Elting Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to Open in 2027

Sajja Ranjit ‘29

News Editor

Trinity College plans to construct a new entrepreneurship and innovation center on campus, a donor-funded project that administrators say will expand experiential learning opportunities for students while still adhering to the College’s liberal arts education and principles.

The building, named the Elizabeth Elting Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, will be located on Vernon Street next to the Cornelia Center for Career and Life Design. Construction is expected to begin in late spring of 2026 with an anticipated opening in fall of 2027.

Elizabeth “Liz” Elting ‘87 the lead donor behind the new center, is a Trinity alumna and entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of TransPerfect, a global language and translation services company. A former member of Trinity’s Board of Trustees, Elting has remained involved with the College and has supported initiatives focused on innovation and student opportunities.

The building will serve as a new home for Trinity’s entrepreneurial activities, which were launched in 2022, that provides students with programming, mentorship and internship opportunities, and partnerships focused on entrepreneurship and innovation. 

In an interview with the Tripod, Scott Jordan, Trinity’s Chief Financial Officer said the project reflects the College’s effort to connect a liberal arts education with practical career preparation.

“One of the wonderful things about Trinity is the way it connects a liberal arts education with the practical skills that help launch graduates into meaningful careers and lives,” Jordan said. “We see entrepreneurship as something that complements the liberal arts tradition rather than competing with it.”

Danny Briere, the Ruane Family Executive Director of the Elting Center, says the program focuses on developing skills that apply broadly across careers rather than simply encouraging students to start companies: “At Trinity, we’re trying to give you lifelong skills that apply to anything that you’re doing,” he said. Because of this approach, Briere emphasized that the program is intentionally broad and open to students from different academic interests. “Don’t try to put us in a box because we’re not putting you in a box,” he said.

“Students are our North Star,” Briere said. “Everything we do is about helping students apply innovative and entrepreneurial thinking to real-world challenges.”Briere said the program is designed to support students throughout their time at Trinity through various speaker events, alumni connections, workshops, and student competitions. 

Unlike many capital projects on campus, the entrepreneurship center will be entirely funded by donors, rather than the College’s operating budget. Jordan said projects like these typically emerge through discussions between the College and its alumni community about areas of shared interest: “Trinity isn’t building something simply because a donor wants it, and donors aren’t giving money simply because Trinity asks,” Jordan told the Tripod. “It’s really a conversation involving students, faculty, the institution and donors.”

Several student ventures have already emerged through the program. One example is Flippit, a student-founded startup that allows travelers to ship items confiscated at airport security checkpoints back to their homes instead of losing them. Briere said projects like Flippit demonstrate how students can identify everyday problems and develop practical solutions through entrepreneurial thinking. 

Students involved in the program have also worked on projects that apply new technologies to community issues. In one initiative, students used artificial intelligence to analyze traffic and surveillance data in Hartford to identify intersections where drivers frequently run red lights. Additionally, the center also works in tandem with local organizations such as the Hartford Magnet School for Technology, Creativity and Arts (HMTCA), allowing younger students to engage in hands-on innovation projects. As a part of this collaboration, students from HMTCA participate in an innovation challenge where the top three teams are invited to Trinity to present their ideas. 

“Entrepreneurship is really about a mindset,” Briere said. “Skills like creative problem solving, communication, and taking initiative are valuable in almost any career path our students pursue.”

The announcement comes as some students have raised concerns about campus infrastructure and housing conditions. Jordan explained to the Tripod that Trinity evaluates major campus projects using a ranking system to determine which improvements should be prioritized.

According to Jordan, potential projects are evaluated over several categories including life safety issues, infrastructure needs, academic priorities and program impact. The ranking process helps administrators determine which issues should be addressed first. “The goal is to make sure we’re addressing the most urgent needs on campus while also investing in projects that benefit students academically,” Jordan said. “We understand that housing conditions are important to students’ day-to-day experience, and those improvements are something the College is actively working on.”

Student housing renovations, specifically first year housing, are scheduled to begin this summer. The College is also working to address and fix aging infrastructure on campus, including underground steam lines that provide heating to several buildings.

Construction of the new entrepreneurship center is expected to begin after commencement in May 2026 to minimize disruptions in the academic year. Because the site is located near student housing, administrators said work will take place primarily during daytime hours once construction begins.

“The center is really about creating a place where students can explore ideas, collaborate, and turn what they’re learning into real-world projects,” Briere said.