The Washington (Trinity) College Board of Trustees was created in May, 1823 in the Charter establishing the College. The Board is responsible for the final approval of decisions regarding finances; appointments to the Board of Trustees, Fellows, and Board committees; Faculty, Staff, and Presidency; adopting and eliminating by-laws, ordinances, policies and curricula; changes to buildings and grounds; and conferring degrees and honorary degrees.

The Board held its first meeting on July 8, 1823 in Middletown, Connecticut. Washington College, the second college established in Connecticut, opened in September 1823, with the Rt. Rev. Thomas Church Brownell elected president. Subsequent meetings of the Board were held once or twice a year, during which it conferred with the President, Librarian, faculty, and other boards and committees. The Trustees resolved to expand their number from 20 to 24 in 1837.

In 1845, the Board voted to change the name of the College to Trinity College. The Trustees also wrote the Board of Fellows Charter, which included six nominated Trustees and six Alumni, to report on the Library, Cabinet, and Chapel, and act as examiners of the College. During this time, the Trustees were sometimes called “The Corporation.” The Trustees wrote the Statutes of Trinity College in 1857. In 1864, they created the Executive and Finance Committees to oversee decisions regarding funds and create budgets. These committees were abolished in 1866 and their duties were replaced by the Resident Board, comprised of members of local Trustees-in-residence and the President. In 1872, the Trustees accepted the City of Hartford’s offer to purchase the Capitol Hill campus and within six years, the College moved to the Gallows Hill/Summit Street campus in Hartford. In 1875, the Executive and Finance committees were re-established.

Alumni began to serve as Trustees in 1883, after requests for representation from the Alumni Association, previously called the House of Convocation. The first three alumni Trustees were Rev. Thomas Gallaudet, Class of 1842, Luke A. Lockwood, Class of 1855, and E. Winslow Williams, Class of 1853.

In subsequent years, particularly the 1920s through 1960s, the Trustees made frequent amendments to the Charter, changed policies and curriculum, introduced coeducation, and adopted a mission statement. The 1960s and 1970s were also a time of change for Trustee membership terms and conditions in order to create more turnover in membership.

In 1974, Virginia Gray [Mrs. Walter H. Gray] and Eudora “Dora” Laurinda Richardson [Mrs. James G. Lowenstein] were the first women admitted to the Board. In 1979, Emily Holcombe Sullivan '74 became the first alumna Trustee.

In 1982, the structure of board membership again was streamlined with the elimination of certain categories of membership as well as changes to the framework and the length of terms of service. Life membership terms were eliminated and members could serve for only five consecutive years, thereby making Board service more manageable and allowing opportunities for membership turnover.

Trinity College Board of Trustees

Board of Trustees records, Trinity College Archives.

Trinity College in the Twentieth Century (2000) by Peter and Anne Knapp.

History of Trinity College (1967) by Glenn Weaver.

Board of Trustees Minutes (1823-1967).