{"id":347,"date":"2008-10-01T15:56:41","date_gmt":"2008-10-01T19:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/"},"modified":"2012-04-25T15:41:36","modified_gmt":"2012-04-25T19:41:36","slug":"newsletter-fall-2008","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/newsletter-fall-2008\/","title":{"rendered":"President\u2019s Newsletter, Fall 2008"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

President’s Newsletter, Fall 2008<\/h1><\/span>\n

October 10, 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Alumnae and Alumni, Family and Friends of Trinity,<\/strong><\/p>\n

In these perilous times with so much worrisome news on the national scene, I\u2019m pleased to be able to share some very good news from Trinity!\u00a0 These are days that certainly call all of us to the best use of our Trinity education in leadership and service to our nation and world.<\/p>\n

The Good News:\u00a0 Trinity now enrolls 1,756 students, our largest enrollment ever! <\/strong>This enrollment includes 655 students in our historic women\u2019s college, the College of Arts & Sciences.\u00a0 Another 783 have enrolled in the School of Professional Studies and 318 in the School of Education.\u00a0 In total, more than 600 new students joined the Trinity community this fall.\u00a0 This growth in Trinity\u2019s enrollment is a great affirmation of Trinity\u2019s strong reputation and innovative programming to serve the educational needs of our region.<\/p>\n

Trinity College:\u00a0 Our Women\u2019s College Continues to Grow!<\/h2><\/span>\n

Perhaps the most gratifying news for Trinity is the continued strong performance of our women\u2019s college, still known as Trinity College, our College of Arts and Sciences (CAS).\u00a0 255 new students from 18 states and with backgrounds from 20 other nations joined CAS this fall in the first year and upperclass years as well, swelling the total CAS enrollment to 655.\u00a0 The dramatic increase in the number of new students during the last four years is a direct result of the investments Trinity has made in facilities and programs.\u00a0\u00a0 We are especially grateful to the benefactors who made the Trinity Center for Women and Girls in Sports a reality \u2013 the new sports center has been a definite attraction for many of our new students.\u00a0 Additionally, students enrolling in the College of Arts and Sciences are flocking to new major programs in Nursing and Criminal Justice, while also enrolling in greater numbers than ever before in Business, Psychology and Communication.<\/p>\n

Residential students are also growing in number, now occupying three residence halls.\u00a0 Perhaps the best news is the reopening of Main Hall for student residence \u2013 4th North now houses 40 of our total residential population of 250.\u00a0 For the last three years, the generous gifts of alumnae and friends to our Annual Fund appeal made it possible for Trinity to upgrade many parts of Main Hall, particularly the north wing residential facilities.\u00a0 Even as we invested in renovating 4th North for students, we also are continuing substantial upgrades for the Sisters of\u00a0 Notre Dame residence.<\/p>\n

CAS Dean Elizabeth Child and her faculty colleagues welcomed these new faculty to the College of Arts & Sciences this fall:<\/p>\n

Dr. Kerry Luse<\/strong>, Clare Boothe Luce Professor of Mathematics
\nDr. Lori Estes<\/strong>, Clare Boothe Luce Professor of Biology
\nDr. Deone Minto<\/strong>, Assistant Professor of English
\nDr. Stacey Baugh<\/strong>, Assistant Professor of Psychology
\nDr. Maurice Champagne<\/strong>, Writing Instructor
\nMs. Ariel Gibbons<\/strong>, Math Instructor
\nDr. Jennifer Maan<\/strong>, Visiting Professor of Education in CAS<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In Academic Affairs, we have also welcomed Dr. Kimberly LaBoone <\/strong>who joins our academic staff as the Director of Academic Services, and Assistant Dean Dana Moore <\/strong>working with Dean Bowie in Student Services.<\/p>\n

School of Professional Studies<\/h2><\/span>\n

Continuing the upward trends, the School of Professional Studies is at an all-time high of 783 students enrolled in all programs, including\u00a0 the AA degree at THE ARC, the baccalaureate programs on Trinity\u2019s main campus, and the master\u2019s degrees \u2013 MA, MSA, MBA.\u00a0\u00a0 The rapid growth in the Nursing population is clear evidence of the huge market demand for Nursing education, and we are moving as quickly as possible to try to recruit faculty and expand facilities to support this surge.\u00a0\u00a0 Criminal Justice is also growing rapidly with future growth potential in Homeland Security as well as law enforcement.\u00a0 Dean Debra Tervala and her colleagues welcomed these new faculty and staff:<\/p>\n

Dr. Thomas Mostowy<\/strong>, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice
\nDr. Stanley Nwoji, <\/strong>Assistant Professor of Business
\nDr. Marcus Adair<\/strong>, Associate Dean of SPS
\nDr. Stephanie Holaday<\/strong>, Director of Nursing
\nMs. Marissa Rossoukh<\/strong>, Assistant Professor of Nursing
\nMs. Maryann Valcourt<\/strong>, Assistant Professor of Nursing<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

School of Education<\/h2><\/span>\n

With great challenges inherent in working with the D.C. Public School System in a time of dramatic change, the School of Education is focusing on ways to support the school reform initiatives while also developing new programs that are responsive to the wave of change in urban education everywhere.\u00a0\u00a0 Programs that support new forms of teacher education, new methods for developing principals and new avenues for the training of all school professionals are essential for school transformation.\u00a0 Dean Suellen Meara and her colleagues welcome Dr. Amy Brereton <\/strong>as our new Assistant Professor of Education.<\/p>\n

Technological Challenges and Opportunities<\/h2><\/span>\n

As Trinity grows, the demands on our technological resources escalate, and changes in the external environment also place demands on systems that once were not even considered necessary.\u00a0 So, for example, the digital conversion in television that will take place in February 2009 requires Trinity to address a long-deferred issue:\u00a0 cable television.\u00a0 To bring cable to the entire campus will cost upwards of $125,000.\u00a0 Is this necessary?\u00a0 To remain in the analog age is increasingly unacceptable to today\u2019s students.\u00a0 If Trinity hopes to keep improving enrollment, and particularly residential enrollment, adapting the campus to the modern age is essential.\u00a0 Cable television access is the latest metaphor for how students judge the quality and effectiveness of the learning environment.\u00a0 So, yes, we will have to make this investment; and, yes, some costs will have to be passed along to students.<\/p>\n

Similarly, the demand for increased online delivery of academic courses is growing, and this places great stress on our existing hardware and software.\u00a0 In the next few months, we will be replacing all key elements of our technology infrastructure \u2013 servers, switches, routers, the \u201cstuff\u201d that makes technology work \u2013 and implementing a new software package called \u201cMoodle\u201d to improve Trinity\u2019s capacity to satisfy the demands of students and faculty for more online capacity.\u00a0\u00a0 Such capacity is no longer just for distance learning; virtually all Trinity courses today use a variety of technological tools for course management and instructional delivery.\u00a0 These upgrades \u2013 another $300,000 when all is done \u2013 are essential for Trinity to compete as a contemporary institution of higher education today.<\/p>\n

The Campaign for Trinity\u2019s Second Century<\/h2><\/span>\n

As Trinity grows, the stress on our venerable infrastructure is considerable.\u00a0 While we aspire to reach a headcount of about 3,000 students in all programs, in fact, with just 1,750 enrolled today, we are well past the physical capacity of this campus that was built for a much smaller population in a very different educational era.\u00a0 In July 2008, Trinity submitted a report to the D.C. Zoning Commission (see http:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/academiccenter\/<\/a> concerning our buildings that are 50 years old or older \u2013 including Main Hall, Notre Dame Chapel, Alumnae Hall, the Science Building and Cuvilly Hall \u2013 and the Library and Kerby Hall are not far behind on that list.\u00a0 The overwhelming majority of the academic infrastructure of our campus is more than 50 years old, and renovations and upgrades are increasingly inadequate to make the space work for contemporary higher education instruction.\u00a0 We must create new facilities for academic programs while pursuing continuous upgrades in existing structures.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, Trinity is preparing a new capital campaign to support the ambition of Trinity\u2019s second century.\u00a0 This campaign will support initiatives directly related to strengthening Trinity\u2019s academic infrastructure, including:<\/p>\n