While we are still in the early days of the fall semester, I am incredibly optimistic for what\u00a0this year\u00a0will bring, as we are seeing signs of notable progress across the College, including encouraging results in enrollment and fundraising, significant facility improvements, and impressive student outcomes.<\/p>\n
Our newest Bantams\u2014572 of them, a 20 percent increase in the number of new students over last year\u2014arrived on the Long Walk this September full of anticipation and ready to explore all the opportunities that Trinity College has to offer.<\/p>\n
As we welcome\u00a0our new students, we\u00a0are already\u00a0thinking\u00a0about future classes and how we\u00a0can\u00a0enroll\u00a0the\u00a0most talented students.\u00a0With that in mind, the College recently announced the launch of a multifaceted\u00a0marketing and\u00a0financial aid initiative that\u00a0positions the College to compete for the best students from Connecticut, who\u00a0in recent\u00a0years increasingly\u00a0have not seen Trinity as\u00a0their\u00a0top-choice college.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Hometown Hartford\u00a0initiative\u00a0will\u00a0help ensure that Trinity is on the application list of every outstanding student in our home\u00a0city. The program more clearly\u00a0articulates\u00a0our\u00a0existing\u00a0financial aid\u00a0offerings,\u00a0letting every admitted student from Hartford know that Trinity will provide them with a full scholarship.<\/p>\n
Similarly, the College strives to be the top choice for students in Central Connecticut and\u00a0will\u00a0clearly\u00a0offer\u00a0half-tuition grants to\u00a0all\u00a0admitted students with primary residences in Hartford County and its adjoining counties of Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, and Tolland. This program aims to make Trinity an even more desirable\u202foption\u202ffor the region\u2019s highest achieving students.<\/p>\n
And\u00a0to ensure that\u00a0we attract\u00a0and\u00a0retain\u00a0the best\u00a0employee talent\u00a0at the College,\u00a0Trinity will\u00a0provide\u00a0full-tuition remission to all admitted children of employees with three or more years of continuous, full-time service to Trinity.<\/p>\n
These exciting financial aid offerings\u00a0are among several investments\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0making across campus, including physical upgrades to academic and residential spaces, athletics facilities, and infrastructure. During the summer, historic Seabury Hall and McCook Auditorium classrooms were refurbished, and the first half of a two-summer plan for renovations to all first-year residence halls took place. In addition, construction began on\u00a0a new marquee facility on campus, the\u00a0Elting Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship; to\u00a0read about what will happen in this space, set for a fall 2027 opening, turn to page 34.<\/p>\n
Not far from\u00a0the Elting Center, the Cornelia Center\u2019s one-of-a-kind wall drawing by renowned artist Sol LeWitt breathed new life, the result of a\u00a0summer\u00a0restoration project. A photo of the revived\u00a0installation, originally painted by Trinity students, faculty, and alumni following LeWitt\u2019s written instructions, graces this issue\u2019s cover. To learn more, including the unique ties that LeWitt had\u00a0to\u00a0our neighborhood, please see page 12. Elsewhere on campus, courts at the Paul D.\u00a0Assaiante\u00a0Tennis Center were\u00a0fully rebuilt with a new post-tensioned concrete foundation, and new lighting was installed on the softball field. Repairs were\u00a0made to the Chapel tower,\u00a0and less glamorous but\u00a0perhaps the\u00a0most essential, progress on the College\u2019s ongoing heating and cooling master plan was made.<\/p>\n
We are also excited about the\u00a0strong\u00a0early\u00a0outcomes,\u00a0indicators,\u00a0and\u00a0results\u00a0that Trinity\u00a0is experiencing.\u00a0We all\u00a0felt\u00a0great pride\u00a0as we said farewell to the Class of 2026 with the confidence that they are on the path to successful futures. And we know this thanks to our Career and Life Design Center\u2019s first destinations survey, which showed that 98 percent of the Class of 2025\u00a0have secured jobs, enrolled in continuing education, or found other meaningful \u201cfirst destinations\u201d within six months of their graduation.<\/p>\n
As you all already know so well, the transformative power of\u00a0a Trinity\u00a0education continues to yield\u00a0tremendous results. This fact was once again acknowledged by\u00a0LinkedIn\u00a0as\u00a0the networking platform\u2019s Top Colleges ranking named Trinity as the No. 5 liberal arts college in the nation\u00a0for career outcomes.\u00a0In addition, Trinity\u00a0was ranked No.\u00a036\u00a0in the nation\u00a0in LinkedIn\u2019s Top 50 when measured against career outcomes for all higher education institutions, including large elite universities.<\/p>\n
Our strong showings in the LinkedIn\u00a0rankings\u00a0and our exemplary student outcomes\u00a0are fueled by the\u00a0dedication of\u00a0our\u00a0expert\u00a0faculty and staff\u00a0and\u00a0the ongoing commitment of alumni.\u00a0We have much more work to do as we strive to build positive momentum for the\u00a0College,\u00a0and I look forward to working with each of you in our\u00a0ongoing pursuit of excellence.<\/p>\n