Fundraising campaign for Trinity College kicks off public phase

Lisa Bisaccia
Board of Trustees Chair Lisa Bisaccia ’78

Trinity College kicked off the public phase of its historic fundraising effort, the All In comprehensive campaign, on November 27, 2023. In her message to the Trinity community announcing the launch, Board of Trustees Chair Lisa Bisaccia ’78 commented on the campaign’s identity: “For Trinity’s most ambitious fundraising effort to date, we selected the campaign name All In because it reflects the ethos and spirit that have come to define our community.” She added, “The Trinity impact is profound. For 200 years, we have educated those who use what they have learned to influence, reshape, and lead industries and communities around the world. Our students become alumni who make a difference for others, often recognizing and appreciating the depth of their connections years after leaving campus.”

Drew Galbraith, Bill Scully and Jeff Devanney at the All In kick off event
Director of Athletics Drew Galbraith, Bill Scully ’61, H’18, and Jeff Devanney ’93, P’25, ’26

Trinity started the campaign’s quiet phase in 2017 and raised $320 million. The first campaign since 2012, All In already has supported the revitalization of student spaces including the Cornelia Center, the Chapel, and the Manuel and Maria Luisa Lopes Borges Admissions Center, as well as the upcoming Ferris Athletic Center expansion. In addition to adding $90 million to the College’s endowment, efforts have raised $71 million for student scholarships, $60 million for the student experience through the Trinity College Fund, and $67 million in legacy commitments. The fundraising now will focus on affirming the most distinguishing features of a Trinity education: faculty excellence, a distinctive student experience, and a robust financial aid program.

For many of us here, our Trinity experience was marked by faculty who ignited our intellectual curiosity. They made us feel intellectually alive, smarter, and capable of discoveries we believed were solely our own.”

Sonia Cardenas Dean Of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Scott M. Johnson ’97 Distinguished Professor of Political Science

All In Teamwork

The success of this intense effort is due to a dedicated leadership team. The co-chairs of the quiet phase, Peter Duncan ’81, P’13, ’14 and Kathryn George Tyree ’86, worked closely with the late Vice President for Advancement Michael Casey and a strong volunteer Campaign Executive Committee. As the campaign enters its public phase, the new co-chairs, Trustees Henry Mallari-D’Auria ’83 and David Schnadig ’86 and former Trustee Cornelia “Cornie” Parsons Thornburgh ’80, H’22—alongside Executive Director Carrie Pelzel ’74, the Advancement team, and the Campaign Executive Committee—have stepped up to complete the campaign.

Dave Schnadig ’86, CornieThornburgh ’80, H’22, and Henry Mallari-D’Auria ’83, All In campaign co-chairs
Dave Schnadig ’86, Cornie Thornburgh ’80, H’22, and Henry Mallari-D’Auria ’83, All In campaign co-chairs

At the public phase launch celebration in New York City, Mallari-D’Auria, Schnadig, and Thornburgh spoke about the power of a Trinity education and the importance of supporting its future.

“We are growing resources for our faculty to attract and retain outstanding teacher-scholars and to provide our students with the experiential learning opportunities called for in our Trinity Plus curriculum,” Schnadig said. “Today’s students want to be challenged by discovering and learning about real-world problems firsthand.”

Mallari-D’Auria added, “The All In campaign is giving our students a transformative experience that will launch them on their life’s work and journey, that will someday cause them to say, ‘At Trinity, there was someone who believed in me.’ ”

Thornburgh concluded, “Let me return to a theme of this evening: our students cannot be and will not be their best without Trinity College and all of us giving them our best.”

For more information about the historic campaign, visit the campaign website at www.trincoll.edu/
Campaign.

The world needs Trinity graduates, and our duty to prepare them well is not just an obligation to fulfill Trinity’s mission; it is our obligation to society. We know that when the people of Trinity are all in, anything is possible.”

JOANNE BERGER-SWEENEY PRESIDENT AND TRINITY COLLEGE PROFESSOR OF NEUROSCIENCE

THE ALL IN IMPACT

The target for the remainder of the campaign—the distinguishing features of a Trinity education—is to raise at least an additional $100 million by the end of fiscal year
2025 to support:

Faculty excellence and the academic impact

  • Generous faculty development and named professorships will ensure that faculty are afforded more resources to remain leaders in their fields and active mentors to their students.
  • Experiential learning opportunities called for in our Trinity Plus curriculum—such as internships, global experiences, research opportunities with faculty, and
    entrepreneurship—will enable students to engage more deeply with real-world problems firsthand.

A distinctive student experience

  • Cultural houses, student residences, and spaces for collaborative work will encourage
    connections to be made, ideas to be shared, and friendships to be formed.
  • Athletic facilities, endowment, and support for our coaches will help student-athletes compete every season to be their best and will keep Trinity highly competitive in intercollegiate sports.

Robust financial aid program

  • Broadening financial aid to support a greater number of middle-income families will widen Trinity’s reach nationally and will engage students who otherwise might
    not think that Trinity is financially within reach.

Campaign Executive Committee

Sophie Bell Ayres ’77, P’12
Joanne Berger-Sweeney
Lisa G. Bisaccia ’78
Jennifer Blum ’88
Diane DePatie Consoli ’88, P’19, ’22
James W. Cuminale ’75, P’09
William E. Cunningham Jr. ’87, P’19, ’21
Peter S. Duncan ’81, P’13, ’14
Steven A. Elmendorf ’82
Elizabeth Elting ’87
Eric Scott Estes ’91
Walter L. Harrison ’68
Jeffrey Brooks Hawkins ’92
Susannah Smetana Kagan ’91
Elissa A. Raether Kovas ’93, P’25
Malcolm Fraser MacLean IV ’92
Henry S. Mallari-D’Auria ’83
Carolyn A. Pelzel ’74
Thomas L. Safran ’67
David L. Schnadig ’86
N. Louis Shipley ’85
Jamie Tracey Szal ’06
Douglas T. Tansill ’61, P’91, ’96
William G. Thomas III ’86, P’20
Cornelia Parsons Thornburgh ’80
Kelli J. Tomlinson ’94
Timothy J. Walsh ’85, P’15
Damian W. Wilmot ’97, P’25