Announcement about Trinity College Chaplain Allison Read
February 25, 2020
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,
I write to share the news that the Reverend Allison Read, Trinity College chaplain and dean of spiritual and religious life, has accepted the position of chaplain at Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts. Groton is a private boarding and day school for students in grades 8–12. Chaplain Read will leave us in mid-June 2020.
Chaplain Read has served the Trinity community since 2008. She has provided spiritual and pastoral counsel to many on our campus and has been a friend to students, faculty, and staff. She has led numerous campus initiatives pushing us to be the respectful, inclusive campus that we wish to be. She also has led a diverse team of committed personnel representing Judaism, Protestant Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and interfaith cooperation and breathes life into the principles of pluralism. Chaplain Read’s approach to education always has been about teaching students to be connected with others, to respect and understand our differences, and to put into practice a way of being that gives individuals the skills and willingness to truly listen and learn from each other.
As she has worked so tirelessly for the Trinity community, Chaplain Read also has served in leadership roles statewide and nationally. In 2019, she was elected vice president of the National Association of College and University Chaplains (NACUC). Earlier this month, Trinity co-hosted with Hartford Seminary the annual conference of NACUC, attended by more than 150 college and university chaplains and religious affairs personnel. She also serves on the liturgical commission of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut.
The second woman to serve as Trinity’s chaplain, Chaplain Read is an Episcopal priest, ordained in the Diocese of New York in 2003. She earned an M.Div. and an M.A. in religion from Yale Divinity School. She also holds a diploma in Anglican studies from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Virginia.
Chaplain Read’s care and love for humanity has shown through in all of her interactions, her initiatives, and her presence, and she leaves a lasting impact on the Trinity community. Before her departure, we will celebrate all the gifts that Chaplain Read has brought to our college. Until then, please join me in congratulating her on this new opportunity. We wish her all the best, and we look forward to hearing her guiding words when we celebrate the end of this academic year at Honors Day, Baccalaureate, and Commencement.
The college will organize a multi-constituent team of students, faculty, staff, and alumni to begin a search for a new college chaplain. We will keep you informed as we initiate the search process.
Sincerely,
Joanne Berger-Sweeney
President and Trinity College Professor of Neuroscience
