Center for Urban and Global Studies
The Center for Urban and Global Studies (CUGS) aims to connect and integrate Trinity's campus with greater Hartford and the world.
The Center was developed mainly to combat the “relatively little engagement with the outside world” exemplified by some members of the Trinity community. The Center was opened in October 2007 at 70 Vernon Street, funded by a Mellon Foundation grant. The Center provides space to hold lectures and meetings for its various programs including the Office of Community Relations, the Urban Studies major and minor, the Cities program, and the Office of Study Away.
CUGS runs summer field courses, supervises student research projects, puts on seminar series that allow students to present their research findings, and hosts visiting scholars for lectures. While these mainly focus on global outreach and education, the Center also has programs that focus on and benefit the Hartford area. One example was the production of a printed collection of essays by students and faculty entitled Confronting Urban Legacy: Rediscovering Hartford and New England’s Forgotten Cities. Included also are partnerships and funding to local charities, as well as workshops on urban living and gentrification. CUGS Art grants have gone to Samba Fest and the International Hip Hop Festival, two events hosted by Trinity that facilitate interactions with the community outside of the College.
Sources
Trinity Bulletin, 2020-2021.
Trinity Tripod, 10/23/2007.
Confronting Urban Legacy: Rediscovering Hartford and New England’s Forgotten Cities, edited by Xiangming Chen and Nick Bacon (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2013).