James Fairfield English, Jr.

James Fairfield English, Jr. (1927–2020) served as president of Trinity College from 1981 to 1989.

English was born in Putnam, Connecticut on February 15, 1927. His father, the Reverend James Fairfield English, graduated from Trinity in 1916 and received an honorary Doctor of Divinity from the College in 1944. English himself attended high school at the Loomis Chaffee School before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1944. He was assigned a Japanese language program and upon its completion, he served in the 441st Counter Intelligence Detachment in Japan.

James Fairfield English, Jr., ca. 1981. Photo credit: Trinity College Archives

After his return from the army, English attended Yale for his B.A. and Cambridge University for his M.A., both in English. He then earned an LL.B. from the University of Connecticut School of Law where he later served as a faculty member for a period of time before taking a job at the Connecticut Bank and Trust Company in 1951. He quickly rose in position at the bank, serving as president and then CEO and Chairman of the Board.

English retired from the Bank and Trust Company in 1977 and joined Trinity's administration as Vice President of Finance and Planning that same year. In 1980, he became the College's acting president after President Theodore Lockwood went on a six-month sabbatical due to his wife's sudden death. Though some faculty members questioned his academic background, English was unanimously elected Trinity's 16th president in June of the following year. In his inaugural speech given in October 1981, English placed particular emphasis on Trinity's role within Hartford. He stated that he wanted to ensure that Trinity's “doors [were] open to committed Hartford students of all ages and backgrounds” and that the school's student body would reflect the diversity found in the local surrounding communities. During his 8-year term as president, English accomplished much in the areas of funding, curriculum expansion, and campus construction.

In 1984, English approved Trinity joining a library consortium with Wesleyan University and Connecticut College that lasted through 2023 (when it was subsumed by another consortium). Known as the CTW Library Consortium, the collections of all three libraries are available in one searchable online catalog. The CTW allows students and patrons of one school to utilize the resources of the other nearby schools. In 1986, Trinity adopted writing and mathematics proficiency requirements that students would have to complete, starting with the Class of 1992. The five-part distribution requirement was also introduced under English in 1987. Students were asked to complete at least one course from the humanities, arts, social sciences, natural sciences, and numerical or symbolic reasoning. This new requirement replaced the more open curriculum guidelines set in 1969. English commented that “the current generation of students would benefit if their freedom were tempered by the introduction of some degree of structure into the non-major course of study.”

English put in a place a three-year funding campaign called “Campaign for Trinity” that raised over $8 million more than its original goal of $42 million. Over the course of his tenure, English used some of this money to improve the buildings on Trinity's campus, which included renovating the student dormitories of Little and Frohman-Robb, renovating Mather Hall, and building the Vernon Street dorm and Social Center (now called Hansen Hall). He cited such work as the “most important achievement of his eight year term.”

English decided to retire in 1989 at the age of 62. Following his eight years at Trinity, English remained connected to nearby communities, serving on boards of the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut and the Mystic Seaport Museum. He and his wife, Isabelle Spotswood Cox English, settled in the Connecticut town of Noank in 2009. English died at this home on June 2, 2020, at 93 years old.

Nine days later on June 11, Isabelle English died at age 88. During her husband's presidency, Isabelle played an active role in the Trinity community. She organized many events with the Austin Arts Center and the Art History Department, worked closely with the landscaping staff on campus, and was a key supporter of the creation of the on-campus daycare center, now called the Trinity College Community Child Center. In recognition of her work, Isabelle received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Trinity in 1988.