Board of Trustees Hold Annual Fall Meeting Over Weekend; Curriculum, Facilities Addressed

Brendan Clark ’21

Managing Editor

The Trinity College Board of Trustees held their fall meeting this past weekend, addressing a myriad of issues facing the College presently and in the coming years. The Board was also in attendance at Trinity’s Wall of Honor Induction Ceremony on Friday, Oct. 20, which recognizes the considerable philanthropic gifts many alumni/alumnae and business associations have made throughout history in support of Trinity.

The Board, which meets three times during the academic year, as well as for a Board retreat in May, convened on Thursday, Oct. 17 and concluded their meetings on Saturday, Oct. 19. Chair of the Board of Trustees Cornelia P. Thornburgh ’80 spoke with the Tripod before the meeting, adding that key topics of discussion included “enrollment and student issues, the faculty’s new curricular revision proposal, and the forthcoming capital campaign.” Thornburgh added that “as with any campaign, you don’t get all the money at once,” but stressed that the continued planning discussions are critical to the execution of a successful campaign. The campaign is a “critical one” for the College and Thornburgh stated that the “Board is excited to oversee it.”

Several members of the college’s Curriculum Committee also presented at the Board meeting on Oct. 18, where they discussed the curricular revision proposal that has been presented to the faculty and solicited feedback from Board members on the proposal. Saturday’s meeting was reserved for “setting goals and future agenda items for the board,” added Thornburgh.

Thornburgh also stated that facilities needs would be a topic of discussion at the Board meeting, with special attention afforded to the “heating system and its continued repairs.” Thornburgh continued that the gradual replacement of the heating system would be completed “over a period of time” and would likely require the “issuance of public debt” to finance the project.

The 2019 Wall of Honor Ceremony, which took place on Friday in front of the Fuller Arch, saw the following individuals and organizations recognized: Roberta P. and Raymond J. Beech, Suzanne d’Harcourt Hooper and Michael C. Huebsch, the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the African Leadership Academy, Shuk Kuen Cheung and Bun Chak Poon, Donald E. Scott, and William B. Tyree and Kathryn George Tyree. Thornburgh added that this ceremony recognizes that it is important “not only to ask for gifts for the College, but to celebrate them as well.”

The Board also inducted new trustees this weekend who were appointed in July, including Eric Estes ’91, John S. Gates, Jr. ’76, Jeffrey B. Hawkins ’92, and Kelli Harrington Tomlinson ’94.

The thirty-one Charter Trustees, together with the Funston Trustee, are charged with “preserving Trinity’s mission.” President of the College Joanne Berger-Sweeney and President of the Trinity College Alumni Association also serve on the board in an ex-officio capacity. Thornburgh stated that the “Board’s role is not to manage, but to inquire and ask questions.”