Bicentennial Fall Symposium: Memory, Presence, and Possibility

*New Virtual Zoom Session: Disabled Lives and Experiences at Trinity

As Trinity celebrates its Bicentennial and looks forward to its future, we will reflect on our history of access and inclusion. We envision a Trinity that fully embraces all disabled community members in every space on campus, values disability as a form of diversity, and demonstrates this commitment by planning an inclusive future beyond basic ADA compliance and legally mandated accessibility. *Click here for the newly added Zoom link.
Moderator: Diana Paulin, Charles A. Dana Research Professor of English and American Studies
Panelists: Meaghan Race ’18, M’19; Kelly Dugan, Visiting Assistant Professor of Classical Studies, Facilitator of the Disabled Faculty and Staff Affinity Group, and Faculty Adviser to the Students for Accessibility Student Organization; Sydney Cross-Watts ’24, President of Students for Accessibility and Political Science Major; Lily Mellitz ’26, Social Relations Chair for Students for Accessibility and Member of the Task Force on the Status of Women at Trinity

Entrepreneurial Endeavors: Cultivating Innovation in Liberal Arts Education

Goodwin Theater, Austin Arts Center

The insightful panel of this session will discuss the integral role and future of entrepreneurship in the liberal arts. This session will delve into how the liberal arts environment nurtures innovative thinking and adaptable problem-solving skills. It will explore the practical implications of embedding entrepreneurial education within the liberal arts curriculum, highlighting the challenges, opportunities, and impacts on both students and the wider community.
Moderator: Danny Briere, Executive Director, Trinity College Entrepreneurship Center
Panelists: Joe Catrino, Executive Director of Career and Life Design; Gabe Olszewski, Registrar; Lou Shipley ’85, Trinity College Trustee; Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre, Professor of History

Claiming Our Space and Building Belonging at Trinity College: QRC, WGRAC, and OMA

Phelan Library Learning Center, Raether Library and Information Technology Center, Level A

Many spaces build belonging among students at Trinity. In addition to physical locations, these spaces provide support and programming toward a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus community. The Women and Gender Resource and Action Center (WGRAC), Queer Resource Center (QRC), and the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) are examples of these spaces. This panel of staff, current students, and alumni connected to the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) will answer three questions: Why were these spaces created? What have they meant for belonging on campus? How have they shaped Trinity College?
Moderator: Robert Cotto, Director of DEI Campus and Community Engagement
Panelists: Carol Correa De Best ’01, M’09, Director of OMA; Laura Lockwood M’95, Director of WGRAC; Crystal Nieves ’08, M’23, Director of LGBTQ+ Life; Students and Alumni

A Vision for the Future of Undergraduate STEM Research at Trinity

Engelhard Reading Room, Raether Library and Information Technology Center, Level 1

Undergraduate STEM research at Trinity has changed dramatically in the past 50 years, expanding in scale and scope. How will undergraduate research at the College look 50 years from now, and how can we actively shape it to meet the evolving needs of students? This session will open with a brief historical overview of undergraduate research at Trinity followed by a moderated panel of junior STEM faculty in a discussion of their visions for STEM research and the structural changes and financial commitments needed to bring these visions into reality.
Opening Remarks: Henry A. DePhillips Jr., Vernon K. Krieble Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus
Moderator: Alison Draper, Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Science
Panelists: Jon Ashby, Assistant Professor of Chemistry; Clay Byers, Assistant Professor of Engineering; Kirsti Kuenzel, Assistant Professor of Mathematics; Niki Patel, Assistant Professor of Biology

Trinity’s Commitments to Hartford

Music Hall 102, Gruss Music Center, Austin Arts Center

Trinity College has been in and of Hartford since our founding in 1823. Though our campus has changed locations, the city has changed around us, and our institutional commitment to the community has waxed and waned, Hartford has been and will be Trinity’s home. In this discussion, we will join four Trinity alumnae who are leaders in Hartford to reflect on the ways our institutional commitment to Hartford has changed over time.
Panelists: Judy Dworin ’70, H’20, Trinity College Professor of Theater and Dance, Emerita, and Executive and Artistic Director, Justice Dance Performance Project; Jacquelyn Santiago Nazario ’00, CEO, COMPASS Youth Collaborative; Kae Taylor IDP’15, Head of the City of Hartford Office of Equity and Opportunity; Tiana Starks ’21, Community Impact Associate, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving

Doing This, Then That—A Slow Tempo Workshop

Garmany Hall, Austin Arts Center

Slow Tempo is an approach to physical performance that incorporates an extreme slow movement practice with an improvisational sensibility. Taught by Peter Kyle, the Slow Tempo workshop will combine the physical training method of Japanese theater director Shogo Ohta and contemporary dance techniques with the goal of training individuals to appreciate the moment-to-moment fact of one’s “being here.” While demanding of concentration, the workshop will be ideal for anyone interested in movement, performance, physical presence, and composition, regardless of age, experience, or ability.
Session Leader: Peter Kyle, Associate Professor of Theater and Dance

Slavery and Trinity’s Founding

Dangremond Family Commons, Hallden Hall North

This workshop will feature a conversation on the Primus Project’s research on the founding of Trinity College. Read the Primus Project’s Bicentennial reports.
Discussion Leaders: Scott Gac, Professor of History and American Studies; Chris Hager, Hobart Professor of the Humanities and Professor of English

Trinity at the Crossroads of Possibility: Where Are We Now and What Can Be Our Future?

DiBendetto Grand Room, Raether Library and Information Technology Center, Level 2

With shrinking enrollments, declining public confidence, and a growing backlash against campus diversity, many argue that higher education sits at a crossroads of crisis. But another path is possible. Instead of shrinking from the moment, our Bicentennial provides an opportunity to take stock of where Trinity is now and what its future can be. This panel will assess the College’s past of profound exclusivity and its present efforts at expansive redress and will think about a new vision for higher education more broadly.
Panelists: Davarian Baldwin, Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies; John Selders, Assistant Dean of Students; Christina Heatherton, Elting Associate Professor of American Studies and Human Rights; Channon Miller, ’11 Assistant Professor of American Studies and History

Noon–1:15 p.m.

Lunch

• Faculty, Staff, and Guests: Washington Room
• Students: Mather Dining Hall

1:15–3:30 p.m.

Hands-On Workshops

A Level Commons, Raether Library and Information Technology Center

Bookmaking Workshop through the Art of Storytelling

(Limited to 20 participants)

María Verónica San Martín is a Chilean New York-based artist and educator who explores the impacts of history, memory, and trauma through prints, artist books, installation, sculpture, and performance. In this workshop, San Martín will present a wide variety of bookmaking techniques, and attendees will explore the concept of three-dimensional books inspired by materials, methods, and perspectives that will be presented by the instructor. The workshop will focus especially on the art of storytelling as a means of portraying historical events addressing global sociopolitical issues.

Zine Making Workshop with Tony White
Shared Narratives: Personal, Community, Trinity

(Limited to 40 participants)

This workshop will give participants the opportunity to collaborate in making a zine, sharing images and personal stories, weaving personal lives, centering community, and including the history of Trinity. Staff will provide images of the College from the past and present for collaging. Participants should bring images, both color and black and white, that have personal significance and that are important to their experiences at Trinity. Note: Bring only copies and not original images; bring those that you are prepared to share and use in collages and that others may use.

1:30–2:45 p.m.

Breakout Sessions

Exhibit Opening and Dessert Reception

Watkinson Library and A Level Commons, Raether Library and Information Technology Center

Exhibit Opening: Engraving the Future 

 

Building an Encyclopedia of College History: A Work in Progress

Digital Scholarship Studio 182, Raether Library and Information Technology Center, Level 1

A collaborative project between students and staff within Library and Information Technology Services (LITS), Encyclopedia Trinitiana was established in spring 2022, several months prior to start of the Bicentennial Steering Committees. Currently featuring more than 250 individual articles in a linked wiki format, this resource seeks to highlight events, places, and people within the long history of Trinity College and to gather new, authoritative information about Trinity’s buildings, programs, and campus groups.
Session Leaders: Eric Stoykovich, College Archivist and Manuscript Librarian; Jeff Liszka, Research Librarian; Savannah Brooks ’26, Watkinson Library Student Assistant

A.I., the Liberal Arts, and the Future of Work

Engelhard Reading Room, Raether Library and Information Technology Center, Level 1

This panel has been assembled to engage in a thought-provoking discussion on the future of work; the impact of emerging technologies in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation; and the role of a liberal arts education in this future. This panel comprises esteemed faculty members, seasoned hiring managers, and dedicated staff members, each bringing their unique expertise to the table. Together, they will explore the intersection of human skills and technological skills, shedding light on how the liberal arts can contribute to the ever-evolving landscape of work and innovation.
Panelists: Alex Helberg, Visiting Assistant Professor in the Allan K. Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric; Joe Catrino, Executive Director of Career and Life Design

Stress, Trauma, and Building Resilience: From Individuals to Communities

Dangremond Family Commons, Hallden Hall North

Stress takes a toll on the cells in our bodies, our physiological systems, our brains, and our relationships. This, in turn, affects our ability to cope with trauma and disease, as well as how we face challenges in our daily lives and in our interactions with one another. This panel will explore how we can learn from basic and clinical research and practices such as storytelling to boost resilience and create healthier communities.
Moderator: Molly Helt, Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
Panelists: Catina Bacote, Assistant Professor of English; Rocio Chang IDP’94, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at UConn Health; Elizabeth Gromisch ’09, Research Neuropsychologist at the Joyce D. and Andrew J. Mandell Center for Comprehensive Multiple Sclerosis Care and Neuroscience Research; Heather Bennett, Assistant Professor of Biology

Trinity in Trinidad: Digitizing the Lloyd Best Archive

Lecture Room 181, Raether Library and Information Technology Center, Level 1 or join via Zoom

This workshop will explore the colonial nature of traditional archival practices and will show how a post-custodial praxis can work to dismantle these practices through our project to digitize the Lloyd Best Archive in Trinidad and Tobago in partnership with the Lloyd Best Institute of the Caribbean. A member of the West Indian Social Club of Hartford will speak about the significance of this archive’s accessibility to their community, and our partners from Trinidad and Tobago will discuss the meaning and value of their experience with this project.
Panelists: Carmel Best; Sariyah Mohammed; Amanda Matava, Digital Archivist; Christina Bleyer, Associate Vice President of Libraries and Digital Learning/Director of Special Collections and Archives, Watkinson Library; Fiona Vernal, Associate Professor of African American History, University of Connecticut

Performing Hartford, Session II: Planting Arts Futures

Music Hall 102, Gruss Music Center, Austin Arts Center

Emerging arts leaders will discuss the challenges and opportunities facing Hartford artists in the 21st century. This new generation of arts leaders will talk about the changing face of the city and their own work to build nests of care that support artists and sustainable artistic careers in Connecticut’s capital region.
Moderators: Rebecca Pappas, Assistant Professor of Theater and Dance; Deborah Goffe, Executive Director of the Austin Arts Center and Artist-in-Residence in Theater and Dance
Panelists: Jasmin Agosto ’10, Performance Curator, Sageseeker Productions; Anne Cubberly, Lead Artist, Nightfall; Jillian Cusano, Director of Operations and Producer, Parkville Sounds, and President, Hartford Dance Collective; Steve Cusano, Studio Owner and Producer, Parkville Sounds; Taneisha Duggan, Director and Producer, Octopus Theatricals

What Data and Experience Tell Us about Women in Academia: Challenges and Changes

DiBendetto Grand Room, Raether Library and Information Technology Center, Level 2

Drawing on data and experience, the members of this panel—four women from different disciplines, generations, and cultural backgrounds—will address issues regarding the present situation of women in academia, considering 1) the many challenges faced in the past, 2) the current situation at Trinity and in comparison with other institutions, and 3) and the possible ideas and solutions for the future.
Panelists: Christina Bleyer, Associate Vice President of Libraries and Digital Learning/Director of Special Collections and Archives, Watkinson Library; Serena Laws, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Law; Priscilla Meléndez, Professor of Language and Culture Studies; Sarah Raskin, Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Charles A. Dana Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience

Recreation’s Future at Trinity

Phelan Library Learning Center, Raether Library and Information Technology Center, Level A

This panel will feature recreation and wellness students and professionals discussing the new wellness and recreation center and how it will impact students, staff, faculty, and the Trinity community.

Campus and Neighborhood Planning for Trinity’s Third Century

McCook Auditorium, McCook Academic Building

This session offers a look at Trinity’s 1874, 1923, and 1997 Campus Master Plans and a glimpse forward to what Trinity should be doing in the future to have a comprehensive campus and neighborhood land-use plan for Trinity’s third century.
Panelists: Scott Reynolds ’63, H’11; Jackie Mandyk, Executive Director, iQuilt Partnership; Alden Gordon ’69, Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts; Dan Hitchell, Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer

Learning about Climate Change at Trinity

Hamlin Dining Hall

Students from the first-year seminar “A Sustainable Life” and from the Environmental Science Program at Trinity will discuss learning about climate change and about the importance of climate-related courses in the Trinity curriculum, now and in the foreseeable future.
Panelists: Tvisha Singh ’26 and Ben Lee ’24

This art exhibition features Traé Brooks, Sophia DeJesus-Sabella, and Kevin Hernández Rosa, three Hartford-based artists producing sculpture, assemblage, drawing, and weaving works that engage with how identity is shaped by and, in turn, shapes history and culture. An exhibition walk-through with the artists will take place at 5:00 p.m.

Award-winning poet and essayist Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen and Just Us, discusses her work in relation to the work of visual artists. This keynote talk is co-sponsored by the Department of English and the A.K. Smith Reading Series.

A Trinity College Hip Hop Tradition: Celebrating a Legacy of Community Engagement & Arts Education

Organized and curated by the Trinity Chapter of Temple of Hip Hop, in collaboration with Trinity’s Watkinson Library, A Trinity College Hip Hop Tradition is a multimedia installation that simultaneously celebrates Trinity’s Bicentennial, 50 years of hip hop music and culture, and 18 years of the Trinity International Hip Hop Festival, affectionately known as “The Fest.”

Since 2006, the annual festival, planned by students of the Trinity Chapter of Temple of Hip Hop, has used hip hop as a bridge in connecting Trinity to the city of Hartford. Our motto of “Peace, Love, Unity, and Safely Having Fun” has guided us in our efforts to build community, nurture artistic development, and raise global awareness. From its very beginnings, Hartford’s vibrant, multigenerational hip hop community has been the life force of The Fest, allowing the Trinity campus to serve as a platform for creative expression for local rappers and poets, DJs and producers, breakers and all-styles dancers, graffiti writers and street muralists, and independent entrepreneurs. By providing a space for Hartford artists, activists, and educators to share ideas with like-minded people from other cities and countries and to learn about issues of social concern, we pride ourselves on exposing the Trinity community to the ways hip hop has transformed the lives of countless individuals in Hartford and beyond.

A Trinity College Hip Hop Tradition is an installation that features a selection of hip hop artifacts housed at the Trinity College Library and in its archives:

• Vinyl records containing some of the most sampled jazz, funk, and soul songs by hip hop DJs and producers, which can be played and listened to at the listening station
• CDs and cassette tapes from the “golden era” of hip hop in the United States covering the years 1985–97
• Academic and photography books that contributed to the making of the interdisciplinary field of hip hop studies
• Promotional posters and photographs from The Fest covering the years 2006–23.

Student Members: Aleema Kelly ’26, Momo Djebli ’25, Beckett Hennessey ’26, Vy Duong ’26, Kenny Norwood ’26, Sandeep Thapa ’24, Ismael Irizarry ’24, Anaya Depina ’25, Jessica Salinas Rodriguez ’27, Malia Ruggiero ’27, Chenille Jake ’25
Faculty Adviser: Seth Markle, Associate Professor of History and International Studies

We Find Ourselves in This Place

This art exhibition features Traé Brooks, Sophia DeJesus-Sabella, and Kevin Hernández Rosa, three Hartford-based artists producing sculpture, assemblage, drawing, and weaving works that engage with how identity is shaped by and, in turn, shapes history and culture. An exhibition walk-through with the artists will take place at 5:00 p.m.
Location: Austin Arts Center, Widener Gallery