is closing the 2025–26 academic year with growing momentum in multiple areas including enrollment, philanthropy, and campus investment initiatives.
Trinity College will celebrate the Class of 2026 at the College’s 200th Commencement on Sunday, May 17, with honorary degrees awarded to Commencement speaker N. Louis “Lou” Shipley '85, Joanne Berger-Sweeney, and Carolyn “Carrie” Pelzel ’74.
Julianna Boris ’26 has been awarded a Fulbright grant to serve as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Taiwan, combining her academic interests with her passions for teaching and cross-cultural connection.
The 2026 Campus Life Leadership Awards were presented recently by the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement (SLE), honoring the achievements of Trinity student leaders and organizations over the past academic year.
