Special Charter Day Announcements!
May 16, 2024
Dear Members of the Trinity Community,
As we close the historic yearlong Bicentennial celebration today on the 200th Charter Day, I am thrilled with what we have achieved together. More than 11,000 attendees have participated in 47 Bicentennial events over the course of the year! We have committed to Trinity’s future while engaging alumni, faculty, staff, and students, as well as neighbors and friends, to celebrate Trinity. A few highlights of the year include the magnificent Alumni Bicentennial Celebration during Reunion, the fall and spring campus Bicentennial symposia that underscored the vibrancy of our academic community and the relevance of a liberal arts education, and the Bicentennial Gala that raised more than $500,000 in current-use financial aid to support students from our home in Hartford to attend the college ’neath the elms. What a year!
Today, we will revisit the tradition established last year of planting a new tree on our campus, a designated arboretum, as a symbol of continued life and hope. For those on campus today, please join us for lunch at noon in Mather Dining Hall and a lemonade toast to the Class of 2024.
I am especially proud of the Bicentennial achievements that will continue beyond one year. Trinity’s Long Walk Historic District, anchored by the Chapel and the Long Walk, is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The register serves as the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation because of their significance in American life. Thank you to the committee members and staff who persevered to make this wish a reality. We also created a living history of the College documented through 200 Stories and 200 Years that will endure.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont officially proclaimed May 16 as “Trinity College Day.” What better way to recognize our importance to the City of Hartford and the State of Connecticut? The Trinity College Bicentennial flag will fly annually in downtown Hartford at the Connecticut State Capitol—where our college was founded 201 years ago today.
I cannot think of a more fitting way to conclude the Bicentennial celebration than by honoring our people, this place, and our remarkable liberal arts education. Thank you to Bicentennial Co-Chairs Philip Khoury ’71, H’21, Kelli Harrington Tomlinson ’94, Hellen Hom-Diamond, and Mitch Polin ’96 for leading and the Bicentennial planning committees for delivering a most memorable year.
I hope this community feels a tremendous sense of pride and honor on this Charter Day.
Onward to the next 200 years!
Joanne Berger-Sweeney
President and Trinity College Professor of Neuroscience
