WINTER 2017 The Trinity REPORTER Justice Served Marissa Boyers Bluestine ’89 works to exonerate wrongfully convicted Q&A WITH A NEW LOOK AT THE TEACHING INSIDE TIM CRESSWELL COLLEGE EXPERIENCE TO TEACH Trinity’s new dean of the faculty, Book based on data from Program aims to increase vice president for academic afairs Trinity, six other institutions number of STEM educators 10 14 18 Justice served A new look at A Q&A with FEATURES Marissa Boyers Bluestine ’89 works to exonerate the college Tim Cresswell Trinity’s new dean of the wrongfully convicted experience faculty and vice president Book based on data from Trinity, for academic afairs six other institutions WINTER 2017 Members of Trinity College’s men’s club RUGBY TEAM take to the field for a game against Williams College at Hartford’s Colt Park in October 2016. The Bantams came out on top 47–10 and went on to go 10–0 this past fall, winning the East Coast championship and securing a spot in the National Small College Rugby Organization Challenge Cup to be held in Cheswick, Pennsylvania, in April. Trinity will face Bethel College of Indiana in a semifinal matchup. Trinity’s team, open to any interested male students, is part of the College’s Recreation Program, which ofers nearly two dozen club teams, several intramural squads, a variety of group fitness classes, and an active outdoor education program. The latter includes two weekly events and a larger trip each year. This past winter break, the College took a backpacking and canoeing trip to Big Bend National Park in Texas. PHOTO: JOHN ATASHIAN 2 / The Trinity Reporter / CONTENTS 22 28 32 That’s classic(s) Teaching to teach Fostering Studying the past with NSF-funded program aims DEPARTMENTS an eye toward the future to increase number of understanding Greenberg Center marks STEM educators 20th anniversary 02 ALONG THE WALK 07 AROUND HARTFORD 08 TRINITY TREASURE 36 ATHLETICS 41 CLASS NOTES 74 IN MEMORY 78 ALUMNI EVENTS 80 ENDNOTE The Trinity Reporter Vol. 47, No. 2, Winter 2017 Published by the Ofce of Communications, Trinity College, Hartford, CT 06106. Postage paid at Hartford, Connecticut, and additional mailing ofces. The Trinity Reporter is mailed to alumni, parents, faculty, staf, and friends of Trinity College without charge. All publication rights reserved, and contents may be reproduced or reprinted only by written permission of the editor. Opinions expressed are those of the editor or contributors and do not reflect the ofcial position of Trinity College. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Trinity Reporter, Trinity College, 300 Summit Street, Hartford, CT 06106 The editor welcomes your questions and comments: Sonya Adams, Ofce of Communications, Trinity College, 300 Summit Street, Hartford, CT 06106, [email protected], or (860) 297-2143. www. trincoll.edu ON THE COVER Marissa Boyers Bluestine ’89, legal director of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, outside Philadelphia’s City Hall PHOTO: ED CUNICELLI / Fall 2014 / 3 ALONG THE WALK ALONG THE WALK 2 / The Trinity Reporter / ON A MISSION Trinity College’s new mission statement, approved by the Board of Trustees in October 2016, reflects the evolving vision, values, and educational goals of the institution. The updated mission statement is meant to emphasize the traditional strength of the liberal arts education at Trinity as well TRINITY COLLEGE as what makes the College distinctive, and MISSION STATEMENT it serves as the anchor for Trinity’s strategic planning process. “Trinity’s new mission statement is both inspirational and aspirational,” said Engage. Connect. Transform. President and Trinity College Professor of As the preeminent liberal arts college in an urban setting, Neuroscience Joanne Berger-Sweeney. “This Trinity College prepares students to be bold, mission represents the core values that Trinity College has held for almost 200 years. independent thinkers who lead transformative lives. It binds us in a common purpose of learning, service, and community.” The new mission statement is the product of a nine-month process that began with WE ENGAGE. input from the trustees during their January We foster critical, reflective engagement with scholarship 2016 retreat and continued with faculty, and the creative arts as well as with one another and staf, and students during on-campus focus groups in spring 2016. Tim Cresswell, dean of the wider world. Our location in Connecticut’s capital the faculty and vice president for academic ofers excellent opportunities for engagement beyond the afairs, and Susan Masino, Vernon Roosa classroom in internships, student research, and community Professor of Applied Science, were charged with synthesizing the recommendations from learning. the various groups into draft statements. These drafts were presented to the Trinity community, including the National Alumni Association Executive Board, for reflection WE CONNECT. and feedback. More than 500 people We link students, faculty, and staf to form a diverse provided input throughout the process. community of learning. The connections of Hartford and “The mission statement will be our North Star for the College throughout our strategic Trinity College engage students as global citizens in the planning process,” said Berger-Sweeney. wider world, and a network of devoted alumni provide In early 2016, Berger-Sweeney announced lifelong opportunities for Trinity graduates. the beginning of that process, guided by the Bicentennial Strategic Planning Commission, to shepherd Trinity toward its 200th anniversary in 2023. WE TRANSFORM. We combine the liberal arts with life in a diverse city, enabling students to learn what they love, to build confidence, and to become leaders and innovators. We support all members of our community in achieving their potential and in moving forward with the skills to navigate and transform a dynamic world. Trinity College is where the liberal arts meet the real world. / Winter 2017 / 3 ALONG THE WALK TWO MORE FULBRIGHTS Two more recent Trinity College graduates have each been awarded an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Katherine Gagen ’16 will soon start a year in Argentina assist- Timothy J. Walsh ’85 and Mary Casner Walsh ing an English professor at a teacher’s Scholar Kelly Vaughan ’17 is interviewed at Peter B’s by a Fox 61 television news reporter. college and completing an indepen- dent project, while Josh Frank ’16 has already begun his nearly yearlong stint teaching English to students in PETER B’S Malaysia. The two join Alex Suarez ’16, who started his ETA in Mongolia BECOMES in summer 2016. Originally from Newton, LUKE’S DINER Massachusetts, Gagen, who leaves for Argentina in March, completed FOR A DAY double majors in Hispanic studies and urban studies and spent three A quick stop for cofee on campus took semesters in study-away programs: a bit longer on a day back in October, two in Buenos Aires and one in as fans of the comedy-drama television show Gilmore Girls packed into Peter Shanghai. She said it was this time B’s Espresso café to take part in a abroad, coupled with her experi- promotional event involving 200 cofee ences in Hispanic studies, that most shops across the nation. inspired her to pursue a Fulbright. Kelly Vaughan ’17, a Peter B’s manager and barista, said that Trinity’s Gagen said she is still consider- Peter B’s was one of just two cafés ing her career options. Prior to being in Connecticut enlisted by Netflix named a Fulbright recipient, she had to promote its Gilmore Girls revival planned to teach English in Colombia. miniseries, A Year in the Life, by handing She said that plan isn’t of the table out 250 free cups of cofee, courtesy of Netflix. Vaughan and fellow baristas for after her Fulbright year, but she embraced the chance to turn Peter B’s is also considering graduate school into Luke’s Diner, the regular hangout programs related to urban sustainabil- Top to bottom: Katherine Gagen ’16 in Argentina; Josh Frank ’16 of characters Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. ity and development. As an ETA, she Dressed in flannel shirts and backward baseball caps (just like said, “I would love to help create more Luke in Gilmore Girls), Peter B’s staf opportunities for students to better are places “where many races coexist served cofee in Luke’s branded cofee their socioeconomic backgrounds, with one another in a remarkable and cups and welcomed visitors who traveled gain important life skills, and facilitate unique ecosystem.” from across the state, including from learning experiences.” After his return in November, East Haven, Durham, and Clinton, as well as from Springfield, Massachusetts, to Frank came to Trinity through Frank intends to apply to Schwarzman share in the experience. A reporter from the Posse Foundation and majored Scholars, a one-year master’s degree Fox 61 stopped by to report on the event in political science. Originally from initiative in China, for which he was and to interview Vaughan and other Brooklyn, New York, Frank is a a semifinalist in the program’s inau- Trinity students. Set mostly in the fictional Connecticut first-generation college student. His gural year. He is also thinking about town of Stars Hollow, Gilmore Girls ran family arrived in the United States in applying to the University of Virginia for seven seasons between 2000 and the 1990s from Guyana, a small coun- School of Law and Harvard Law 2007. Vaughan noted that she happened try in the northern mainland of South School. “It will be difcult,” Frank to have binge-watched all episodes of America. Frank said he hopes to expe- said of his ambitions, “but this is the show over the summer and quickly became a fan. The four-part miniseries rience Malaysia’s rich culture, which certainly an afrmation that reach- was released in November on Netflix.