Trinity College Wins Richard Guarasci Award for Institutional Transformation

Campus Compact recognizes Trinity College for implementing institution-wide efforts to address issues of public concern

Trinity College LogoCampus Compact is pleased to announce that Trinity College has been awarded Campus Compact’s Richard Guarasci Award for Institutional Transformation. The award recognizes four-year or graduate institutions that have successfully implemented institution-wide efforts to address issues of public concern by aligning teaching, research, practice, and values in service of the common good.

Trinity College’s commitment to community engagement is demonstrated by its deep integration into and partnerships with the city of Hartford, Connecticut, where the campus is located. This is evidenced by the 2018 creation of the Center for Hartford Engagement and Research (CHER), which united the efforts of five existing programs and created a hub for holistic and coordinated community engagement work. The collective efforts undertaken by CHER have facilitated collaboration and connection among civically engaged students and community members, with two-thirds of Trinity students participating in at least one community-engaged course during their time at college.

“Our 2016 revised mission statement articulates Trinity’s role as ‘the preeminent liberal arts college in an urban setting,’ and emphasizes the opportunities that our location offers to engage students in deeper learning that fosters local and global citizenship,” said Joanne Berger-Sweeney, President and Trinity College Professor of Neuroscience in a letter supporting her institution’s nomination. “As Trinity approaches its bicentennial in 2023, we will build on these focused efforts to continue to celebrate and seek to strengthen our most distinctive quality: the College’s relationship with Hartford.”

The Richard Guarasci Award for Institutional Transformation is presented as part of Campus Compact's Impact Awards, which recognize the outstanding work of individuals and institutions in pursuit of the public purposes of higher education. Read more about the other awards and this year's recipients here.

Awardees will be recognized during a summer event series hosted by Campus Compact and IARSLCE to celebrate the recipients of each organization’s annual awards.


For more information contact:
Molly Leiper, Director of Communications, Campus Compact, mleiper@compact.org

2023 Impact Award Winners

Read more about the other awards and this year's recipients.