THE MAGAZINE OF TRINITY UNIVERSITY SUMMER 2022
In a pandemic-stricken world seemingly struck with writer’s block, our maroon ink spouts stories with a fervent flourish.
Trinity University earns national reclassification 02 The Class of 2021 breaks outcomes records 24
This is our moment to…
As an institution, our mission is meaningful; as a community, our stories have the potential to transform meaning into action.
Hands-on humanities inspire academic student leaders 32 Students advocate for Land Acknowledgement 58
Our belong to a future that we are building together.
Tigers learn traditional methods in nontraditional spaces 40 Beneath the dirt, Trinity uncovers hidden treasures of its own 62
Take a moment to share in these stories—glimpses of moments in the lives of architects of the Trinity experience.
TRINITY 1trinity.edu/trinity-magazine wasThismade for Trinity University. SUMMER 2022 Table of Contents Trinity Today Trinity University Press Lit Picks In CommentaryAlumniClassFeaturesTigerMemoriamPrideNotes&News241412816187282
Molly Mohr Bruni
Jelynne L. Jamison M’88
Miles C. Cortez ‘64
“Trinity has enjoyed an exceptional reputation for academic excellence, interdisciplinarity, and a commitment to the liberal arts for more than 150 years. We have earned a reputation as the premier liberal arts university in the Southwest,” says Danny Anderson, former Trinity University president. “Now, we are positioned to become a highly ranked and nationally recognized institution. While this will require significant effort and stewardship over multiple years, ultimately this move helps us attract and retain outstanding students, faculty, and staff.
Trinity is published by the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing and is sent to alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the University who remain engaged with Trinity.
Editorial Team
Nicholas A. Severino ’88
Graphic Designers
Robert S. McClane ‘61
L. Herbert Stumberg Jr. ‘81
Thomas Evans ‘84
Shari Becker Albright ’83, M’86
Douglas D. Hawthorne ‘69, M’72
Christopher M. Kinsey ‘79
Katherine Wood Klinger ‘72
jgoodri1@trinity.edu | 210-999-8406
Ryan Sedillo
Michelle L. Collette ’06
New designation better positions the University for national recognition in its commitment to student success in the liberal arts and sciences
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Ted W. StephenBeneskiW.Butt ‘77
Managing Editor
Melody B. Meyer ‘79
Copy Editor
Oliver T.W. Lee ‘93
TRINITY Summer 2022
Cydney C. Donnell
William Scanlan Jr.
Thomas Schluter ‘85
Selim Sharif Carla BettyAlyssaBurginSierraStreetmanTayrien’17Ullrich
Ashley Festa
Editor
Joshua Moczygemba ’05
April Ancira ‘02
Ryan Finnelly
Writing Interns
Harrison KatherineLaLoneDeLeon Morua
Synod of the Sun Rep.
Danny J. Anderson
Ruth K. Agather
Trinity ArtsNationalReclassifiedUniversityasLiberalCollege
Jeffrey Mueller ’00
Scott W. Tinker ’82
Matilda Krell ’23
The Rev. Dr. Richard R. Kannwischer ‘95
Laura Rodriguez
Trinity StrategicUniversityCommunications and Marketing
Madeline Freeman ’23
National Alumni Board, President
Justin Parker ’99
Tom Payton
Board of Trustees
Janet St. Clair Dicke ‘68
Annell R. Bay ‘77
Gen. James T. Hill ‘68
E. Carey Joullian IV ‘82
Jeanna Goodrich Balreira ’08
The Rev. Dr. James Freeman ’83
Contributorstrinity.edu/trinity-magazine
Erin M. Baker ‘99
Michael Lynd Jr. ’95
Steven P. Mach ‘92
Jeremy Gerlach
Marshall A. Hess ‘88
Jessica W. Thorne ‘91
Editorial Office
Trinity University has successfully petitioned the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education for reclassification as a Baccalaureate Arts & Sciences institution, which will result in Trinity moving to the National Liberal Arts category in the U.S. News & World Report rankings beginning in the Fall 2022 report. The new classification better reflects the core of Trinity’s mission and positions the University for greater national recognition.
President
John C. Korbell
Ted Gartner ’91
Anh-Viet Dinh ’15
One Trinity Place, San Antonio, TX 78212-7200
$1.7 billion endowment
“The investments we will make to achieve alumni.”valueprovidesuccessimpactstandingsuchpositivelystudentandgreaterforour
Trinity University has been No. 1 in the West for 29 of the past 30 years. Making the bold move to step onto the national stage reflects our commitment to playing a transformative role in the future of the liberal arts nationally.
Trinity is home to the best and brightest: The Class of 2025 saw more than 9,500 applicants whose mid-50% SAT score was 1340-1480 and mid-50% ACT score was 30-34. A 34% admit rate yielded 663 enrolled students, 42% of whom identify with an underrepresented background.
Trinity is unique as a largely residential university situated near downtown San Antonio, a vibrant, diverse metropolitan
Why Now?
The University is on the rise in rankings across the nation, including moving from No. 42 to No. 38 in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education’s list of the nation’s best liberal arts colleges, and from No. 98 to No. 89 in College Consensus’ list of the best universities in the nation.
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The University uses a growing endowment—its value among the top 60 of all colleges and universities in the nation—to enable access to a Trinity education, regardless of financial need.
exceptional student profile
area. This dynamic provides a strong sense of community on campus and also offers opportunities for impact through service and experiential learning off-campus. The stunning, mid-century modern campus was designed by famed architect O’Neil Ford and is one of three modernist campuses listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Most important, the investments we will make to achieve such standing positively impact student success and provide greater value for our alumni.”
With an emphasis on interdisciplinarity, Trinity’s liberal arts framework encourages students to work across areas of study—from humanities to STEM and back again. In this way, Trinity helps prepare tomorrow’s leaders with a more comprehensive and humanistic lens through which to evaluate their impact on the world.
To achieve this, Trinity equips faculty and students with world-class resources to advance academic scholarship and further our liberal arts mission. With a strong $1.7 billion endowment and recent philanthropic investments, the University continues to provide premier facilities. In addition to the 2014 completion of the Center for the Sciences and Innovation, Trinity recently transformed the Halsell Center into a state-of-the-art home for the Departments of Classical Studies, History, and Philosophy. In Fall 2022, the University will complete Dicke Hall, a front door for the humanities and home to the Departments of English and Religion.
increased national rankings
“As we see our way forward into a postpandemic world, the human challenges are immense. We believe that access to and support of the liberal arts and sciences is more important than ever,” Anderson says. “We are proud to raise our voices to join those of other institutions that speak to the demands and opportunities facing the liberal arts nationally.”
As the sun sets on Dr. Anderson’s presidency, we say hello to a new tomorrow with Dr. Vanessa Beasley. photo by Ryan Sedillo
The Big Picture
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Meanwhile, Kimberly and I look forward to a future in California, closer to family. I will forever remain closely connected to Trinity and am proud to call myself a Tiger at heart. I am already looking forward to the University achieving even greater milestones to come.
I hope you’ll take the time to read this issue and learn more about what our “campus” was like before it was Trinity. You’ll also find some great stories about how our students continue to embrace interdisciplinarity and experiential learning—and how they benefit from those opportunities upon graduation. Finally, you’ll see what’s in store for Trinity as we strive towards an even more impactful future.
Fall 2016 On a listening tour, Anderson visited alumni clubs across the U.S., and alumni shared their experiences with the magazine.
This is our moment. Thank you for allowing me to experience it with you.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
DannyFondly,J. Anderson May 27, 2022 THE TRINITY WINTER Common Ground Tigers build community
TRINITYPRESIDENTUNIVERSITY’S FIND YOUR PATH: TRINITY ADOPTS NEW CURRICULUMANTHROPOLOGISTSTUDIESSNAKESVIETNAM
2019 For the magazine’s 150th Anniversary edition, Anderson contributed to the University’s “150 Memories” project.
A University of the Highest Order
Fall 2020 Anderson convened the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, and Trinity shared the results of the report.
We seldom choose life’s circumstances, but we have the power to choose how we respond to them. Trinity has responded by bravely embracing our values. We have grown stronger in virtually every regard—students, faculty, staff, alumni, facilities, our Trustees, and our endowment. And now we’re poised for an even greater future as we move toward being recognized as one of the top liberal arts universities in the country.
Fall 2021 Anderson announced his retirement in a heartfelt letter to the Trinity community.
So much has changed —on our campus and in our world— since writing my first Trinity magazine note to you back in 2015. Today, I pen my last note to you, proud of our past and optimistic for our future.
THROUGH THE YEARS
It feels like we’ve seen it all together over the past few years. We celebrated a triumphant 150th Anniversary, recognizing this “University of the Highest Order” and its steadfast resilience. And we learned our own personal lessons about resilience by enduring the first global pandemic in more than a century. Add to that racial and political upheaval, a war in Europe, and a once-in-ageneration winter storm, and you could say we’ve seen it all.
Spring 2015 In his introduction to the Trinity community, Anderson shared a list of podcasts he enjoys. (DJA, keep sending recommendations our way!)
President Anderson, the editorial staff thanks you for supporting and championing the work of Trinity magazine and upholding its importance for our alumni and friends. Your contributions as Storyteller-in-Chief have given Trinity profound and authentic narratives, and we are ever grateful.
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The search committee solicited input from all areas of the University, which was essential to crafting the search process and the position profile that emphasizes its student-centric mission while enhancing Trinity’s national reputation. The search committee interviewed an outstanding, diverse slate of candidates who personified Trinity University’s campus-wide programming that promotes diversity and fosters inclusion and access for all students, employees, alumni, and other stakeholders.
University, and the University of Georgia, she returned to Vanderbilt in 2007 as a faculty member in the Department of Com munication Studies. Active in the Vander bilt community, she has served as chair of the Provost’s Task Force on Sexual Assault and director of the Program for Career Development for faculty in the College of Arts and Science.
Trinity University is proud to announce the confirmation of Vanessa Beasley, Ph.D., as the 20th president in the school’s 153-year history. Guided by the University’s stu dent-centered mission and vision, Beasley stands ready to lead one of the nation’s top liberal arts universities.
Beasley was preceded by Danny Anderson, Trinity’s 19th president, who retired after serving with distinction for seven years. His accomplishments include the construction of Dicke Hall—a teaching and learning center for the humanities—as well as the rejuvenation of Halsell Center and adjoining Chapman Center, the home to the newlynamed Michael Neidorff School of Business. President Anderson also appointed Trinity’s first special adviser for inclusive excellence, Juan Sepúlveda, who also leads the Inclusive Excellence Advisory Council. Anderson helped grow Trinity’s endowment, a critical resource for students, faculty, and strategic University endeavors, from $1.1 billion in 2015 to more than $1.7 billion in 2021.
Vanderbilt’s Vanessa Beasley will play a transformative role in Trinity’s quest to become a nationally recognized liberal arts institutionMeetVanessa
Following stints on the faculty of Texas A&M University, Southern Methodist
Anderson’s last day was May 31. Megan Mustain, Ph.D., provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, is acting as interim University president until Beasley joins the campus before the start of Fall 2022 classes.
Beasley in a video online atPresident Beasley!
Beasley’s areas of academic expertise include the rhetoric of American presidents, political rhetoric on immigration, and media and politics. She attended Vanderbilt as an undergraduate and earned a Bachelor of Arts in speech communication and theatre arts. She also holds a Ph.D. in speech communica tion from the University of Texas at Austin.
gotu.us/20thPresidentWelcome,
“What compelled me to join Trinity University is its steadfast commitment to a well-rounded education—one filled with new ideas, interdisciplinary curiosity, and a cultivated sense of empathy and communi ty,” President Beasley says. “It is this energy that has Trinity poised to be recognized as one of the most important liberal arts universities in the country.”
“Dr. Beasley is an outstanding leader with strong values who will guide Trinity in its quest to become a nationally recognized lib eral arts university,” says Melody Meyer ’79, Board of Trustees chair and Trinity alumna. “She has deep experience in academic excel lence and is exceptional at building relation ships locally and nationally.”
UniversityTrinityNames20thPresident
Beasley, Trinity’s first female president, is excited to lead a campus located in the nation’s 7th largest city, where students learn from and participate in a diverse, multicultural urban environment. Trinity University’s student profile reflects that of a prestigious, selective national liberal arts institution, with 11,416 applications, 665 first-year students, and 49% students of color in the Class of 2026.
Beasley comes to Trinity from Vanderbilt University, where she served as vice provost for academic affairs, dean of residential fac ulty, and an associate professor of commu nication studies. As vice provost and dean of residential faculty, she oversaw Vanderbilt’s growing Residential College System as well as the campus units that offer experiential learning inside and outside of the classroom.
Student Voter Participation Efforts Awarded
2021 Stumberg Champions Crowned Research startup MicroLev wins grand prize
Trinity Names President’s Special Adviser for Inclusive Excellence
2021 ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge encourages student voter engagement
TRINITY8 Summer 2022
Trinity named Juan Sepúlveda, J.D., as its first President’s Special Adviser for Inclusive Ex cellence. As a forerunner to a permanent vice president for Inclusive Excellence, which will be established by Trinity’s 20th president, Vanessa Beasley, this position leads campuswide programming that promotes diversity and fosters inclusion and access for students, employees, alumni, and others. Sepúlveda is the Calgaard Distinguished Professor of Practice in Political Science at the Univer sity. During his time at Trinity, he co-devel oped the University’s first year long Latinx leadership development class, created and led the Latinos on the Fast Track Leadership
The 2022 Stumberg Venture Competition kicked off in March, with Baby to Go, FARO, Pacific Debate Institute, Range Regenerator, ReCap, Safelet, and Skeleton Beat Band mov ing on to the final round in Fall 2022.
The Dr. Bill Gonzaba Endowed Scholarship for Healthcare Leadership and Innovation in Health Administration Fund will give scholarship support to Trinity students who are interested in careers in medicine and health care. The fund, named after William Gonzaba, M.D., the founder and CEO of the Gonzaba Medical Group, will provide a gift contribution totaling $113,500 to create this permanent endowment. Gonzaba Medical Group is a network of seven clinics through out San Antonio that have earned the Gold Seal from the Joint Commission.
Trinity community transcribes documents for Colored Conventions Project
Juan Sepúlveda leads Trinity’s Intentional Inclusion efforts
TRINITY TODAY
Celebrating Douglass Day
Student-led startup MicroLev took home $25,000 as the winner of the 2021 Louis H. Stumberg New Venture Competition in Fall 2021. Co-founders Josefina Hajek-Herrera ’22, Bene Snyder ’22, and chemistry profes sor Ryan Davis, Ph.D., built an affordable aerosol research device that can detect and categorize particulate matter—tiny particles that float in the air around us.
Trinity’s Humanities Collective celebrated Douglass Day, a day of remembrance for Black abolitionist and writer Frederick Douglass, on Feb. 14 by hosting a Douglass Day transcribe-a-thon as part of a partner ship with organizations around the country. Participants gathered in Coates Library to transcribe digitized records from the Colored Conventions, the 19th century’s longest campaign for Black civil rights. The event was supported and sponsored by the Student Diversity and Inclusion Office as well as the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. With help from institutions such as Trinity, the national event successfully transcribed all documents from the Colored Conventions.
Major Gift from Gonzaba Medical Group Funds Endowment Scholarship support will benefit students in HCAD program
Institute, and formed the Dream Lead Institute, a national leadership development program exclusively for DACA recipients.
Trinity University received the 2021 Gold Seal award for nonpartisan student voter participation from the ALL IN Campus De mocracy Challenge, a national program that recognized exceptional student voter engage ment during the 2020 presidential election. Thanks to efforts from the TU 2020 Census and Voter Engagement Task Force, com posed of a mix of students, faculty, and staff, Trinity students increased their presidential election voting rate to 75.6%, up 22.9% from the previous presidential election in 2016.
Anneliese
Toi
Trinity brought a variety of well-known speakers to campus in Spring 2022.
SinfoniaBaroqueSpirituosachamber orchestra
Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture
Visit events.trinity.edu for up-to-date events information.
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Great-granddaughterBruner of a Tulsa Race Massacre survivor
This list of lectures is accurate as of press time and is subject to change.
Severino
9trinity.edu/trinity-magazine
MarnieMultidisciplinaryWeber American artist
Policy Maker Breakfast Series
Members add new perspectives and fresh enthusiasm
Lennox Seminar Lecture Series
Nicholas A. Severino ’88 was the vice president and chief financial officer of Apple Retail for 15 years prior to his recent retirement. More recently, Severino has provided leadership as both an executive and investor in several Bay Area retail startups.
Albright Singh
Scanlan
Dean of Lloyd International Honors College and a professor of world history with a focus on the African Diaspora at the University of North Carolina at BeherozeGreensboroShroffLecturerofAsian
William Scanlan Jr. is a partner in the law firm of Schoenbaum, Cur phy & Scanlan, which specializes in tax consulting and estate planning. Trinity’s prestigious Maverick Lecture is underwritten by the William and Salomé Scanlan Foundation.
Trinity Holds Spring Lectures
Paul C. Taylor
Darsh Preet Singh ’08 is the co-founder and the chief investment officer of Hazoor Partners. As captain of the men’s basketball team during his time at Trinity, Singh has had his jersey featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of National History to honor his leadership as the first turbaned Sikh NCAA basketball player.
Stieren Arts Enrichment Series
Trinity Welcomes Four New Trustees
AuthorFrenchof
Virtual and in-person lectures provide different perspectives
Omar H. Ali
American Studies and Gender and Sexuality Studies at the Uni versity of California, Irvine Howard
Shari Becker Albright ’83, M’86 is the president of the Charles Butt Foundation, formerly the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation. Previous ly, she served as the Murchison Distinguished Professor of Practice in Education and chair of the Department of Education at Trinity.
Born in Blackness and professor of journalism at Columbia University
AnjaCo-founderManuel and principal of Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC
Trinity’s Board of Trustees grew by four this year. Shari Becker Albright, William Scanlan Jr., and Nicholas A. Severino began their terms in February, and Darsh Preet Singh will begin his term in September.
ĒriksAmericanDerricottepoetEšenvaldsLatvianComposer
DanSeniorHeathfellow at Duke University’s Center for Social Entrepreneurship
W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy and chair of the philosophy department at Vanderbilt University
AcademicPresidentViceforAffairs:StudentSuccess
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Jorge Colazo Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives and Research
Jim Hertel Chief ResourcesHumanOfficer
Jennifer Henderson Associate
Trinity recently promoted current faculty and staff into critical positions to advance the University’s mission. Congratulations, Tigers!
At Trinity University, we’re not only setting lofty goals for programs that champion diversity, equity, and inclusion, but for research and teaching that connect disciplines and departments. Discover how faculty and staff at Trinity University epitomize interdisciplinary liberal arts through prestigious and meaningful work on campus, in the community, and across the nation in the 2020-21 issue of IMPACT magazine. Take a pause in a museum with a Fulbright Fellow who connected American and Irish students through the power of poetry, traverse through the Amazon with a biology professor who described a new species of Amazonian primate, and watch in awe as the University’s special adviser for inclusive excellence unites Hispanic student leaders
Up
MOVIN’ ON
Findnationwide.thelatest issue at trinity.edu/impact-magazine
John Rowse Assistant Police Chief
Sarah Iverson P’24 Registrar
TRINITY TODAY
Trinity taps Tigers for open positions
The cookbook contains recipes from more than 130 contributors, mainly current and past TUWC members. It also includes photos and highlights of the University’s history and traditions. For information on ordering CookingTUgether, visit gotu.us/TUWCcookbook
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Trinity Women’s Club Cooks Up Scholarships
by Madeline Freeman ’23
by James Hill ’76
“This partnership works well because Trinity and SAISD are in agreement that this kind of educational experience should be a financial reality for all students,” says Justin Doty, dean of admissions for Trinity. “Because we are committed to our University value of intentional inclusion, it is critically important to help educate families in our community to let them know that a Trinity education is both attainable and financially viable.”
Fernanda Neftaly Garza ’25
Edison High School
Hear from three talented first-years from SAISD about why they chose to stay in town and attend Trinity.
Madelyn Holveck ’25
Investing in the Local Community Meet three standout students from SAISD
A Murchison Scholarship recipient who plans on double majoring in business administration and communication, Maestas says he had several reasons for choosing Trin ity: “I am a San Antonio native and have grown up with a vibrant Latino culture here in town, and I aim to keep myself surrounded by the strong roots I have here.”
CAST Tech High School
As a recipient of the President’s Scholarship and the Trinity Scholarship, Holveck says she stayed in town primarily for financial and familial reasons. “Trinity has been a perfect fit for me all along,” she says. “Not being able to visit home regularly would have been an emotional challenge for me and my family. Trinity’s holistic liberal arts education, which encourages learning about many different subjects and how they overlap, is exactly what I was searching for. I’m very grateful to have a place like Trinity in my hometown.”
The first scholarship was awarded in 1935, when Trinity was located in Waxahachie, Texas. To raise money for the scholarships, female faculty members and spouses of faculty placed a baked item in a traveling basket. A member contrib uted money for the item, replaced the “goodies,” and then passed it to the next Sinceperson.then,TUWC has evolved to open membership to anyone with a genuine interest in Trinity.
Last year, Trinity University and the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) created the Trinity Community Investment (TCI) partnership. TCI makes an education at Trinity accessible to top graduating seniors within SAISD by providing students the financial resources and academic support to navigate the higher education process. Thanks to this partnership, Trinity saw a record seven new students from SAISD schools this year, up from just one or two in recent years.
“I actually never considered Trinity as one of my options until my senior year, when one of my counselors mentioned the partnership Trinity and SAISD had,” she says. “The school was right in my backyard, had small classes, and was in the heart of the city I love and grew up in. It was perfect.”
New cookbook offers recipes from University community
In Fall 2021, the Trinity University Women’s Club (TUWC) published its latest cookbook, CookingTUgether: Collected Recipes, whose sales are raising scholarship funds for Trinity students. But that’s nothing new for the club, which was originally established in 1934 for female Trinity faculty members and wives of Trinity faculty members, with a primary focus on providing scholarships for University students.
A recipient of the Trustee’s scholarship and and an aspir ing pre-veterinary biology major, Garza says that the TCI partnership was key to her college decision-making process.
Elijah Maestas ’25 Fox Tech High School
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To Be Honest: Voices on Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban Sarah Beth Kaufman, William G. Christ, and Habiba Noor
Trinity University Press is committed to civic engagement with ideas. Published books, public programs, and related media focus on helping us all understand our place in a crowded world with a particular focus on the following areas: bilingual early childhood literacy; the human relationship to the physical environment, ranging from wilderness to constructed, urban life; social equity and justice; the interdependence of animal and human life; and southwestern U.S. and Mexican regional studies. For more information, visit tupress.org
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Woodsqueer: Crafting a Sustainable Rural Life Gretchen Legler
“Woodsqueer” is sometimes used to describe the mindset of a person who has taken to the wild for an extended time. Gretchen Legler is no stranger to life away from the rapid-fire pace of the 21st century, which can often lead to a kind of stir-craziness. Woodsqueer chronicles her experiences intentionally focusing on not just making a living but making a life—in this case, an agrarian one more in tune with the earth on 80 acres in backwoods Maine.
The Middle of Somewhere: An Artist Explores the Nature of Virginia Suzanne Stryk
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There’s no such thing as the middle of nowhere. Everywhere is the middle of somewhere for some living being. That was Suzanne Stryk’s mantra as she journeyed through her home state on a mission to explore Virginia’s natural and human history through essays, sketches, and multimedia assemblages— and Virginia’s ecology from a visual artist’s point of view. In a challenge that is universal, Stryk invites us to travel slowly, tread lightly, and look closely at each somewhere that defines a place.
To Be Honest is a play script and series of essays reflecting on the ways Muslims are perceived and spoken of in America. With funding from a Mellon Foundation grant, several Trinity University professors conducted more than 200 hours of qualitative interviews in Texas with people across religious and political spectrums. Their conversations confirm expected polarizations and reveal new perspectives. Six essays contextualize the script’s underlying themes and provide further study.
Trinity University: Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future (2019)
Baronial Forts of the Big Bend (1969) by Leavitt Corning Jr.
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Tom Payton is the director of Trinity University Press.
Trinity University Press at 60 by Tom Payton
Trinity University Press’ history has long been marked by an entre preneurial business model. In 1961, Trinity President James Laurie sought to bring national prominence to the University by adding a publisher to its portfolio—something often found at the liberal arts colleges Trinity aspired to. The University acquired Principia Press, and its first newly published books were released in 1962. Over the past 60 years, Trinity University Press has published some 500 titles in more than 800 print and digital editions. The press was editorially reenvisioned in 2003 and has garnered considerable attention for Trinity—through international media attention, numerous awards won, and significant contributions to scholarship all while encourag ing lifelong Publisherslearning.operate imprints (brands) to clearly define their mis sion-driven, editorial interests. Recognizing a need to focus on bilingual early childhood literacy, TU Press started the Arte Kids Books imprint in 2012. In a desire to publish more about its home state, the press ac quired Maverick Publishing and launched the Maverick Books imprint in 2014. To focus on its award-winning list of books about humans’ rela tionships to the natural and built environments, the press launched the Terra Firma Books imprint earlier this year. Rooted in a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and a deepening interest in Mexico and Mexican-American history and culture, in June the press launched the Tinta Books imprint, one of the first such initiatives among U.S. publishers.
This fall, the press will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a focus on additional strategic announcements and the successes of its ever-expanding scope and impact.
With some embarrassment, I admit that I spent most of my reading time during this quarantine with murder mysteries, the likes of which would simply repel most of the people associated with Trinity University. So, I have culled my “finished reading” list and came up with these few that are truly worth your while:
Coleen Grissom’s Lit Picks
LIT PICKS
Murder, Coleen Wrote
• We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker. Most memorable for the child character, who reminds the reader of Scout from Harper Lee’s beloved novel To Kill a Mockingbird , this is a murder mystery with some interesting moments, but the prose is uninspiring.
• Bewilderment by Richard Powers. Though prose, the writing here is quite poetic, and many of us share Powers’ concerns about climate change and the way in which humankind has treated and is treating this earth. Since it is partly about climate change for which we’ve hardly prepared, it’s a sad, poignant novel, but also one that inspires the reader to look around them—and do something.
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• Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead. New York City in the 1960s is, as English teachers like to say, “a character in the novel,” and, in this case, a fascinating one. It’s fast paced and multi-leveled with mystery, adventure, racism, economic disparity, and lots of delight ful humor.
• Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu. Although I sometimes felt ashamed of myself for laugh ing at the stereotype of “generic Asian man,” I finally realized that this was one of the mes sages of Yu’s quite funny and impressive novel. Frankly, it is one of those books that causes the reader to reassess their own attitudes toward those from other ethnicities.
• My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman. Those who’ve read Back man previously will not be disappointed in this short, sweet story which, to me, resembles a fairy tale. As with all stories from that genre, there’s a moral and a lesson. Luckily, here they are ones about which we all occasionally need reminding.
• Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. This book takes the reader far into the past as well as far into the future. I guess, ultimately, it is a book about books, and Doerr’s approach to celebrating the joys of reading—no surprise here—resonates with me.
Knowing my experiences with this institution since I first came here in 1958, no one could be surprised that Trinity has been reclassified as a national liberal arts institution. I consider it well earned, and I take much pride in being associated with an institution that has such a rich past and promising future.
homes were within driving distance. He labored toward and succeeded in setting high standards and perhaps even higherNotgoals.surprisingly, some members of the Trinity com munity had not signed on for this. Those who were neither interested in the pace that was demanded nor in achieving the goal of becoming a highly ranked liberal arts and sci ences institution, primarily undergraduate, but with care fully considered and widely respected graduate programs, got the hell out of Dodge. (One can get out of East Texas, but one can’t ever get East Texas out of herself.)
Once upon a time when I was knee-high to a grasshopper (as we say in East Texas, having absolutely no idea what it means), I finished my coursework for the Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin and accepted the personal offer from Trinity President James Laurie to assume the role of head resident and instructor in English here. Included in my duties: preside at dinner in the “girls’” dining room by tapping a glass to signal the “girls” to be quiet and to stand behind their chairs for the blessing. In the evenings at curfew (8:30 p.m. during the week; 10:30 p.m. on weekends), I flicked the outside lights a bit before closing to signal the “girls” that curfew was approaching.
Along with these two leaders, Ronald Calgaard deserves credit for the creation of what has become a prestigious institution of higher education to Ronald Calgaard. President Cal gaard, like Laurie before him, knew everyone by name; he and his wife, Genie, walked the campus early every morning noting anything that might be of concern or need repair. I instructed the staff who reported to me to make sure I heard of these concerns when or soon after the president did. Calgaard was not interested in leading a small liberal arts college that served only students whose
Ron Calgaard was Trinity’s president from 1979-99.
Coleen Grissom’s Reflections on Trinity’s National Classification
During the Calgaard era, Trinity also widened its re cruitment efforts for students, staff, and faculty. No longer did we limit ourselves to recruiting only white people whose homes were in adjacent states. Trustees as well as faculty shared these goals and worked to achieve them, in cluding establishing and maintaining an endowment that helped make the achievement of this first-class ranking possible. Most of the leadership used a term that I once rid iculed, thinking it sounded hokey. “The Miracle on the Hill” was that phrase, but, eventually, I realized that perhaps it might be a bit hokey, but it was also quite accurate.
Reflections, Coleen Wrote
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Dr. Laurie seemed omnipresent. A retired Presbyterian minister, he treated all of us as members of the flock. He knew everyone by name, and, under his leadership, working with the longtime academic dean Bruce Thomas set the standard for a hands-on administration.
In the ‘50s, Trinity was advertised as America’s “most modern university.”
Hernandez is survived by his wife, Soo, and their daughter.
PAUL HEERMANS SMITH
Frances Cuny Richter Swinny, professor emerita of speech and drama, died on Feb. 9 in San Antonio. She was 98.
Jhonas Hernandez, Trinity University Police Department (TUPD) communications supervisor, died on Jan. 26 from COVID-19. He was Hernandez50. served with TUPD with honor and integrity for nearly 16 years, wearing many hats, including security guard, traffic control, dispatcher, and communications supervisor. During his time with TUPD, Hernandez received numerous awards and recognition for his service.
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Swinny was adored and respected by her students, and in 1986 she was the first recip ient of the Z.T. Scott Faculty Fellowship for excellence in teaching. Her other awards and recognitions included the Piper Professor Award, Danforth Associate, chair of the De partment of Speech and Drama, membership in numerous professional speech organiza tions, and authorship of many speeches and publications. After a long, fruitful career of 42 years at Trinity, Frances retired in 1990.
Smith is survived by his son, two daughters, nine grandchildren, and 22 great-grandchildren.
Hernandez was a quiet, reserved man who always lent a listening ear to others and always offered candy to sweeten the conver sation. During his four years in the U.S. Army, he served in Desert Storm during the Gulf War and earned 82nd Airborne then Army Ranger status, ultimately earning the rank of staff sergeant in the Special Forces. He moved to Texas in 2004 after studying crimi nal justice at San Francisco City College and working at the San Francisco Airport as a TSA security officer for Homeland Security. Hernandez then joined Trinity in 2006.
FRANCES SWINNY
JHONAS HERNANDEZ
Swinny is survived by her son, daughter, grandchildren, and great-grandchild as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, and dear friends.
IN MEMORIAM
In 1951, after graduating from law school, Smith enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was stationed aboard an aircraft carrier, the USS Philippine Sea, for the last two years of the Korean War. For his last year of active duty, he was assigned to the Fleet Training Center in San Diego, California, where he taught militaryFromjustice.SanDiego, Smith and his family moved to San Antonio, where he joined the law firm of Cox, Patterson & Smith in 1955. Specializing in oil and gas law and ener gy-related matters, Smith practiced law with the same firm and its successors until his retirement in 2010.
Paul Heermans Smith, Trinity University Trustee Emeritus, died on Dec. 10, 2021. He wasSmith93. was elected to Trinity’s Board of Trustees in 1978, retiring in 2017 after 39 years of service. Smith was chairman of the Board for three years during the 1990s.
Swinny joined Trinity University’s Department of Speech and Drama—now the Department of Human Communication and Theatre—in 1948. During her tenure, she provided tireless service to the University, including founding the Trinity University Speech Festival, which attracted high school students from across Texas to compete in speech and drama competitions.
Trinity University Trustee Emeritus and major benefactor Michael Neidorff ’65 died on April 7. He was 79.
He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Jessica Carter Kimmel, four children, and seven grandchildren.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we deeply mourn the passing of Michael Neidorff,” says Melody Boone Meyer ’79, chair of Trinity’s Board of Trustees. “Our hearts go out to Noémi and the Neidorff family. Michael was an extraordinary friend, alumnus, and Trustee, giving his leadership and support to Trinity for many decades. We are honored to have the Michael Neidorff School of Business. We will miss his friendship and leadership dearly.”
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Larry Kimmel, professor emeritus of philos ophy, died on Feb. 21 at his home in Arroyo Seco, New Mexico. He was 86.
Kimmel served as chair of the philosophy department from 1970-79, beginning his post after only four years at Trinity. In the early ’70s, he was also elected to the first academic senate at Trinity as an assistant professor. His publishing record includes more than 125 articles and presentations in philosophy and the Kimmelhumanities.wasthe consummate teacher, having taught philosophy for 50 years, most of those at Trinity. With approximately 60 students per semester, he influenced the lives of more than 6,000 students, many of whom still corresponded with him. He won the Z.T. Scott Fellowship from Trinity and was selected a Piper Professor for the state of Texas, a prestigious award for teaching given to only 10 scholars a year.
Neidorff was the executive chairman of Centene Corporation, a multinational healthcare enterprise. He was a celebrated corporate leader and grew Centene into a company that serves more than 25.4 million individuals across the U.S. and internationally and is ranked No. 24 on the Fortune 500 list.
LARRY KIMMEL
Neidorff served on the Board of Trustees since 2005. He chaired the Board from 2016-18, during which time he oversaw the completion of the University’s Campus Master Plan. The Neidorff family’s impact on Trinity has been felt for many years, including through the Michael and Noémi Neidorff Art Gallery and the family’s support of the University’s Center for the Sciences and Innovation. Most recently, Michael and the Neidorff Family Trust generously gave $25 million, the single largest donation in the University’s history, for Trinity’s AACSB-accredited business school, which was renamed the Michael Neidorff School of Business in appreciation.
TRINITY REMEMBERS MICHAEL NEIDORFF ’65
TIGER PRIDE
ColemanClark
Cross Country
Trinity made its first appearance in the NCAA DIII Football Playoffs in 10 years this past fall, as the Tigers also finished undefeated in the regular season for the first time since 2011. The team won its second SAA Championship in the past three years to earn its spot in the postseason tournament. Trinity lost 13-3 in the First Round to eventual champion University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, but no other playoff opponent played the champs closer than the Tigers. Trinity finished the year with a slew of awards, highlighted by three players earning D3football.com All-America honors: senior safety Jeremy Irving (Second Team), junior offensive lineman Wyatt Bush (Third Team), and junior linebacker Caleb Harmel (Fourth Team). Head Coach Jerheme Urban became the first person ever to earn both D3football.com All-America honors as a player and a D3football.com Regional Coach of the Year award. Coach Urban and Associate Head Coach Paul Michalak also received regional coaching awards from the AFCA. Quarterback Tucker Horn was a semifinalist for the D-III national player of the year award, the Gagliardi Trophy. Horn and Harmel were the SAA Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, while Chris Stewart was named the SAA Special Teams Player of the Year, and Coach Urban took Coach of the Year honors in the conference. Additionally, Ezra Gore was named to the CoSIDA Academic AllDistrict Team for the second straight year, while teammate Anton Noble also earned a spot on the academic team this season.
The Tiger cross country teams both finished as the runners-up at the SCAC Championships in the fall and then had two runners earn All-Region honors. Abby Blackwood also competed in the NCAA Championships meet in Louisville, Kentucky. Trinity men’s runner Ben Whittemore earned the SCAC Elite 19 Academic Award, bestowed on the AllSCAC runner with the top cumulative GPA. Blackwood and Elaine Kaster also earned USTFCCCA Academic honors individually, while both the men’s and women’s teams were also honored.
The Tiger men’s basketball team made a triumphant return to the NCAA Playoffs this season, which was the first full season under Head Coach Jimmy Smith. Coach Smith led Trinity to a 23-6 record this season, marking the 12th time the program has achieved 20 or more wins. The team last reached 20 wins in 2012-13, and the 23 victories are tied for the fourth-most in school history. The Tigers earned a lopsided win of 77-52 to open the playoffs against No. 25 Whitworth University, shattering the record for the largest win ever in a postseason game. Trinity fell in the Second Round to sixth-ranked University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. AJ Clark earned his second straight SCAC Elite 19 award.
consecutive victories, and also including the most points ever scored in a game during a 122-75 win over Schreiner. Hailey Coleman was named the SCAC Player of the Year, the D3hoops.com Region 10 Player of the Year, and a D3hoops.com First Team All-American. Coleman was also a CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree, while Maggie Shipley was named the SCAC Elite 19 Academic award winner. The Tigers finished 28-3 overall and tied the school record for the most victories in one year. The team also reached the NCAA Quarterfinals for just the second time in school history.
Blackwood
Trinity’s women’s basketball team put together one of the all-time greatest seasons in school history in 202122. The Tigers broke several school records, shattering the Trinity record for
Men’s Basketball
Fall and Winter Sports
Women’s Basketball
Football
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Gore
“To be recognized for something like that is an amaz ing thing,” Galan says. “I honestly felt more honored than anything to be able to receive that and represent Trinity and Trinity soccer, especially Coach McGinlay.”
As a San Antonio native who attended Reagan High School, Galan participated in soccer camps led by Paul McGinlay, Trinity’s head men’s soccer coach, throughout his “Iyouth.know the 12-year-old Jacob, and I know the 22-yearold Jacob, so it’s been an enjoyable decade getting to know him and his family,” McGinlay says.
After winning an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship that only 126 student-athletes nationwide earn, Galan is one step closer to receiving that title.
“Words fail me because he’s just phenomenal to be around every day. Players like him only come around once every couple of decades,” McGinlay says.
“As much as soccer has been the world to me and my team has been the world to me, it’s been a passion and dream of mine to go to medical school,” Galan says. “It’s finally here, and I feel like I just need to take it.”
“He was always dedicated to being in the laboratory early in the morning and spending the time that needed to be spent. Those are characteristics of somebody who is focused on a particular goal,” Giavedoni says.
Galan’s excellence is felt just as equally by his professors. In the summer of 2021, Galan conducted research with biology professor Luis Giavedoni, Ph.D., revolving around trying to find a cure for AIDS.
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Chasing His Goals
That love for biology never faded. Galan chose cellular and molecular biology as his major, and in just a few months, Galan will begin his coursework at the UTHealth Houston McGovern Medical School—despite Trinity providing student-athletes the opportunity to return for a fifth athletic season due to the pandemic.
“I had a passion for that biology class, and it came very fast. I knew exactly then what I wanted to do,” Galan says.
Galan’s performance academically and athletically stood out enough for him to become one of 21 male fall-sport student-athletes that play fall sports across the NCAA’s three divisions who won the $10,000 prize.
Cellular and molecular biology student-athlete earns prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
One of those goals developed in a middle school biology class, as Galan found himself enamored with studying for a test on the cardiovascular system. This experience showed Galan that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, John Galan, and become a doctor.
by Brian Yancelson ’22
Jacob Galan ’22 can be called many things , from captain of Trinity’s men’s soccer team and an All-American on the pitch, to teaching assistant and researcher in the lab. One name Galan hopes to soon be called is doctor.
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Swimming & Diving
The Tiger men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams thrived under first-year Head Coach Cathleen Pruden. Trinity rewrote the record books during the regular season and capped the year with a pair of dominating performances at the SCAC Championships. The Tiger women won their 19th consecutive conference title, while the men’s team won their 11th championship in the past 12 years. Michael Kohl was the SCAC Swimmer of the Meet for the second time in as many chances for the sophomore standout.
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Tiger Network showcases #TigerPride in full HD with realtime replays, color commentary by professionals and student-athletes, and on-demand options.
TIGER PRIDE
The Tiger women’s soccer team won the SCAC Championship for the 12th time in the past 13 years and advanced to the NCAA Playoffs for the 12th consecutive season. Trinity has won at least one playoff game in each of those 12 appearances, advancing to the Third Round this time for the second consecutive season. The Tigers were eliminated by eventual champions Christopher Newport University in a 1-0 game in which CNU scored with less than four minutes to play in regulation. Kaity Ward earned the SCAC Offensive Player of the Year award for the second straight season, while Bailey Meyer notched her first SCAC Defensive Player of the Year award. Ward and Meyer were also selected as All-Americans by both the United Soccer Coaches and D3soccer.com, and both players were also named Scholar All-Americans by the United Soccer Coaches. Ward was also announced as a CoSIDA Academic All-American. Trinity’s coaching staff, led by Head Coach Dylan Harrison, was named the United Soccer Coaches Regional Staff of the Year.
• Concerts and performances
trinity.edu/live
Men’s Soccer
The Tiger men’s soccer team enjoyed another strong season with a 16-1-2 record overall and a 7-0-1 mark in conference play to earn the SCAC Regular Season Championship. Trinity fell short in the SCAC Championship game but still advanced to the NCAA Playoffs for the 19th consecutive season. The Tigers were upset in the First Round in a penalty kick shootout against Pacific Lutheran University. Four Trinity players were named United Soccer Coaches All-Americans: seniors Brady Johnston, Jacob Galan, and Fraser Burns, and firstyear Michael Meese. Johnston and Meese were also selected as D3soccer.com AllAmericans, while Galan and Burns doubled up as United Soccer Coaches Scholar AllAmericans.
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The Tiger volleyball team had one of its best seasons ever with a 34-3 overall record and a 16-0 mark in SCAC action. Trinity is led by Head Coach Julie Jenkins, who became the 10th coach all-time—in all NCAA levels—to earn 1,000 wins in a career, securing her conference-record 15th SCAC Coach of the Year award. Trinity advanced to the NCAA III Championship Quarterfinals for the second straight time, as well as the seventh time overall in program history. The Tigers were led by three AVCA All-Americans this season, including Avery Tuggle, Annie Rose Leggett, and Sara Flynn. Tuggle and Leggett were the first Trinity players to earn First Team All-America honors in the same year since the 2003 season. Tuggle is a two-time All-American who won her second straight SCAC Player of the Year award this season, and she was also named the AVCA Region 10 Player of the Year—the first time a Tiger player has won the award.
Julie Jenkins, Tiger head volleyball coach for 37 years, became just the third coach in Division III history to reach 1,000 career victories. She is the 10th coach and only the second woman across any NCAA division to achieve that milestone.
Spring Sports
Be on the lookout for updates on baseball, men’s golf, women’s golf, softball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, and track & field in the next Trinity magazine. Those Tiger teams will be looking to match the success of the fall and winter seasons!
Nguyen Flores
The Tiger men’s tennis team swept the ITA Regional Singles and Doubles Championships this fall, earning All-America honors for three different players. Senior Cameron Krimbill won the singles title, while senior Christian Settles and junior Hao Nguyen took the doubles crown. Settles and Nguyen advanced to the ITA Cup Doubles Semifinals before being eliminated in the national event. Trinity was ranked sixth in Division III heading into the spring season.
Tuggle
Trinity had 12 swimmers (six men and six women) and two female divers qualify for Nationals this season, which is by far the most in school history. The women had four individuals earn All-America honors as part of a relay team that finished 14th at the NCAA Championships. Katarina Partalas was an All-American diver for the third straight year, finishing 3rd on the 3-meter board and 9th in the 1-meter competition. All six Tiger men achieved All-America status as part of three relays finishing in the top 16 at nationals. Kohl also earned individual honors in the 100 butterfly. The men finished 22nd as a team at the NCAA Championships, while the women’s team was 26th.
Siblings Konstantine and Katarina Partalas won the SCAC Diver of the Meet awards, which was the second straight such honor for Katarina. Another record broken this season was in the number of student-athletes to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Men’s Tennis
The Trinity Women’s doubles team of senior Megan Flores and sophomore Cate Cushing were eliminated in the ITA Regional Doubles Semifinals to close out the fall season. The Tigers were ranked 19th nationally heading into the spring.
Volleyball
Women’s Tennis
by Abby DeNike ’20
When you know, you know. At least, that was the case for Jenna Kash ’22, a business analytics and technology major from Flower Mound, Texas. On her first visit to Trinity, she got out of the car and immediately said, “I want to go here.”
2021-22 Tiger Athletics
Notable Numbers
Trinity’s DIII athletics struck the perfect balance for Kash. In high school, she had experienced the all-consuming nature of club teams, and she wanted a more well-rounded college experience.
Kash is excited to graduate and start working fulltime for Spurs Sports and Entertainment, where she will apply her data analytics expertise to customer relationship management to improve the fan experience.
Tigers dominated in athletics and academics over this past academic year.
Conference Players of the Year11 inTeams/IndividualsNCAAPlayoffs10 of 12 ChampionshipsSCAC/SAA9 ofCoach14of the Year Awards (SCAC or Regional)7 National Academic Honors2910 All-Americans TIGER PRIDE
Kashing In on the Trinity Experience
This enthusiasm for sport as a means to bettering the lives of others is a primary reason Kash was named 2022’s outstanding senior in sports management. When asked why Kash was selected, Jacob Tingle ’95, Ed.D., chair of the sport management minor, said, “She is an example of what so many sport management students do and who so many of them are. They know sports matter, not because of wins and losses, but because it builds community and can break down barriers.”
Outstanding senior in sport management demonstrates sport is about connection
She grew up playing competitive softball and found her way to college athletics after deciding Trinity was the best fit for her academically. “I sent the coach an email introducing myself just for fun, and she got back to me,” Kash says with a laugh.
She has maximized her four years on campus, serving as a team leader on the softball field, researching with AthleteAlly to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion in college athletics, and adding a sport management minor to her rigorous academic schedule.
All Tiger student-athletes pictured above shared their experiences with mental health on The Hidden Opponent’s Instagram account. Read more at instagram.com/tho_trinityu
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In November 2021, McClelland submitted an article to The Hidden Opponent (THO), a nonprofit organiza tion that raises awareness for student-athlete mental health and addresses the stigma surrounding mental health in sports culture. The organization published her piece about her own struggles with mental health, and the positive feedback it received inspired her to apply to THO’s Campus Captain program, which allows student-athletes to serve as ambassadors for THO and become leading mental health advocates on their campuses. As of early April, Trinity now officially has its own chapter of THO on campus.
“We need to get to the point where seeing a mental health professional is as easy as seeing an athletic trainer for a physical injury,” she says, “and student-athletes won’t feel as if they are weak for doing so.”
Tackling the Hidden Opponent
McClelland is hopeful that THO’s presence on campus is a step in the right direction toward holding open, honest conversations about student-athlete mental health at Trinity. Though she is proud of the work THO has already done, she says there is still much to achieve.
First-year track student-athlete fights for student-athlete mental health on campus by Matilda Krell ’23
As someone who has experienced the detrimental effects of untreated mental illness, McClelland is a major
advocate for opening the conversation surrounding mental health, especially on college campuses and among stu dent-athletes. Many student-athletes keep their struggles to themselves due to the general stigma surrounding men tal illness as well as the unique stigma in the sports world. These conversations are especially important at aca demically rigorous schools such as Trinity. “Students feel pressure to perform academically, and student-athletes have to juggle sports along with it. I have many peers that regularly sacrifice a night of sleep to study for exams or fin ish a paper, only to have to get out of bed at 6 in the morning for sports practice. Many have little time for taking care of themselves or building a social life,” McClelland says.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine , nearly one-third of college athletes report experienc ing anxiety or another mental health condition, but only 10% of those with known mental health condi tions seek help from a mental health professional. Kai McClelland ’25, a member of the women’s cross country and track teams at Trinity, has made it her goal to change this, starting with her own campus.
Where There’s a Will, There’s a Why 21 Grads from the Class of TrashIndigenousSpeakingLivingHands-On2021HumanitiesLaboratoriesUpforHeritagetoTreasure 26 32 34 42 60 64 THIS IS OUR
by Jeremy Gerlach
The spark behind the successes of Trinity’s 2021 graduates
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Devon Patel ’21, a neuroscience major from Las Vegas, Nevada, keeps his “why” on a small sticky note above his desk.
In other words, this is a graduating class that knows how to get things done. But what makes Trinity grads special is they also know why to get things done. And where there’s a why, there’s a way.
Devon Patel
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“We consistently hear that Trinity graduates are the complete package. Not only do they possess a wide range of skills, but they’re also able to think critically, approach problems from a range of perspectives, and communicate effectively within all levels of an organization,” Ramirez says. “Regardless of major, Trinity grads are ready to face the challenges and opportunities they’re presented with.”
This motivation is why Patel ended up in Toledo, where he’s still laboring through rigorous coursework in med ical school and also getting the chance to volunteer with other students in his program at Toledo’s CommunityCare Clinics, one of the largest systems of student-run free health clinics in the nation. “It is amazing to be a part of, especially now that I know all the work these clinics are doing during the pandemic, with all the different vaccine clinics and continuously providing care at multiple locations,” he says. “Seeing the impact that they made on the local community, I thought, ‘This is awesome, and I love being able to contribute.’”
As their paths diverged into a series of strange and unique journeys after graduation, Trinity’s Class of 2021 found success at a series of familiar intersections.
“My note asks ‘Why?’ And then under, it says, ‘To make a positive difference,’” says Patel, now in medical school at the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences in snowy Ohio.
Whatever happened to Trinity University’s Class of 2021?
You know—the class that arrived in Fall 2017, before most of us knew what the words “Zoom,” “Door Dash,” or “KN-95” meant. The class that couldn’t possibly have imagined what challenges—and successes— each of their futures held.
Across an impossibly varied and diverse set of new jobs and internships, postgraduate studies, and ser vice opportunities, Trinity graduates have been able to combine specialized skills and knowledge with the universal values of a liberal arts degree: problem-solving, communication, and critical thinking.
The numbers speak for themselves. Within six months of graduating, more than 98% of the Class of ’21 graduates were either employed, continuing their education, enrolled in the military, or engaged in volun teer-oriented service, according to Katie Ramirez, director for Trinity’s Center for Experiential Learning and Career Services (CELCS). This 98% outcome rate, the highest in University-recorded history, is no anomaly—it’s the culmination of a rising, multiyear trend of Trinity graduates outperforming the national outcome rate average by double figures.
“Seeing the immense burden that has been put on the health care system recently and all of the peo ple that do need help, it’s actually re-invigorat ing,” Patel says. “I’m (going into medicine) so I can go out there and help people.”
Yes, Patel came to Trinity knowing he wanted to join the University’s pre-health professions program and go on to be a physician. “At a lot of schools, you might see pre-meds who aren’t really into it. They’re just doing [pre-med] because their parents told them to or it is expected of them,” Patel says. “But when you know who you are, and why you’re doing what you’re doing, that’s really helpful when times get hard. It enables you to persevere.”
BECAUSE SERVICE CHANGES THINGS
Armed with a strong “why,” Trinity graduates such as Patel can see hard times—such as the onset of a global pandemic—as chances to make an even bigger impact.
And Patel isn’t the only Class of ’21 graduate balancing postgraduate or professional duties with service. Service and volunteer opportunities, though sometimes overlooked, are still a major factor in an outcome rate, and for good reason: Many Trinity students simply have this calling in their DNA.
At Trinity, Wallace not only got answers to her questions, but also found a call to make a difference. “Medical anthropology examines how [social] struc tures impact people’s health and create profound health disparities,” says Wallace, who’s planning on obtaining either a Master of Public Health or Master of Global Policy to be better equipped to create conditions that improve the health of communities. “Because these systems were designed, that means that we can work to disman tle and to change them. That’s a call to action to create something new—to create something better.”
Since 2017, Trinity’s outcome rate has surpassed the national average for bachelordegree graduates reported by National Association of Colleges and Employers.
“I grew up volunteering my whole life. Every single club I was in in high school had to have a service portion to it. It was a big influence on me when I came to Trinity,” says Durán, who went on to join and eventually become presi dent of Trinity University Volunteer Action Community (TUVAC), Trinity’s student-led service organization that operates under the CELCS umbrella of services. “So, it was logical that after graduating, I would pursue nonprofits, and another logical next step would be going from a nonprofit like Big Brothers Big Sisters to clinical psychology.”
Service has also shaped Paige Wallace ’21, an anthropology major from Austin, Texas. During
her time at Trinity, Wallace interned with various social justice nonprofits such as The Borgen Project, The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), and Food Policy Council of San Antonio. Her experiences within the nonprofit sector influenced her desire to continue in this work; that’s why, after graduation, Wallace pur sued an AmeriCorps VISTA position with Feeding Texas, a nonprofit that works with 21 member food banks across Texas to eliminate hunger in the state. AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program where members help build capacity at organizations working to alleviate poverty.
At Feeding Texas, Wallace works with the Community Health and Nutrition team to develop, evaluate, and monitor nutrition education and health programs that member food banks implement within their communities. “When I was younger, I was just trying to understand why this is even happening,” Wallace says. “How do people not have access to food? How can food not be a basic human right? Why is this something that’s up in the air for millions of people? This is so fundamentally wrong that I couldn’t sit by and do nothing.”
at press time)
A cover letter can be a space to express how passionate you are—a tool to highlight the ‘humanity of you.’” –
36% of Classtheof ’21 stayed in San Antonio 100 % 96 % 92 % 88 % 84 % 80 % 90 % 84% 8886%% 94 % 86 % 8982%% 98 % 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 TrinityNationwide (2021 data not
Durán, who hopes to go into clinical psy chology and is applying to several Texas graduate schools, says her personal “why” has revolved around service and nonprofit activism since she was a teenager.
There’s Elsie Durán ’21, a psychology major from Managua, Nicaragua, who currently works with community mentorship program Big Brothers Big Sisters of Texas in San Antonio. She’s one of 63% of the Class of 2021 who stayed in Texas, and one of 36% percent who stayed in San Antonio. At Big Brothers Big Sisters, Durán’s days get “busy and a bit crazy” as she works in support services, performing data interpretation of mentor and mentee sur veys that help the “bigs” and “littles” manage their partnerships. She also helps the nonprofit’s alumni program track the progress of youths after they depart Big Brothers Big Sisters.
OutcomeRecent Rates
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Elsie Durán Paige Wallace available
Just like Jones, Spradling pursued music with a passion at Trinity. The two played together in the handbell ensemble, and Spradling also played the French horn in the orchestra and band. Spradling explored other musical interests too, such as taking a class that allowed him to regularly attend performances at the San Antonio Symphony. This drive to explore came full circle for his own CS major, as he ventured into the specialized subject of big data and machine learning, which “isn’t in the general CS curriculum. It’s something you seek out because you’re really interested in it,” Spradling says. “So, I branched out and I took (classes on those subjects). I think I learned a lot, and it’s influenced the way I approach problems at BranchingAmazon.”outand collecting well-rounded skills wasn’t an optional update for Spradling 2.0—it was essential to creating the version of himself that landed the Amazon job.
“Now that I’m in the professional world, I still find myself constantly using the liberal arts skills that I learned at Trinity,” Spradling says. “I didn’t think that, as a CS major, I’d be writing in my dayto-day. But in reality, I spend a significant amount of time explaining complex code design. Communica tion and writing skills are huge.”
If that sounds like the coolest thing ever: “Well, that’s because it is,” Jones says. “It truly does feel like a dream come true, thanks in part to the astute men tors and irreplaceable friends I gained at Trinity.”
JonesEthan
in graduate programsprofessionalor
Ethan Jones ’21 had his “why” taken away.
As a graduate student, Jones is part of the 31% of his class who are continuing their education after leaving Trinity. Jones also works remotely as a growth marketing strategy intern at HBO Max, where he’s in charge of looking at viewership data for shows such as Euphoria, Insecure, and Succession. Jones is even interning at the Cannes Film Festival in France this summer; then he plans on moving to Los Angeles to intern for United Talent Agency.
Like Jones, Emerson Spradling ’21 also found a way to create and reinvent himself at Trinity— and beyond. He’s a computer science (CS) major from Austin who landed a big-time job as a software development engineer at Amazon.
As an aspiring performance pianist and music major from Fort Worth, Texas, Jones got tendonitis in his wrists at Trinity—a cruel twist of fate for someone who says he “loved playing the piano with Dr. [Car olyn] True, loved playing the double bass in the orchestra, and loved ringing bells in the handbellButensemble.”intrueTrinity fashion, Jones simply envisioned a new future for himself. From scratch, he created a unique, interdisciplinary second major in business.entertainment“Ireallylooked at myself in the mirror and said, ‘Well, I have my tendonitis, and I can’t pursue music as much as I wanted to anymore,’” Jones says.
At Trinity, Spradling says he found opportunities to reach beyond his major. “When I looked at Trinity, the Pathways curriculum really spoke to me. I would be able to branch out and not have my experience focus solely on CS,” he says. “My mindset was that a more well-rounded education would provide long-lasting benefits.”
THE CHANCE TO CREATE SOMETHING NEW
“I love creating applications that solve real-world problems, especially when I can see the direct im pact,” Spradling says of his work with software.
75%31% of Classtheof ’21
of Trinity alumni pursue graduate school within five years graduationof
SpradlingEmerson are enrolled
This pivot ended up landing Jones a spot as a grad uate student in Carnegie Mellon University’s presti gious entertainment industry management program.
“And so I was like, ‘What else am I really passionate about that I can lean into?’ And it morphed into my fascination with the business of Hollywood and the understanding of how access to streaming viewership and the atrical box office data is truly disrupting film and televisionCreatingconsumption.”thissecondmajor involved “a little bit of everything” that Jones had already started at Trinity, where the University’s approach to the lib eral arts creates countless opportunities to combine disciplines in unique ways. He folded in a research component; combined elements of Trinity’s com munication and music departments such as media classes and performance courses; and also leaned on the professional experience of Trinity’s Arts, Letters, and Enterprise program, a unique, interdisciplinary Trinity experience that helps students (usually in the humanities and social sciences) find ways to in tegrate business with their primary areas of interest.
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COLLABORATION AND CONNECTION
In Career2020-21,Services engaged
Devon Patel, right, is in medical school at ToledoUniversitytheofCollege of Medicine and Life EthanSciences.Jones, left, found new ways to advance entertainmentin at Trinity, such as working on a doc umentary crew.
Elsie Duran, far left, pursued a path of service with nonprofit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Texas.
This spirit of collaboration isn’t limited to student study habits, either. You can see it occurring between faculty across the social sciences, STEM, and the humanities, according to religion professor Rubén Dupertuis, Ph.D.
Trinity, Dupertuis adds, does not have silos. What it does have is professors urging—not just allowing, but urging—stu dents to take classes outside of their majors.
But Trinity’s graduates across just about every major benefit from a liberal arts environment that isn’t just about dis ciplines colliding—it’s about people collaborating. Take it from biology professor James Shinkle, Ph.D., who oversees Trinity’s pre-medical and health professions track and acts as a mentor for students such as Patel.
70%
of Trinity students through 3,400+ appointments and 2,400+ reviews of résumés, cover letters, and grad school statements
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“Pre-meds are notorious for being competitive, or even cutthroat,” Shinkle says. “But I would not still be doing this if it weren’t for the fact that Trinity students—not just pre-meds, but students in general—have regularly been a collaborative community. That doesn’t just mean the smart kids are hanging out together. You see this in study groups that span multiple interests and multiple backgrounds to the point where, yes, everybody wants to do well on their own, but they also have a mindset of making sure everyone else does well, too.”
“The nuts and bolts of what we do in the humanities is, yes, getting people to think critically, but really what it comes down to is the ability to come up with new ideas,” Dupertuis says. “This is why Dr. Shinkle loves it when pre-meds take several types of courses. After they become doctors, they will come back and say, ‘I’m so glad I took that course, because my awareness of different religious traditions has helped me in my day-to-dayShinkle,work.’”inturn, points to countless courses in philosophy (such as biomedical ethics), sociology and anthropology (such as health illness in society), and even studio art and nonfiction writing courses that he wants his students to take to broaden the ways they think through problems.
It might be easy to look at the talents and success of students such as Wallace, Patel, Duran, Jones, and Spradling and as sume that Trinity’s Class of 2021 must have been the Universi ty’s most competitive class ever.
“This is the kind of environment that I always wanted to work in,” Dupertuis says. “I knew the liberal arts in general were special, but the kind of collaboration that happens all the time here at Trinity is extraordinary.”
And that collaboration isn’t restricted to campus: Trinity’s Class of ’21 has relied on a growing, powerful alumni network that’s proved instrumental in connecting them with opportu nities in continuing education, service, and job hunting.
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And in moments like these, when you know your “why,” Wallace says you can move on to a more important step.
Devon Patel found the right formula at Trin ity for inspiration.sightbutschoolmedicalsuccess,alsokeptofhis
Trinity’s spirit of collaboration isn’t something limited to academia. You can find it happening with the staff of CELCS itself, which in 2020-21 engaged roughly 70% of the student population through more than 3,400 appointments and helped review more than 2,400 résumés, cover letters, grad school statements, and professional documents.
Spradling points out that he was connected by CS profes sor Mark Lewis ’96, Ph.D., to other current Amazon employees who were Trinity alumni. Duran, who’s applying to graduate schools in psychology, says she plans to inform her decision using a series of testimonials CELCS gathered from former Trinity psychology students who’ve gone to those graduate programs ahead of her.
“When you’re struggling, you naturally ask yourself, ‘Why am I doing this?’” Patel says. “And in that moment, I remember it’s because I want to help people. I want to engage in the scientific community and work to improve the human condition. Something I experienced at Trinity is that there are always going to be tough times. No matter what. It is important to persevere and constantly return back to your why.”
And for Jones, professors Jennifer Henderson, Ph.D., and Carolyn True, DMA, were able to set him up with multiple alumni connected to the entertainment and music industries. “Opportunities where I got to talk to people who have been in the same position as me—had a Trinity degree and kind of wanted to hop into this crazy industry,” Jones says, “including one alum who was at United Talent Agency, which is where I’m interning this summer.”
“Now that I’ve graduated, I’m still continuing to learn and grow. But I’m less in a space of asking why our world is the way that it is,” she says, “and more in a space where I have the tools to start doing something about it.”
CELCS also has an impact that extends beyond the typical concept of a university career center: At Trinity, the office also supports undergraduate research opportunities, sponsored summer internships, volunteer opportunities, and provides assistance with graduate school applications.
During a pandemic, these moments could also include applying for graduate or medical school and having test dates and in-person interviews continuously pushed back, or filling out job application after job application in a volatile market. But these are moments where Trinity graduates—not just the Class of 2021—have always shined, because these are the moments that bring out our “whys.”
“I remember pretty much failing my first ‘Organic Chemistry II’ test,” he says, “and being on the phone crying with my mom, asking, ‘How am I going to be a doctor if I can’t do this and pass these tests?’”
BECAUSE IT’S OUR
“I definitely got a lot of support from Career Services in terms of applying for awards, crafting cover letters, and writing my résumé,” Wallace says. “It helped me start thinking about how a cover letter can be a space to express how passionate you are—a tool to highlight the ‘humanity of you.’”
Even with all this support, there were still moments for Patel—and the rest of Trinity’s Class of 2021—where the path ahead seemed doubtful.
“Using Career Services was really great for my résumé,” Spradling adds. “With CS positions, tech companies have résumé scanners that pick up keywords. Career Services gave me great advice on which words to include in my résumé that would get me to the next round of interviews.”
Geologist at Southwest Research Institute
Economics + Music minor
DIEGO CARRISALEZ
ALLISON CARR
Venture for America Fellow; Marketing & Content Creation Manager at 3BL Media
MEGHAN DESAI
from ’21 GRADS 21
Master’s student in Trinity University’s Health CareProgramAdministration
After achieving a 98% outcome rate, the Class of 2021 has success stories to share
From Taiwan to Washington, D.C., to right here in San Antonio, the Class of 2021 is making its mark on the world. Trinity graduates have been able to take the problemsolving, communication, and critical thinking skills that come from a liberal arts education and pave their own paths, landing new jobs, internships, postgraduate studies, fellowships, and service opportunities.Infact,98% of the undergraduates from the Class of 2021 achieved such outcomes within six months of graduating, marking the University’s highest outcome rate in recorded history. Armed with assistance from the Center for Experiential Learning and Career Success, collaborations between students and staff, and the resilience developed from pushing through the challenges of a global pandemic, these graduates are creating success stories from the culmination of their undergraduate experiences.
People CoordinatorOperationsatCodeup
These graduates represent only some of the incredible outcomes that the Class of 2021 has achieved so far.
vicksburg , mississippi Neuroscience
san antonio , texas Geosciences and Environmental Studies
CAMERON CARLIN
RYANNA CHOUMAN
taipei , taiwan International Affairs and Chinese Language Marketing CommunicationsandInternforTaiwanPlus
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san antonio , texas Human Management/PersonnelResourcesAdministration
NINA BOWNESS
louisville , kentucky Communication and Media Studies
by Madeline Freeman ’23
Member of CommunityNationalAmeriCorpsCivilianCorps
CARSON BOLDING
philadelphia , pennsylvania Economics Communicationand
san antonio , texas
Associate Analyst at Ernst & Young
houston , texas Communication Community Relations Coordinator for Houston Dynamo Football Club
ABBY BLACKWOOD
BASILOS DESTA
Producer at Spectrum News 1
Political Science and Human Communication + Women’s and Gender Studies minor
san antonio , texas
CHRIS STEWART
DEREK NOBLE
Computer Science
los angeles , california Engineering Science
DIANA LONG
JULLIAN VALADEZ
san antonio , texas Communication Research Associate at Material
ROSHAN EDACHALI
nashville , tennessee Neuroscience
austin , texas Sociology
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Siri Annotation Analyst at Apple
ALEXANDER LOVE
M.D. student at UniversityVanderbilt
san antonio , texas Finance
st . louis , missouri Biology
J.D. candidate at William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa; Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps
pearl river , new york Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Business Systems Design Analyst at Valero Energy Corporation
International Relations and Affairs
Credit Analyst at Amegy Bank
GABBY ORR
san diego , california Mathematical Finance, Economics, and Spanish
LAUREN JOHNSON
washington , d c
Ph.D. student in Washington University’s Evolution, Ecology, and Population Biology Program
Associate Scientist at Pfizer
Aerospace Engineer at Trans Astronautica Corporation
JOSHUA KIM honolulu , hawaii Environmental Science
LILY SLEMP
san antonio , texas
JOHNNEISHA WHITE
san francisco , california Computer Science and Mathematics
TRULY TINSLEY
Gameplay Engineer at Sledgehammer Games
Master’s student at George Washington’s Elliot School of International Affairs, Intern at U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Public Diplomacy Office
Master’s student in The University of Texas at Austin’s Education Policy and Planning Program
So, what are they going to do with their liberal arts degrees? Well, currently they’re deciphering ancient texts and symbols, creating robust technological databases, developing collaborative learning and leading experiences, and publishing scholarly research. But don’t just take our word for it—take
What are we doing with our liberal arts degrees? At Trinity University, we’re infusing them with experiential opportunities—undergraduate research, interdisciplinary projects, labs, clubs, and organizations that help students bring theory to life. To sum it up? Hands-on humanities.
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This age-old question has followed humanities majors since the dawn of, well, humanities majors. Yet to those who haven’t delicately cracked open the chipped spine of a centuries-old manuscript, or who haven’t challenged a historical perspective with inclusive research, or who haven’t questioned ideas and issues in a reasoned pursuit of fundamental truths— the question may be more complex than they thought.
“So, what are you going to do with a liberal arts degree?”
HANDS-ONtheirs
As luck would have it, Trinity magazine’s two interns this past semester, Madeline Freeman and Matilda Krell, can tell us about hands-on humanities first-hand. Both, along with being double majors and majorly involved in co-curricular activities and student organizations, are active participants in two of the University’s most Trini-famous humanities labs: the Early Book and Manuscript Lab and the Roman World Lab, respectively.
top Religion professor Rubén Dupertuis co-founded the Roman World Lab. middle Students spend a Monday evening in Northrup Hall working in the Early Book and Manuscript Lab. bottom Claire Siewert ‘22 in the Early Book and Manuscript Lab
Trinity students take on humanities research through lab experiences
A doodle found in the mar gins of Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Bodley 861, f. 152r is believed to be a portrait of Richard Rolle.
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The medieval manuscript Kennice and Becca showed me that day, a 12th-century com mentary on the poetry of Virgil, admittedly looked like gibberish. I knew Latin well enough from high school, but between the scribe’s cramped handwriting and his frequent use of abbreviations, reading medieval manuscripts was like learning a brand-new language. It was like typing out the curvy letters of those online robot CAPTCHA tests, only I actually felt like a robot this time because the letters did seem warped beyond my human understanding. Nevertheless, Kennice and Becca could do it. I watched them decipher the Latin, fascinated by all the little details they picked up on, things that only someone familiar with the strokes of the scribe’s pen on the parchment would know. From my perspective, they were practically experts—and I wanted in.
For the Love of Old Books
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A doodle of a lion found in the outer margin of Oxford, St. John’s College MS 127, f. 7r
In Spring 2020, eager to continue working on the kinds of complex questions we had dis cussed and debated in my First-Year Experience humanities course, I met up with two of Dr. Kraebel’s current lab students: Kennice Leisk ’22, who was taking a Latin course with me at the time, and Becca Kroger ’21, who had helped me with my papers at the Writing Center.
by Madeline Freeman ’23
Luckily for me, Kennice and Becca took me under their wing. In the fall, I started meet ing with them and other lab members every week to work together on sections of certain manuscripts. At first, it went a little something like this: open my computer, pull up a digital facsimile of my manuscript in one window, have a master document open in another, get out my abbreviation cheat sheet that Dr. Kraebel made, and start deciphering the text in a separate document. The more time I’ve spent in the lab, though, the more complex my projects have
When my First-Year Experience professor, Andrew Kraebel, Ph.D., told me about his Early Book and Manuscript Lab, my heart skipped a beat. I hadn’t imagined that my interests in English and Latin would land me in a hands-on humanities lab deciphering medieval manuscripts, digging into the handwritten books in which all texts were preserved before the invention of the printing press—and as a first-year, no less. Two years later, I’m getting ready to develop the work that I’ve been doing in the Early Book and Manuscript Lab for my senior thesis.
Early Book and Manuscript Lab offers hands-on experience with handwritten texts
Cut to Spring 2022, and Grace and I built on the col laborative work from that class. Once we’ve finished our collation of the rest of the text, we’ll be able to assess this evidence and determine what this text looked like when it left its author’s pen. We’ve also started to put together a translation of the Latin, making notes along the way of passages that present ambiguities or uncertainties in the manuscript evidence. Dr. Kraebel, Grace, and I check those places with each other to discuss how best to pres ent the text and to make annotations. Ultimately, we’ll be
recovering Rolle’s thoughts, I became more and more fascinated with this unique way to interact with the Latin language. It took me a while to get in the groove, but with my knowledge of the language and my skills as a lab student growing, I was ready to dive even deeper into the text—and the next semester, that opportunity came.
become, like the one I’m currently working on with my thesis partner, Grace Rea ’23.
During Fall 2021, Grace and I took Dr. Kraebel’s course on textual criticism with our fellow lab students Kennice, Claire Siewert ’22, and Sami Pynes ’22. As part of this class, we collated the first two chapters of De
The text presents a vision of the ideal religious life and of the possibilities for ecstatic mystical experience, and it was widely influential among later English authors. As I worked through the manuscript, recording and
“As I worked through the manuscript ... I became more and more fascinated with this unique way to interact with the Latin language.”
Extensive corrections in the margins indicate that the scribe compared his text with a second copy.
Grace and I first started working together in Spring 2021. Dr. Kraebel assigned both of us a single manuscript of a 14th-century Latin treatise called De amore Dei contra amatores mundi (On the love of God against the lovers of the world), written by the English mystic Richard Rolle. (Rolle was a kind of medieval spiritual guru, living as a reclusive hermit in the fens of Yorkshire.)
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amore Dei from all of the manuscripts in which it sur vives. Very basically, this means that we compared man uscripts of the text, moving word-by-word and noting every place where one scribe wrote something that was different from the other copies. From this process, we were able to identify one manuscript, Oxford, St. John’s College MS 127, as the most reliable witness to the text, and we’ve now prepared a complete typescript of it. By the end of the semester, we also narrowed the pool of wit nesses down to five manuscripts, the ones we determined to be closest to our base manuscript, to have the least amount of scribal variation, and that give independent evidence of what the author wrote.
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putting together a critical edition and translation of Rolle’s com plete text, ready to be published for use by students, scholars, and anyone else interested in medieval religion and culture.
left Hugo Pictor (“Hugh the Painter”) is the lab’s mascot. above Pictor claims responsibility for illuminating a manuscript.
I’m especially grateful to have learned from other lab stu dents, who have become some of my closest friends at Trinity, and for the support and encouragement Dr. Kraebel has given me from day one. It’s amazing to see new students enter the lab with the same curiosity that I had as a first-year, and to be able to help them the same way that so many of my peers have helped me. That’s why the Early Book and Manuscript Lab continues to be one of my favorite experiences at Trinity.
Madeline Freeman ’23 is an English and Latin double major and communication minor from Dallas who is a writing intern with Trinity Strategic Communications and Marketing.
left Madeline Freeman ‘23 and Grace Rea ‘23 work on their new edition of Rolle’s text. right English professor Andrew Kraebel helps Alexandra Cortez ‘22 with one of the lab’s Middle English projects.
It’s pretty incredible to reflect back on the day that I looked at a medieval Latin manuscript for the first time, having no idea how to read that seemingly foreign object; today, I can get through an entire page during one of our lab meetings. My responsibilities have increased so much over time, and I’ve been able to connect this interdisciplinary experience with my other interests and activities on campus.
And ours is just one of many projects in the Early Book and Manuscript Lab! Some students—including first-years—have been working on a variety of other texts, in Latin and Middle English, all related to Dr. Kraebel’s current research. Other students work with English professor Willis Salomon, Ph.D., on manuscripts of John Donne’s poetry and with classical studies professor Corinne Pache, Ph.D., on manuscripts of Homer. There’s so much work to be done, and so many different kinds of work!
I walk into the small, windowless conference room on the second floor of the Chapman Center. It’s a weird room—hidden down a short hallway next to the Department of Religion—but it feels special, not only because I have an actual key to it (as opposed to swiping in with my Tiger Card), but also because it’s where I meet with my Roman World Lab every Monday morning. As my fellow Roman World Labbers (as we’re called) and I settle into our chairs, professor Rubén Dupertuis, Ph.D., religion department chair and leader of our lab, walks in, cup of coffee in hand. He greets us as he always does—“How are you feeling today? Well? Well-ish? Well enough?”—before diving into our ongoingWhenproject.Ireceived an email from Dr. Dupertuis in early fall of my junior year asking me to join the lab, I was surprised. He needed more people, and I had been in his class on non-canonical (meaning not in the Bible) Christian texts the year before. I was only a religion minor at that point, and I definitely did not feel qualified to participate in a professor’s research, especially not in a lab with projects that had been around for half a decade. And then I walked into the first meeting.
left to right Rubén Dupertuis, Zoe Grout ’22, Pia Rodriguez ‘22, and Matilda Krell ‘23
Archway with “Noah in the Ark” in the Catacomb of Marcellinus and Peter
The Delights of Day One
“The Good Shepherd” in the Catacomb of Priscilla
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Roman World Lab changes trajectory of this student’s time at Trinity by Matilda Krell ’23
center Pia Rodriguez ’22 wrote an article on the Maskell Passion Ivories. Source: British Museum, Department of Prehistory and Europe, MME 1856.06-23.4-7. From the Maskell collection. Reproduced by courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum.
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The research for this project was not easy, but collab oration made it feasible. A shared database was helpful when I hit dead ends. We helped each other editing first and second drafts, and more. Together, we discussed and balanced our interpretations of early Christian symbols.
I don’t know what I was expecting, given that the Roman World Lab was established as part of the Mellon Institute specifically to give students the opportunity to do research over a long period of time with close mentorship from professors—all things that aren’t feasible in a traditional class setting. I was a newcom er to a close-knit community of students and faculty who had focused for years on the intricate details of religious and non-religious writings from the Roman period. But Dr. Dupertuis and Zoe Grout ’22, the only other student in the lab at the time, quickly caught me up on their research and immediately asked for my feedback on an article they were hoping to publish. That was just Day One. Since then, we’ve been writing short articles for bibleodyssey.org. Bible Odyssey provides accessible articles covering every imaginable topic relating to the academic study of the Bible. It’s a website I relied on heavily in my first few religion classes at Trinity, so I’m thrilled to be able to contribute to its vast collection of information. Anyone interested in religion can learn the basics of early Christianity through the site’s easy-to-read articles and video clips from experts in the field. The website focuses on study of the Bible, which is scholarly, as opposed to Bible study, which is religious. And although I have yet to
Additionally, all three of us took on a “non-expert reader” role when editing each other’s art articles, since we’d only researched our own pieces in depth. Remember my Day One, when I was immediately asked for feedback on an existing article? I was nervous about stepping
Our Spring 2022 project was an analysis of various pieces of early Christian artwork. The Roman World Lab had three students this past semester: myself, Zoe, and Pia Rodriguez ’22. Each of us researched and wrote our own short article about one piece of early Christian art. I did my research on “Noah in the Ark,” an image that can be found in the Roman catacomb of Marcellinus and Peter. This image is not a standalone piece; rather, “Noah in the Ark” refers to a com mon set of symbols: Noah standing with outstretched hands in a box-like ark with a dove and olive branch, found in multiple pieces of early Christian art.
publish my own article—I just finished one at the end of this past semester!—I’m excited to eventually see my name on a piece of work available to the public.
Matilda Krell ’23 is a political science and religion major from Austin, Texas, who is a writing intern for Trinity Strategic Communications and Marketing.
“The Roman World Lab ... has given me ... the opportunity to contribute to ongoing projects and work with like-minded students.”
which will be a big step up from our current room. (Hint: our new room has keycard access instead of an actual lock and key; and it will have windows!) I’ll be studying abroad at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland in the fall, so I won’t be there to experience the grand opening, but I look forward to coming back in my final semester and having a second Day One, all over again.
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left “Noah in the Ark” in the Catacomb of Marcellinus and Peter
any lab, and it has given me writing, editing, and research experience as well as the opportunity to contribute to ongoing projects and work with like-minded students. Next semester, our new space in Dicke Hall will be ready,
in so late in the process, but I was put at ease when my suggestions were enthusiastically accepted. While my name wasn’t a part of the final publication, I was proud to see that article accepted by Bible Odyssey because
I recognized all the work that went into it, and I was grateful to be a part of the team. On the flip side, the early Christian art project is the one that I’ve taken on from the beginning, so I’m excited to submit it for publication.
I’m also excited to see the lab grow and change: This spring, we had one member leave and a new one join the lab. The new member, Pia, had a Day One just like I did, when she was asked to pick up another team’s research. She dove right in, working collaboratively with team members and technology, and quickly developed a rough draft. It’s encouraging to see someone in the same boat as I was last semester jump into a project with energy and enthusiasm.
The Roman World Lab was my first experience in
photos Anh-VietbyDinh ’15 Joshua Moczygemba ’05 Ryan JeannawordsSedillobyGoodrich Balreira ’08
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When
Yet a Trinity education is fundamentally rooted in interdisciplinary, experiential learning, where detailed stitches bind contrasting textures in surprising geometric shapes. In Trinity’s labs, students and faculty are answering questions and questioning answers, exploring solutions for the world’s how’s and why’s. In turn, Tigers are connecting across disciplines and differences through the tried-and-true principles of the liberal arts.
Our campus itself is its own laboratory. The mid-century modern National Historic District is an oasis of urban ecology in the heart of San Antonio. From native grasses on our green roof to dirt-covered artifacts surfacing from prior inhabitants, the campus has ample opportunity to serve as its own experience in learning. you think of a laboratory, what comes to mind?
Are there beakers and Bunsen burners? Pitchers and pipettes? Funnels and forceps?
Trinity University has those laboratories—in fact, the Center for the Sciences and Innovation is dedicated to them, providing space for perpetual discovery illuminated by abundant natural light and fueled by national grants and awards.
LIVING LABORATORIES
When the campus is abuzz, thank the Trinity University Bee Alliance. The student organization maintains on-campus hives and promotes awareness about the importance of honeybees. Bolstered in 2018 with a generous bee donation from Bill Leighton ’75 (yes, apparently you can donate honeybees to Trinity!), the alliance fosters anywhere from 20,000 to 80,000 bees in a given year.
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BUZZWORTHY ENDEAVOR
When she was president of the Bee Alliance, Abbi Bowen ’20 shared with Trinity magazine, “Many beekeepers have chewing tobacco nearby. If you put chewed tobacco on the sting right after being stung, it can draw out some of the venom.” As a tobacco-free campus, we’re not condoning tobacco use, but it seems like this would bee a buzzworthy solution if you’re trying out your novice beekeeping skills at home.
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IMAGINATIONMAKING
You may know Trinity University’s Makerspace as a one-stop machine shop. It houses projects ranging from formula cars to electronic instruments, and it serves as a home for most engineering design projects. But in Spring 2022, the Makerspace paired acrylic paints with laser cutting for “Academic Making for the Built Environment.” In this interdisciplinary course taught by art professor Kate Ritson, MFA, and theater professor Kyle Gillette ’01, Ph.D., art and theater merged for a Mellon-funded collaboration: creating a storytime stage prototype for San Antonio’s children’s museum, the Doseum.
The class was divided into teams, who brainstormed and conceptualized prototypes of the stage and its production. After pitching their concepts, Doseum curators worked with the students to select one project for a full-scale model build. The class spent the last few weeks of the semester bringing the concept to life using all the tools the Makerspace had to offer. Read more at gotu.us/doseum
Drennon ultimately presented the team’s findings to the San Antonio City Council in August 2017; the day after Drennon’s presentation, then-city manager Sheryl Sculley presented the team’s recommenda tion as part of a proposed fiscal year 2018 budget, describing it as being constructed through an “equity lens.” With some modifications, the city passed this $2.7 billion budget the following month.
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URBAN IMPACT
“It’s really exciting to see that something that started out as a class project could actually help make people’s lives better,” Ajani says. “That’s what urban studies is all about.”
In 2016, Cole Murray ’18 and Aroosa Ajani ’18 (pictured) along with Alyssa Parra ’18 and Claire Rettenmaier ’18 began a project called “The Demographics of Public Funding in San Antonio,” a study providing an equitable look at the socioeconomics of street maintenance in the city. The project was launched in partnership with the office of then-Dis trict 8 City Councilman Ron Nirenberg ’99, now mayor of San Antonio. “This report was the first time I saw, through an analysis of the data, a connection between high poverty areas and poor infrastructure,” says Nirenberg, who partnered with Drennon and the student researchers on the report while he was in the early stages of his mayoral campaign.
One of the benefits of a campus in the heart of San Antonio? The nation’s 7th largest city is a laboratory in itself. Students working in the lab of urban studies director Christine Drennon, Ph.D., would agree: Year after year, they engage in detailed research with big impact, such as the project pictured here.
It’s really exciting to see that something that started out as a class project could actually help make people’s lives better.
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A NETWORK
Crawling like veins out of the labyrinth, through the ceiling, within the walls, and be tween the limestone rocks underground, an intricate web of fiberoptic cable spans from Mulberry to Hildebrand Avenues. The small glass cable transmits audio, video, data, and other digital information back to the control room, allowing the Tiger Network to provide service all over campus.
In total, about 25 student interns navigate this nervous system for Tiger Network, one of the largest student employers on campus. Led by executive producer Joshua Moczygemba ’05 and creative producer Ryan Sedillo, the team typically uses six cameras per event, with 8-14 students working up to three events in a given day. The Tiger Network broadcasts athletics, lectures, and community events year-round to a worldwide audience at live.trinity.edu
NAVIGATING
Nestled in the labyrinth of the Bell Athletic Center, a nondescript set of double doors hides a video producer’s dream: The Tiger Network control room houses all of the high-tech cameras, monitors, switchboards, and speakers that make an award-winning livestreaming service run.
CHORAL COLLECTION
The manuscript, originally donated by Jane Stieren in 1996, had yet to be academically explored at Trinity. Kummerer, guided by music professor Kimberlyn Montford, Ph.D., eventually published a senior thesis using the manuscript as the basis for her research. “This was a lost treasure that no one knew much about,” Kummerer says. “And I wanted to do whatever I could to share it with the world.”
Deep in the stacks of the Trinity library’s Special Collections and Archives, Kristie Kummerer ’18 discovered a beautiful, long-lost medieval manuscript gathering dust. Carefully flipping open the pages, the history and music double major discovered a collection of musical chants sung by monks during mass—including some that hadn’t been sung for centuries.
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“We think these types of projects are a great way to train undergraduates to become great scientists,” Cooley says. “They can learn a lot of techniques and grow as scientists, while working on problems that could actually meaningfully impact human health and disease.”
BONDING
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EXPERIENCE
The chemistry in Trinity’s Cooley Lab is tough to replicate. On any given day, the space is filled with seven Trinity undergraduates, led by National Science Foundation Early Career grant awardee and chemistry professor Christi na Cooley, Ph.D.; together, they’re using organic chemistry to solve biological problems related to human health and disease. But the chemistry you feel immediately is between the lab’s people.
“One thing I love to do in our lab is really, really celebrate when good things happen,” Cooley says. This type of bonding experience makes the Cooley Lab a perfect example of how Trinity does undergraduate research differently: Students receive meaningful mentorship from faculty experts. In this case, they’re learning and growing alongside Cooley, whose ongoing fluorogenic polymerization project aims to use light as an indicator for disease, potentially having a monumental impact in the fight to diagnose diseases in areas of the world where advanced imaging equipment might not be available.
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LEARNING ON THE LAWN
Birds are chirping, mountain laurels are blooming, and afternoon temperatures are kissed by the sun. As spring blooms, so too do Trinity’s classes held outdoors. On this bright, mild spring day, political science professor Katsuo Nishikawa, Ph.D., brings class discussion to the shade of the live oaks next to the Magic Stones. And across the lawn, under the shadow of the chapel, surrounded by the scent of grape soda, English professor Claudia Stokes, Ph.D., teaches a course on—you may have guessed it—sentimentalism.
At Trinity, outdoor classes aren’t just for the admissions brochures. For decades, Trinity professors have insisted that our environment is a teacher itself; it’s why the University has, over the past 15 years, built intentional outdoor classroom space and filled the campus with Adirondack chairs. From discussions in nature to careful analysis of the nature around us, Trinity’s campus is an oasis for study and exploration in the heart of San Antonio. And if you need a whiteboard to complete the classroom, ask mathemat ics professor Brian Miceli, Ph.D., who is known campuswide for combining combinatorics with pristine views of Miller Fountain.
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Part of the 2017 Bell Center renovation project, the SPC was designed for Tiger student-athletes to train and hone their strength and conditioning skills. The SPC houses 14 Sorinex racks, four Frankenhyper machines, a Pit Shark, and a variety of center mass bells and dumbbells. This state-of-theart equipment means Trinity’s strength and conditioning coaches, Daniel Martinez and Burt Stuart, can create individualized programs for the men and women in all of Trinity’s intercollegiate sports.
Getting in tune with our brains often means getting in tune with our bodies, especially for Trinity student-athletes. And the Stumberg Sports Performance Center (SPC), a 5,800-square-foot Olympic strength-training room, is the perfect place to do so.
PEAK PERFORMANCE
Victoria Traybash ’20, a psychology major and sport management minor, used sport performance as the basis for her undergraduate research project at Trinity. She presented findings on the impact of strength and conditioning on student-athlete identity at the 2019 North American Soci ety for the Sociology of Sport Conference. Now a research psychologist for the Air Force, Traybash is engaged in a study to help develop pilot training criteria: “To me,” Traybash says, “it’s like a sports psychologist working with an individual athlete.”
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The curtain never comes down in the Ruth Taylor Theater costume studio. One of Trinity’s most beloved and storied “behind the scenes” shops is a laboratory for infinite creativity and innovation. And while the clock never stops, the camera shutter has captured a moment in time for this lab: Theatre professor Kellie Grengs and students Joelle MacDonald ’23, Emily Brodie ’25, and Vivian Spinks ’25 are styling wigs and altering costumes for Trinity’s Spring 2022 musical, Company. Grengs has a passion for repurposing, and on this day in late March, she’s cutting up torn pantyhose to be wig netting.
GOOD COMPANY
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And when this spring’s production is over? There’s still plenty more to do, to learn, and to discover. This year’s ongoing project is a digital database that will be used to keep track of all the studio’s supplies—hence the enormous stack of police hats. They’re being photographed for the database. In fact, the team estimates they have more than 1,000 hats of all types, shapes, and sizes stored in the costume studio!
Now, a group of Trinity students has formed a Land Acknowledgement Alliance (LAA) and are currently working with the University’s administration to enact a land acknowledgement agreement. This act of acknowl edgement serves as a formal recognition of the Indig enous peoples who have lived and continue to live in the communities that Trinity inhabits now as well as a recognition that the University resides on the land they historically called home.
For more than 75 years, Trinity University has enjoyed a unique relationship with the land it sits on in San Anto nio and Bexar County.
“I got involved because I wanted to be a part of some lasting impact on the University,” Brown says. “In the wake of Black Lives Matter and other social justice
Speaking up for
nois, and California have already made similar acknowl edgements. Now, says first-year Adam Kingery ’25, it’s time for Trinity to follow suit, bolstered by strong sup port from students, the administration, and a network of campus and community allies.
Students seek increased acknowledgement of Indigenous peoples on campus
“These land acknowledgements are important be cause they give respect to Native Americans who were on this land before us and are still here today,” says Kingery, who is a member of the Alliance. “And it’s also a recog nition of the trauma that was imposed on them and the genocide enacted against them.”
Through the LAA, Kingery joins a group of Trinity students who celebrate native heritage, either of them selves or others. Kingery, along with fellow first-year Blaine Martin ’25 and senior Gabriel Mello ’22, have joined non-native allies such as Nathan Brown ’22—the Alliance’s founder —and Jahnavi Nikkam ’22 in pushing for a land acknowledgement agreement.
INDIGENOUS HERITAGE
by Jeremy Gerlach
This is not a step that Trinity is taking alone: Other universities in states such as Florida, Connecticut, Illi
But for thousands of years prior to Trinity’s arrival, this land was first known as Yanaguana, as San Antonio was named by its Indigenous inhabitants, the Payaya. Today, there are still an estimated 58,000 people of Indigenous descent living in San Antonio, according to the latest U.S. Census information. This total includes students right here at Trinity University.
left to right Gabriel Mello ‘22, Nathan Brown ‘22, Blaine Martin ‘25, Adam Kingery ‘25, and NikkamJahnavi‘22
movements since 2020, the University pledged to actively deconstruct racist structures and provide equitable support for students and employees of color. This work is important to me because it’s a highly visible, intentional, and progressive series of actions to recognize Indigenous communities who have been removed, killed, and disre garded, yet continue to thrive in San Antonio.”
“Right now, there’s not really any organization to gauge the measure of the Indigenous community on campus,” Martin says. “But I can say right now we have a good amount of people who are supporting the formation of the IPC. Most of them are younger. And as I’ve reached out to people I know, just to see if they’re interested, those people have then reached out to other people, and now it’s expand ing faster than expected.”
Sepúlveda serves as a connection between the group and a series of relevant national contacts, namely the
looking beyond the land acknowl edgement agreement toward a series of goals that will provide more sustainable opportunities for Indigenous communities and networks to grow on Trinity’s campus. Kingery and Martin say that first and foremost of these is re-forming Trinity’s Indigenous Peoples Club (IPC),
Juan Sepúlveda, J.D., the president’s special adviser for inclusive excellence, has been an institutional ally that the group has counted on during the drafting of the land acknowledgement agreement. He’s also been preparing to serve as an adviser to the Indigenous Peoples Club and represents a direct connection between the alliance and Trinity leadership. Sepúlveda says he’s interested in “helping the group go through a process that is formal and respectful to all parties involved.”
Mello, who met Brown through anthropology class es, focuses much of his undergraduate work on Native American studies. “That’s partly because of the family connection I have: Like Blaine and Adam, I have some degree of ancestry from Native Americans,” he says. “And I was honestly kind of shocked to hear that Trinity hadn’t done something like [a land acknowledgement agree ment]
which had previously existed on Trinity’s campus but has not been active since Spring 2020.
Thealready.”LAAisalso
“This group was instrumental in shaping my per spective of community engagement, involvement, and partnering, as my coworkers were gracious in teaching and leading me in their amazing work in San Antonio,” Brown says. “I will never forget the patience, forgiveness, and welcome that they showed me as I bumbled my way through that summer. I’m still learning, through our team’s work, about how to engage with our region’s Indig enous nations equitably and respectfully.”
And the group is experiencing a surge of support from allies right here on Trinity’s campus, which in
“I think allyship is huge, and I think Trinity is working to do a lot more of that,” Nikkam says. “It is so important at Trinity for marginalized communities, and for people of color in particular, to feel community at Trinity and in a post-pandemic kind of world. Whether that be through finding community, helping finance projects, or paying to have speakers and panelists, it’s going beyond allyship to be more active as well. We’re fostering those connections and being able to do things that are very active rather than very passive.”
Nikkam says she wants to see the University secure more funding for Trinity’s Diversity and Inclusion
“It’s great to see a group of students bringing these kinds of issues to the table at Trinity, to make sure they’re in the conversation. It’s encouraging to see the group thinking about continuity and, as a faculty member, to encourage Trinity students to build sustainable inter ests,” he says. “But it’s also important that they’re trying to connect with allies—you don’t have to be Native Amer ican to be part of this—and expand the network of people coming on board.”
“These land acknowledgements are important because they give respect to Native Americans who were on this land before us and are still here today.”
Apart from the land acknowledgement and reinstate ment of the Indigenous Peoples Club, representatives from the alliance say they also want to find ways to insti tutionalize Indigenous acknowledgement and support on campus. Martin says this could start, for example, with amplifying Indigenous voices in an academic sense, such as with Reading TUgether, the University-wide summer reading program: “It would be nice to see Indigenous authors being included in that.” The alliance has also suggested Trinity’s library could work to make more Indigenous authors and literature available.
cludes Courtney Balderas, Trinity’s director for Student Diversity and Inclusion, and Jahnavi Nikkam, president of Trinity’s Diversity Connection (TDC). Nikkam says that when Brown reached out to her about having TDC provide more institutional support and funding for both the land acknowledgement agreement and the alliance, she jumped at the opportunity to have an impact.
National Urban Indian Family Coalition, a Seattle-based nonprofit that advocates for American Indian organiza tions and urban American Indian families.
Among these allies are several local organizations such the American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions (AIT-SCM), where Brown spent the summer of 2021 as an intern. This nonprofit, established by the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation, works to preserve the culture of Indigenous people who resided in the Spanish colonial missions spread across San Antonio.
Martin, Kingery, and Mello have also suggested Trinity could take simple steps such as including Indigenous voices at graduation ceremonies, first-year orientation, and other important events. The University could also improve the visibility of certain days of recognition, such as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Native American History Month, and anniversaries of historical events in San Antonio and across the country.
Office in order to hold more cultural events on campus. “When we look into the archives in the future, we want to be able to see and look back on this time as a time of activity,” she says.
photo courtesy Special Collections and Archives
Brown also says he’d like alumni of the University to consider taking steps to create and secure scholarships for Native American students, specifically from local schools. “I want Trinity to have a strong pipeline to our Native American communities in San Antonio. Our university is very proud of our location in San Antonio, and we should be: This city has thousands of incredible years of history and a diverse population, and Trinity should look a lot more like the city around it.”
“When we look into the archives in the future, we want to be able to see and look back on this time as a time of activity.”
Ada Colbert attended Trinity University from 1875-76. She is believed to be Trinity’s first Native American student, and she came to the University from what was then known as “Indian Territory,” now part of Oklahoma. Colbert’s father was Chickasaw and her mother was Choctaw; both of her parents were born in Mississippi and forcefully removed to Oklahoma in the 1830s.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
The Land Acknowledgement Alliance says alumni can have a direct impact on the group’s goals by making monetary donations to the Indigenous Peoples Club during fundraising events such as Trinity’s annual 1869 Challenge.
Claire Sammons ’24 holds a fragment of glass to the sunlight to read its maker’s mark.
Anthropology students discover that the surface is sometimes as deep as they need to dig.
SAN ANTONIO, 2021
Carter Nicol ’25 leaves class with a heavy sigh. He’s pretty sure he just bombed a test, and he needs a place to relax and reset. He finds a quiet, shaded spot to walk and think, occasionally kicking at the dirt along theWhenway.
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WORDS BY JEANNA GOODRICH BALREIRA ’08 PHOTOS BY RYAN SEDILLO
More excited than confused, Nicol races back to the residence halls. He can’t wait to tell his girlfriend what he found.
his foot meets a piece of ceramic, he sends it sailing forward a few yards. Crouching down on the path in front of him, Nicol wonders what the ceramic was and where it came from. He searches, dusts off another piece, and then another. Before he knows it, an entire pile of pottery has emerged.
trash to
VillalimestonedeSan
Acting for the King of Spain, Don Juan Antonio Perez de Almazan, alcade, grants the estate of Villa de San Fernando to the City of Bexar. This 8-league tract (about 28 square miles) encompassed much of what today is downtown San Antonio, and its northward expansion included parts of present-day Brackenridge Park and the southern portions of Trinity’s current campus.
Trinity University, having relocated to Waxahachie in 1902 after financial troubles in Tehuacana, is facing yet another tumultuous series of events and is again turning to relocation as a solution to its problems. On Dec. 8, 1941, Trinity accepts an invita tion from the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce to establish a strong Protestant institution of higher learning in its city.
MEXICO, 1740
Although the land is neglected, it is not void of human contact. With cleared and relatively smooth terrain, the abandoned quarry is the perfect locale for livestock shows. Roads running through the land become a popular place to escape watchful parental eyes, and a road on the north side of the property is dubbed “Lover’s Lane.” Eventually, a makeshift baseball diamond becomes semipermanent and draws large crowds on Sunday afternoons.
Alamo CompanyCement
NORTH AMERICA, MESAZOIC ERA
But perhaps the most high-traffic usage of a por tion of this land is for a municipal garbage dump.
Despitefrequently.theendless piles of trash, plans for a high school stadium in the area are being dis cussed, as well as beautification projects for the de funct quarry. Three decades later, Alamo Stadium will be erected, but the remainder of the quarry will lay neglected.
Fernando to the City of Bexar
Limestone quarrying rises as a major industry, and quarry rights are being granted to the highest bidders. In addition to mortars, plasters, and other building materials, limestone is now a key ingredient in Portland cement, which will become the most common type of cement in general use around the world. Soon, Alamo Cement Company will be given sole rights to quarry the land on which Trinity University’s campus currently sits; the quarrying leaves permanent scarring and indentation on the land’s façade.
Toward the end of the Cretaceous period, limestone deposits form while the San Antonio and Central Texas areas sit at the bottom of a shallow sea. Fast forward 70 to 80 million years, and this becomes rather relevant to Trinity’s campus setting.
Following the demise of three small Presbyterian colleges left decimated by the Civil War, a group of Cumberland Presbyterian ministers, who valued both experiential religion and higher education, sought to establish a “University of the Highest Order.” Trinity University, nestled serenely in the bucolic hills of Limestone County, opened its doors to five faculty members and seven students on Sept. 23, 1869.
SAN ANTONIO, 1869
The aforementioned limestone quarry is aban doned, and the City of San Antonio now holds a 193-acre tract of land bound on the north by Hildebrand Avenue, on the east by Brackenridge Park, on the south by Mulberry Avenue, and on the west by Shook Avenue.
Described by the San Antonio Light as “an 80-acre dump heap perched on the hills above Brackenridge Park, with a magnificent view of San Antonio’s skyline,” the dumpsite becomes a repository for city trash. In addition to the typical trash in a municipal dump, the site also receives a significant amount of building and road construc tion debris. Its contents are profoundly affected by disastrous floods in 1913 and 1921. Burning happens
SAN ANTONIO, 1908
EDITOR’S NOTE: Long before the king granted this colonized land, and long before the Spanish settlements existed, the native Payaya peoples were its stewards. A group of Trinity students is working to ensure a voice for Indigenous peoples native to the San Antonio area, and you can read more about their work on page 60.
WAXAHACHIE, 1941
Cretaceous period
TEHUACANA, 1869
Van Buren takes students from her “Historical Archaeology” course to the site of the old dump; save errant candy wrappers and soda cans, trash has not been collected at this site for more than four decades. Using a map drawn by Trinity students 10 years prior, Van Buren and her students begin a sys tematic survey of the site and a surface collection of its artifacts.Forthree days, student teams collect treasures from the trash. The resulting artifact assemblages contain ceramic, glass, metal, plastic, and organic materials; however, the teams determine that the scarcity of artifacts does not warrant any further surface collection. They conclude that, without a major geological or weather event to disrupt the current surface, the site will not yield any addition al significant material that will contribute to the archaeological record of the area, and they wrap up their findings in a series of reports.
That’s it— right?
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SAN ANTONIO, 1944
Fast-forward 50 years, and anthropology professor Mary Van Buren, Ph.D., wonders if her students know that Trinity Hill used to be a barren, rocky wasteland and a haphazard municipal dump. It’s late March, and the dense canopy of oak trees is deep green, the mountain laurels fill the air with their purple perfume, and the Bridgeport pink bricks look red-gold in the morning sun.
SAN ANTONIO, 1998
As Trinity University seeks to construct its per manent home in the Alamo City, its Trustees are hoping to acquire city property. On Nov. 2, 1944, the City of San Antonio trades 100 acres of the origi nal Villa de San Fernando land grant (see Mexico, 1740) to Trinity University for 55 lots of its campus on Woodlawn Avenue. This land acquisition—an unlevel site partially home to an abandoned quarry, organic remnants of livestock grounds, and a municipal dump—and the additional purchase of city land northeast of the original tract make up the University’s Skyline Campus.
At the site of the surface dig, decades-old trash fragments litter the ground.
Claire Sammons ’24 has a twinkle in her eye before she begins speaking—and no, it’s not from the reflec tion of the spring sunlight on the glass fragments beneath her boots. “It really is a beautiful day to be out here,” she says with a smile, stooping to pick up the broken neck of a sky-blue glass bottle. “When we find things like this, we’re looking for a pattern, an inscription, a maker’s mark—anything that would give us a clue to what the bottle would have been used for or where it would have come from.”
When Sammons shares how she found herself here, she laughs. “My boyfriend dragged me up here
Plink, thump, clank—and then, an exclamation: “Look! This piece has a date stamped on the bot tom!” The plink with which this piece is set in the bag is a bit softer and more delicate.
after he was blowing off some steam from a bad test,” she says. “When I saw what he’d found, I start ed freaking out. I kept saying, ‘We need to go get Dr. Mathews!’ So we just went to her office and dragged her out here, Sammonstoo.”has been interested in archaeology for as long as she can remember, but never imagined she’d find herself doing hands-on excavation as a college sophomore, much less on her own college campus. The just-declared anthropology major from Spring, Texas, recalls being enamored with historical sites while on family vacations over the years. Now, she’s scouring the surface of the campus she calls home, eager to explore remnants of the past that have turned up in her own backyard.
The team has a special collection method for di agnostic pieces—anything with a clearly identifiable mark, date, word, or pattern that can distinguish the piece from an ordinary piece of glass or pottery. If Sammons is lucky, a clear maker’s mark can also lead her to a timeframe in which the piece was manufactured. “By looking at the brands on one of the pots, I was able to find which company manu factured it,” she explains. “I couldn’t exactly date the material, but I discovered the company was founded in 1835 and closed in 1947. At least we can narrow the production to about 100 years.”
Back at the lab, diagnostic pieces abound. Pieces of Pearl beer bottles lay next to bottles that simply
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“‘We need to go get Dr. Mathews!’ So we just went to her office and dragged her out here, too.”
She drops the bottle neck into a thick plastic bag and looks down at the ground again. No less than a dozen of these plastic bags sit atop a 2-by-2-meter area of land, and several hands are contributing to them. Classmate Olivia Cox ’23 is dusting off the handle of a broken ceramic tea cup; plink, it gets dropped into a bag. Anthropology professor Jen Mathews is admiring a nearly intact brick, branded with a maker’s mark; thump, it gets dropped into another bag. With melodious musicality and up beat tempo, patterns, textures, and materials plink, thump, and clank into plastic bags for more than an hour on this brisk afternoon.
The right ear of a ceramic doll; the left leg of another, both found during the surface dig.
Sammons washes and sorts collected fragments in the anthropology lab.
SAN ANTONIO, 2022
Plink,clank–thump,Look!
But with this project, Mathews says, she was happy to dive into fieldwork a little closer to home.
“This project is going to help the University have a broader understanding of Trinity’s place within
“A whole series of convergences took place for this project to happen,” Mathews says with a smile. “First, Claire walks into my lab with pictures of ar tifacts and says, ‘Dr. Mathews, I have to know what
Why did they end up here?
these are!’ In the back of my mind, I’m remembering these reports from Mary Van Buren’s class project some 20 years ago. I’d always been interested in tak ing a look at this stuff, but hadn’t had the time—or the excitement, really.”
Who did they belong to?
“Finding these artifacts adds so much human energy to the site. With the baby doll foot, you think of a child. With the pocket watch, you think of how they were used for gifts for young men going into their adulthood,” Sammons says. “All of it makes you ask: ‘How old are these things? Who did they belong to? And why did they end up here?’ And doesn’t that make you want to go out and find more information?”
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Jennifer Mathews, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, has been going out and finding more information for more than three decades. Mathews, a Z.T. Scott Faculty Fellow and Piper Professor, studies ancient and historical Maya archaeology and has conducted fieldwork and archival research in Mexico since 1993.
How old are these things?
But Sammons’ favorite discovery is a “new discovery” of its own. A thick glass shard with the slightest pale blue tint, about 2 inches long,
bears raised uppercase letters suggesting a label. An unbroken bottle would have revealed the full inscription: Dr. King’s New Discovery for Coughs and Colds. Sammons’s quick Google search reveals the bottle once contained a toxic combination of chloroform, morphine, and pine tar, jarred as a cure for tuberculosis in the late 19th century.
say, “Alamo” in a calligraphic script. Chipped ceram ics show kilned stamps of manufacturers and hotel names. A baby doll foot and a tiny doll ear lay juxta posed next to a gold pocket watch, all a bit comical in their size and scale. A brick with a full maker’s mark, half covered in chipped-away paint, adds a gritty
shifted online to virtual field schools and online in ternships. “Instead of working in an archaeology lab, they were looking at online demography resources,” Mathews says. “So when Claire came to me as a brand-new student who just declared her anthropol ogy major, I thought, ‘If she’s really interested in this, right here on campus, then let’s go for it.’”
Mathews is just the right mentor for Sammons, having shifted the focus of her own research over the past dozen years. “My research has switched from prehistoric Maya archaeology to 19th century Maya archaeology, so I am looking at a lot of historic artifacts in Mexico,” Mathews says. “Similar kinds of artifacts are going to be showing up at the dump site, so this project has turned quite interesting for me,Whiletoo!” Mathews and Sammons are putting togeth er pieces of these artifacts in the anthropology lab, they’re also turning to Trinity’s Special Collections and Archives for materials that might help connect their artifacts with the land. When they came to the archives looking for information on the dump site, University archivist Abra Schnur led them to a faded copy of a tract map from 1917. From there, Schnur uncovered several more materials and resources to aid in the development of the project’s timeline.
Mathews addresses the toll COVID-19 has taken on student archaeology work, noting that students have had fewer hands-on experiences since the start of the pandemic. Digs and excavations—projects like these—that students had previously been a part of
A tract map from 1917, housed in the library’s archives, shows a handdrawn division of the land on which Trinity’s campus now sits.
Sammons says it’s just as important to recognize what the land was, so we can help the next generation of inhabitants steward it into the future. “There’s history here,” Sammons says, gesturing broadly to the land around her, “with the battle of the Alamo, the Spanish missions, and before all that, Native Ameri can lands. This project makes these connections, so we can acknowledge the site that we are on.
San Antonio’s history and its relationship with the city,” Schnur says. “At the same time the city was tearing down so many buildings in downtown San Antonio and dumping the refuse at this site, the city was using the rock quarry to construct new buildings, new structures, and new roads. It’s been exciting to go back through newspaper archives to understand what the land was used for at the turn of theSchnurcentury.”found old maps, newspaper articles, and uncaptioned photographs that paint a detailed but incomplete picture of the site. Maps show the forming and re-forming of roads and access points, before and after the limestone quarry. Articles from the San Antonio Express-News and the San Antonio Light quote conversations with former Monte Vista residents that impacted city policy. Complemented by Van Buren’s student reports from the late ’90s, Schnur says there’s a good chance Sammons can create a comprehensive history of the land in the century before it became the University’s campus.
Removal of historical artifacts from our campus site results in a loss of information. Anyone who would like to donate any historical objects previously collected from campus can contact Jennifer Mathews at jmathews@trinity.edu (no questions asked). She will gladly take them and curate them for permanent study—perhaps by another student in 2042!
“It’s been such a great experience,” says Sam mons, who has plans to turn her semester of surface collection into her senior capstone project. “We’re uncovering a past, even if it’s just through a baby doll foot or a broken piece of glass. And this past reminds us that there’s so much history connected to this site; it wasn’t just a field that they put a school on.”
“It’s so incredibly important to learn about the everyday people that were alive here, that were living here.”
“We hear so much about these grand events and these grand people in history that the ‘regular’ people are left out. This is the perfect opportunity to tell the story of the folks that lived normal lives in San Antonio in the 1800s to early 1900s,” Sammons continues. “It’s a mundane history, but it’s a human
history. And it’s so incredibly important to learn about the everyday people that were alive here, that were living here, that were throwing away their garbage here. It tells us so much about the land that Trinity is on, about our ancestors, about the people we can learn from—and take those learnings into the Sammonsfuture.”is enthusiastic to share her work with anyone interested—“so we can all learn from one another!”—and she champions public information involving archeological and historical sites. She plans to make her capstone available to anyone who seeks access (and we hope to share it through Trinity magazine when she’s done). Additionally, with help from Schnur and others in Coates Library, the team hopes to create a searchable set of sources, including 3D scans of diagnostic artifacts, photo graphs, and research reports, as well as make the physical artifact collection itself available for study.
Do you have a historical Trinity University artifact that you want to share?
For now, though, Sammons is still outside collecting trash and treasure, chatting happily with her classmates, dust on her boots and dirt under her fingernails. “We’re a happy family,” she says, smiling, holding a piece of dirty green glass to the sky. “We go out, dig in the dirt, and have fun. We discover history, and we take it back to the lab to clean it. This is the field work I dreamed about doing when I came to Trinity, and I hope everybody has an opportunity like this, to do what they love.”
One of Sammons’ favorite finds? An old pocket watch with many of its parts and pieces still in tact.
Attend fun events, such as: Block Party and Reunion Celebrations
2021 Alumni Weekend
Alumni Weekend 2021, one of the first in-person, large group alumni gatherings since the start of the global pandemic, was filled with fun and festivities for Trinity alumni and friends—more than 900 of them, in fact. Friday brought chances to reignite our passion for lifelong learning and celebrate alumni award winners. Saturday evoked memories of traditions new and old—from cheering on Tiger Athletics to dancing at the now-annual Block Party, where alumni connected with reunions of different decades. Sunday provided a chance to unwind, relax, and savor shared moments from college years through affinity gatherings. Many signature events were offered virtually, giving alumni across the nation who couldn’t make it back to campus the opportunity to participate as well.
Alumni Weekend 2022 October 20-23, 2022
Alumni College: Classes Without Quizzes Alumni Awards Ceremonies Fiesta with the Faculty
ALUMNI NEWS TRINITY72 Summer 2022
– Mary Gleason ’70
If you enjoy reading, join Trinity’s alumni book club by search ing “Reading TUgether Alumni Book Club” on Facebook and sending a request to join. The current reading selection is Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson.
“[The Alumni Book Club] has exposed me to books I might not have chosen on my own. Good, thoughtful, thought-provoking, and insightful literature.”
2021 Alumni Awards
To learn more about participating with the Academy’s Class of 2023, visit gotu.us/ALA
20 alumni receive leadership training from the University
The 2021 Alumni Award Ceremony took place during Alumni Weekend, during which Trinity bestowed awards upon notable alumni for their professional and personal achievements. Aisha Sultan ’96 gave a heartfelt speech while accepting her Distinguished Alumni award: She shared the story of finding her home at Trinity and the beloved faculty member who showed her it was OK to cry and have a moment of weakness as a journalist. Equally powerful, Phil Wetz ’73 accepted the Spirit of Trinity award and shared how the culture of the Universi ty extends into all areas of life, reaching far beyond the pursuit of academic ex cellence. Bené Eaton ‘09 joined via video from New York to share her gratitude in receiving this year’s Outstanding Young Alumna award. The Fraternity and Sorority Alumni Adviser of the Year award honored Karla Hagen Phillips ‘92 for her guidance to both her sorority and all University clubs. Lastly, the University celebrated contributions to the Trinity community and beyond from Tower 5 awardees: John Burnam ‘10, Sarah Causer ‘11, Libby Day ‘12, Ender Ergun ‘11, and Mitchell Hagney ‘13
Now in its fifth year, the Alumni Leader ship Academy is designed to facilitate networking and enhance professional growth by providing alumni with training on what it takes to become an effective board volunteer leader, both at Trinity and in the local community.
As of this year, more than 160 alumni from all over the country have received training through the Academy since its inception in 2017.
2022 Alumni Leadership Academy
Eight alumni are recognized for their accomplishments
Alumni Book Club
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This spring, the Academy ran six sessions from February through May. All sessions were offered in person and were livestreamed to those who participated remotely. The 2022 program includ ed training sessions on topics such as leadership qualities, negotiation skills, public speaking skills, communication and feedback, understanding individual expectations and board commitments, and board members’ role in creating a culture of belonging. In addition, the sessions included presentations from select Trinity vice presidents, providing an insider’s view on their area of work at the“TheUniversity.Alumni Leadership Academy is a great way to network with fellow alumni as well as improve our personal leader ship skills,” Sterling Brannon ’17 says. “It was easy for me to stay engaged [with the program]...because I was so intrigued with the concepts and approaches.”
left to right Phil Wetz ’73, Karla Hagen Phillips ‘92, Ender Ergun ‘11, John Burnam ‘10, Mitchell Hagney ‘13, Sarah Causer ‘11, Libby Day ‘12, and Aisha Sultan ’96 accept their awards at the 2021 Alumni Award Ceremony.
Janet Craig (right), a filmmaker, won best picture as well as best actor with WAKE UP at the 2021 Sunscreen Film Festival West.
Robert ‘Bob’ Cates is pleased to announce his retirement after 50 years of working. He now spends his time reading (which he loves), working around the house (which he doesn’t particu larly love), figuring out what day of the week it is, and generally wondering what he’s going to do next. Best of all, he gets to spend more time with his wife, Jeanette, of more than 50 years, his daughters, and his grandkids. Last, but not least, he enjoys just simply driving around the great state of Texas, admiring and appreciating the sights, people, and history. And, yes, all this while willingly and responsibly adhering to the masking and social distancing recommenda tions of our scientists.
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CLASS NOTES
Susan Masinter Riley has a photography business as well as a piano studio with 25 students, ages 5-16, enrolled. Teaching children the love of music has become Susan’s greatest joy during the pandemic.
Sally Murphy is delighted that an afghan she made in Trinity’s colors raised almost $1,200 for the Certified Business Econo mist Scholarship Fund during Trinity’s 2021 Alumni Weekend.
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Katie Ogawa-Douglas ’14 and Brandon Douglas ’15 hosted Albuquerque Alumni Club members and future Trinity Tigers and their families to celebrate their recent acceptance to Trinity. The group gathered outdoors with delicious snacks, hot chocolate, and s’mores.
Dr. Scott Brown retired from being an associate professor at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and medical director of a hospice.
SchafferArnold assumed the role of chair of ClinicSansumBoard of Trustees.
Adam ’82 and Donna Vickers Hester retired from the Abilene Christian University Depart ment of Theatre, where they served together for 41 years— Adam as chair and Donna as adjunct faculty and staff.
Bill Stinner-Trimble celebrates five years at SAGE Publications as a learning solutions manager. His wife, Angela ’88, started her 13th year of teaching theolo gy at St. Pius X High School in Houston. Their youngest daughter, Shelby MacRae, M.D., was married this past March to Robert LeBlanc. Shelby and Robert are in New Orleans as Shelby continues her fellowship in pulmonary and critical care. The photo is from Shelby’s re hearsal dinner in Galveston and shows Bill, Angela, and their daughters, Sasha and Shelby. Angela and Bill are incredibly proud of the contributions their daughters have made through out the pandemic. Shelby has been treating COVID-19 pa tients from day one in the ICU in New Orleans. Sasha, who has a Ph.D. in cellular/molecular
Tab Beall retired after 32 years with the Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott, LLP law firm. Tab’s plans for the future revolve around grandchildren, travel, and relaxing.
Trinity delegate and judge Robert Bowling and his wife, Karla, attended the inauguration of Centre College President Milton Moreland (center) on Oct. 14, 2021, in Danville, Kentucky.
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Rev. Beth Patillo returned to the Disciples Divinity House (DDH) at Vanderbilt as the acting dean. DDH is a living/ learning community for Disciples of Christ students at Vanderbilt Divinity School (VDS). Patillo is also an alum of DDH and VDS (M.Div. ’90).
After 18 wonderful years as alumni volunteer coordina tor in Trintiy’s alumni office, Elizabeth Ford joined the San Antonio Academy of Texas as assistant director of develop ment. Her Trinity connections will remain strong!
Nicole Ament, chair partment,EstateSchreck’sHyattBrownsteinofFarberRealDehas
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Nelson Barnes is leaving the McLennan County District Attorney office to become the project director for the Border Prosecution Unit under a state grant program called Operation Lone Star. In this new position, Barnes will be assigned as a special prosecutor for the 452nd Judicial District and will work as a liaison with multiple state agencies to coordinate the bor der prosecution program among 17 border counties.
UTHealth Houston, will lead the most diverse board ever of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the largest organization of charitable fundraisers in the world. Foyle, who will be serving as chair for a second year in 2022, oversees all aspects of UTHealth’s develop ment program, including princi pal, planned, major, and annual gifts, corporate and foundation relations, and administrative and information services. He has nearly 30 years of development experience both domestically and internationally and has previously served in numerous volunteer leadership positions for AFP Global.
Letitia Gomez, asset management business line leader for Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Wash ington, retired after 34 years of federal government service. She served at NAVFAC for the vast majority of her exceptional career and was awarded the Civilian Service Commendation Medal.
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TRINITY 75trinity.edu/trinity-magazine
Kevin J. Foyle, MBA, affairsanddevelopmentpresidentseniorCFRE,viceofpublicfor
Atlanta Alumni Club members experienced Illuminarium, an immersive museum experience. Through this sensory experience, Trinity alumni were able to fully embrace their Tiger Pride in the museum’s exhibit, WILD: A Safari Experience
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FACHE, has been chiefpresidentexecutivenamedviceandoperating
joined the board of directors of Parkinson Association of the Rockies (PAR) in Colorado. The nonprofit organization works to enhance the quality of life for individuals with Par kinson’s disease through educa tion, research, awareness, and support for them, their families, and the community. As part of her three-year role, Ament
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biology, has made it her mis sion to exhaustively research everything available about the virus and disseminate the facts about COVID-19 to the general public in layperson’s terms. She’s working with the team of pathologists who were the first to develop and study the mono clonal antibody treatment. Angela and Bill most enjoy time spent with their entire family, especially their three grandchil dren, ages 7, 5, and 2.
officer of Parkland Health and Hospital System and began in early January.
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Katherine Weikert ’92 and Greg Merritt ’92 Dec. 21, 2021
We want to hear from you!
Chris Kradle ‘12 and Anna Steedman Nov. 6, 2021
Ana Unruh Cohen, Ph.D., has served as the staff director for the Select Committee on the Cli mate Crisis in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019. The committee developed a detailed set of recommendations for congressional actions to address the climate crisis from cutting carbon emissions to adapting to impacts and supporting the de velopment and transformation of jobs and industries.
CLASS NOTES
Lisa Jasper, member of the Trinity University Board of Visitors, co-founded Thought Ensemble, a consulting firm, 13 years ago with a fellow 1995 graduate. Pariveda, a leader specializing in solving complex technology and business prob lems, announced the acqui sition of Thought Ensemble. With the addition of Thought Ensemble, Pariveda now pro vides holistic business strategy, program execution, and change management to support organi zational transformation.
Not only will your updates appear in Class Notes, we may also find them inspirational and reach out for a story or profile.
Jonathan K. Frels, Brace well Publicofnamedpartner,LLPwasLawyertheYearforFinance
MARRIAGES
1996
Submit your class notes (or submit one for a friend!) at gotu.us/alumniupdates
Big brothers Theo (5 years old) and Henry (3 years old) are excited to have a little sister!
Law in Houston in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Individual lawyers with the highest overall peer feedback for a specific practice area and geographic region are named Lawyer of the Year. Only
NEW ADDITIONS
TRINITY76 Summer 2022
Katherine Marie Mangels dorf to Amanda Barth Mangelsdorf ’07 and Greg Mangelsdorf ’07, M’08 November 2021
will assist PAR with fund development, governance, and strategy. Her involvement with the organization is personal. “My dad has been suffering from Parkinson’s for more than 25 years, and I understand the extreme impact Parkinson’s has on so many members of our community,” she said. “As a member of the PAR board, I look forward to supporting all of the ways in which PAR helps to ease the burden of those afflicted by Parkinson’s.”
Denver Alumni Club met at a local winery, where a sommelier led a wine tasting for the group. The Denver Alumni Club members had a great time mingling with one another while enjoying a variety of wines and a charcuterie buffet.
Mason Alexander Bartonico to Michelle ‘08 and JP Bartonico M’09
Your stories, updates, and memories are what make Trinity magazine great.
Abby (Seamster) King ’17 and Davis King ’18 Dec. 30, 2021
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Danielle MacKenzie Butler to Melanie Butler ’03 and Sam Butler June 24, 2021
Denise Drake was elected to DeniseJan.boardexecutiveDykema’seffective1,2022.fo
cuses her practice on corpo rate, finance, and real estate matters, advising clients in the purchase or sale of companies and assets, negotiating key commercial and real estate agreements, and ensuring corporate compliance with governance structures. Prior to joining Dykema, she served as in-house counsel for Mara thon Petroleum Corporation, where she managed corporate and real estate matters for the company’s midstream, refining, and marketing assets. Drake received her J.D. cum laude from St. Mary’s University School of Law.
Chris Garcia was appointed by San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg ’99 to co-chair the Drainage and Flood Manage ment Committee for the 2022 City of San Antonio Bond.
April Ancira, as the 2021 Texas Auto Dealer Association Chair man, spent the year represent ing 1,400 dealers during the Texas Legislative Session and in other activities.
of Latino Healthcare Executives, former chair of the Texas Hospi tal Association, board member of the American Hospital Asso ciation Regional Policy Board, and a past regent-at-large of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Texas at El Paso and a master’s degree in health care administration from Trinity. In 2013, UT-El Paso recognized Hurt-Deitch as one of its distinguished alumni.
Robert Devlin has been called by God to serve as the executive director of the Southwest As sociation of Episcopal Schools, the accreditation, professional development, and Episcopal leadership organization for nu merous schools across six states and 11 dioceses.
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Erin Harrigan accepted the ADA Compliance position in the Office of General Counsel of the Volusia County School District.
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Sally DeitchHurtwas named senior vice president of InforoperationsAscension.2018,she was appointed by the Federal Re serve Board of Governors to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ El Paso Branch board of directors. She will serve the remaining por tion of a term ending on Dec. 31, 2023. Hurt-Deitch is past presi dent of the National Association
Harrigan is excited for this new adventure that seems to be a cul mination of all her prior twists and turns.
one lawyer is recognized for each specialty and region.
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Submit your updates online at alumniupdatesgotu.us/ Show your #TigerPride WeekendAlumni2022 October 20-23 Save the Date
Jessica O’Neal assumed the position of CEO of Medical City Las Colinas, an acute care facil ity in Texas. She has prepared for this big step for 15 years, first as vice president of operations and chief operating officer of Methodist Dallas Medical Cen ter, then as CEO of the Medical City Children’s Hospital and its Women’s Hospital. She launched and expanded worldclass congenital heart and fetal surgery programs for critically ill babies at the Children’s Hospital. She has developed the Women’s Hospital into a
Andy Cates began gathering signatures for a petition to create the nation’s first legal specialization in legislative and campaign law in 2017. After the Texas Supreme Court approved the specialization in 2019, Cates sat for and passed the test, making him officially one of five people in the nation with a legal specialization in legislative and campaign law.
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Houston Alumni Club members welcomed the newest alumni from the Classes of 2020 and 2021 at R Bar for a mid-week happy hour.
Amber K. Dodds is a newly effectiveBracewellpartnerelectedofLLP,Jan.
Erin McCormick has been promoted to vice president and general manager of the Gwinnett Stripers, Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. She is the first female general manager for the Braves organization. Read more at gotu.us/mccormick.
The San Antonio Alumni Club hosted a happy hour and gallery tour at Hopscotch Immersive Art Experience. The group enjoyed the evening reconnecting and meeting new alumni.
Use the Trinity University Alumni Business Directory to shop alumni-owned business, products, and services across the United States. Support fellow Tigers whether you’re searching for warm cookies delivered to your client’s doorstep, gorgeous handmade ceramics, an exciting new book, a local service, or something more. Browse the directory at gotu.us/alumnibusinessdirectory
arising under federal and state laws, including harassment in the workplace, claims for un employment insurance benefits, and discrimination. MacDowall further assists employers with responding to administrative charges of discrimination before the Equal Employment Op portunity Commission and in reviewing and drafting employee handbooks and policies, hiring, performance management, and termination as well as assess ing employee accommodation requests. MacDowall earned his J.D. cum laude from Wake Forest University School of Law.
New York Alumni Club members spent an afternoon at The Met Clois ters learning about European medieval art and architecture, with a focus on the Romanesque and Gothic periods, through a private guided tour. The group then gathered for lunch nearby to reminisce about their time at Trinity and take in some gorgeous views of the Hudson River.
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Alumni Business Directory
national leader for gynecologic surgery, labor, delivery, obstet rics, and gynecology. O’Neal graduated from Texas Christian University as well as Trinity.
2007 MacDowallLuke, an attorney for Littler, one of the world’s largest employment and labor law practices, was elevated lawemploymentaemployersall1.effectiveshareholdertoJan.MacDowcounselsinvarietyofmatters
Chad Waryas was promoted to director of change management and strategy at Comcast/NBC Universal. He manages change, ensuring that employees and leaders are empowered to create great experiences for their customers. In personal news, his wife, Swetha, and son, Kal (2 years old), moved to Waterbury, Vermont, and are eager to con nect with Trinity alums.
1. Dodds advises employers on labor and employment issues, such as leave administration, employee investigations, OSHA compliance, the use of back ground checks and consumer reports, employee discipline, and preventing harassment and retaliation claims. She served as an intern in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas and the Texas First Court of Appeals. Dodds earned her Master of Theological Studies summa cum laude from Boston University and her J.D. with hon ors from The University of Texas School of Law. Dodds has twice been named “One to Watch” in San Antonio labor and employ ment law by The Best Lawyers in America.
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Griffin LeNoir serves as the management officer at the U.S. Embassy in Juba, South Sudan, where he is responsible for the mission’s operations and finances.
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CLASS NOTES
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Salvator Perdomo and Larizza Lozano both won an Albuquer que Business First 40 Under 40 Award this year.
Amy Waltz is working at Baylor Scott & White Health as a practice administrator over Di gestive Diseases and Urology.
St. Louis Alumni Club members gathered at the home of Mike Henges ’78 for a fall cocktail party. The group spent the evening reconnecting with local alumni over homemade cocktails and a Trinity-inspired charcuterie board.
Washington D.C. Alumni Club members celebrated the holidays with the annual District’s Holiday Boat Parade. The group was filled with holiday spirit watching more than 60 beautifully decorated boats parade along the Washington Channel. The bright and merry evening ended with a fireworks salute.
Seattle Alumni Club members celebrated the holiday season with some Texas-style barbecue to keep them warm during the Pacific Northwest winter. The group indulged in a tasty barbecue feast while sharing their favorite Trinity memories.
Find an Alumni Club
“Trinity University Alumni Association” “Trinity University Alumni Group” Trinity@trinityu.alumni@TrinityUAlumniUniversity Alumni Association
Trinity encourages Alumni Clubs to follow local best practices and guidelines regarding COVID-19 protocols.
Use your smartphone to scan this QR code to stay connected with Trinity’s latest alumni news, events, and more!
Network, volunteer, and attend events with Tigers in your area. There are Alumni Clubs throughout the United States—visit gotu.us/alumniclubs to find one near you!
2019
Stay Connected
Katy Norman was promoted to principal scientist at the phar maceutical company Sanofi.
“Trinity University Alumni” group
Lin Chen launched her brand at Urban Outfitters’ online store.
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Warren Norvell ’60 Jan. 21, 2022
Bryan Boyd ’55 May 7, 2021
Marjorie JenningsChapman’59
Ralph Finch ’58 Aug. 21, 2021
Kathryn Benett Wardell ’49 Nov. 10, 2021
Patricia Forester Hill ’55 Dec. 7, 2021
Mary Mogas ’63 Sept. 29, 2021
VanderboomJohn ’63 Nov. 24, 2021
Bettye Conrad Dube ’58 Aug. 16, 2021
Naomi Brockman Brown ’51 Sept. 7, 2021
Newton Ellison ’62 Sept. 7, 2018
Charles Allen ’62 Sept. 29, 2020
Ronnye Toney Fort ’64 Dec. 9, 2021
DavidsonWilliam ’70 Dec. 18, 2021
Barton Lee ’64 Oct. 11, 2021
Loretta BernardUtterback’49
Thomas King ’68 Jan. 26, 2022
Gloria WheelerAvant’53
Albert Camp ’55 July 14, 2021
Barbara FitzgibbonUrrutia’56 Oct. 27, 2021
Elliot Stendig ’61 Nov. 8, 2021
Frances Preest Brown ’52 July 2, 2021
Lester Helmer ’62 April 22, 2020
Dec. 19, 2019
Judith Finkbeiner Smith ’62 Sept. 20, 2021
James Heineke ’49 Oct. 5, 2020
Murray Travis ’53 Oct. 1, 2021
July 7, 2021
John Adair ’54 Dec. 1, 2021
MurpheyLauralyn ’59 Sept. 1, 2021
John Scroggin ’51 Sept. 16, 2021
Margaret MoodyValkenburghVan’64 Nov. 13, 2021
Robert Kerr ’74 Aug. 20, 2021
Joe Don Elder ’76 Oct. 21, 2021
Carolyn Roth Spillers ’58 Nov. 7, 2021
Thomas Tanner ’58 Nov. 22, 2021
Oct. 11, 2020
Marilyn RutherfordSarles’55 Sept. 16, 2021
Marion ChandlerPollard’63 Oct. 19, 2019
Takeru Ito ’54 Sept. 29, 2021
Sept. 12, 2021
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Eddie Houser ’51 Dec. 29, 2019
Bradley Garber ’54 Jan. 3, 2021
Clara Lodovic Baca ’56 Mar. 4, 2020
Estel LamonConradJr.’76 Aug. 26, 2021
Pat Sammis ’76 Sept. 8, 2021
Gloria BielsteinMoeller’48
Nancy CramerWasserman’60 Oct. 31, 2021
Josephine (Davis) Fletcher ’59 Aug. 30, 2021
Tinka SoyarsHuber’50
Jo Ann Redden(Lochte)’54
Henry Boubelik ’61 Feb. 11, 2021
Rose Bush Brook ’48 Mar. 9, 2021
Jerry Marroquin ’54 Mar. 11, 2020
Jan. 30, 2022
Lionel Gregory ’59 Jan. 10, 2022
Sandra Huber Griffin ’59 Feb. 2, 2022
Ruth LernerLevinson’72
RegaladoDomingo ’62 Jan. 11, 2021
Patricia Wheless Loidold ’47 Jan. 6, 2020
HathawayWilbur ’51 Oct. 25, 2020
Jan. 6, 2022
Jan. 26, 2022
Robert Coyle ’57 Dec. 17, 2021
William Dorsett ’60 July 10, 2021
Carol Robbins ’64 June 19, 2020
Michael Neidorff ’65 April 7, 2022
Aug. 3, 2021
Phyllis Arnold ’66 Apr. 18, 2021
Harry Hamilton ’77 Oct. 1, 2021
Feb. 5, 2022 S. ParkerThomas’72
Donald Beeler ’73 Oct. 4, 2021
Ben Tilley ’68 Nov. 22, 2021
July 7, 2020
Kenneth Burns ’54 Dec. 6, 2021
SheltonDorothyMEMORIAMFresenius’40
Edmund Cody ’54 Nov. 8, 2021
Barbara McCutcheonRogers’63 Oct. 20, 2021
StanfordMarlene ’77 Dec. 11, 2021
Charles Lynch ’77 Oct. 27, 2021
Cynthia Sailor ’72 Nov. 7, 2021
Jaimie Bone ’71 Jan. 18, 2022
Betty KahlerHunt’54
Richard Hackett ’71 Aug. 25, 2021
Nov. 28, 2021
Spencer Cosmos ’63 Jan. 19, 2020
Sue Walling ’63 Jan. 16, 2022
Rebecca PillsburyRyan’74 Sept. 19, 2021
Joan Dew Fee ’51 Apr. 17, 2020
Edwin Shapiro ’49 Sept. 20, 2021
Garry McMillan ’70 Sept. 30, 2021
Doreen Naylor Hall ’52 Oct. 1, 2021
Manuel Long ’74 Sept. 1, 2021
Harriet Collier Nauert ’45 July 1, 2021
Marcia Frankel Unger ’56 Dec. 13, 2021
Barbara Dodd ’76 Nov. 27, 2021
Betty HardinAlder’49
Lewis Leavitt ’76 Sept. 17, 2021
Shannon Wilson Rider ’79 Oct. 17, 2021
David Menchaca ’19 Aug. 22, 2021
Robert Leibold ’80 June 4, 2021
Jason Krom ’02 Nov. 3, 2021
Max Ludeke ’79 Dec. 21, 2021
Stella McCord Duffy ’83 Nov. 22, 2018
On Dec. 16, 2021, Trinity lost a bright light. Senior Ashna Wagle’s journey in this life end ed, leaving behind a community of family and friends who will never forget her intelligence, her charm, and her kindness.
Ashna Wagle ’22 Dec. 16, 2021
Oct. 2, 2021
Jeffrey Allison ’93 Oct. 23, 2021
Merry Horner ’81 Oct. 21, 2021
Oct. 18, 2021
ASHNA WAGLE ’22
Christine ButterfieldFreiter’96
From her work as a campus tour guide to her work as a peer tutor and fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, Ashna was dedicated to serving others. Her role as a member of the Sigma Theta Tau Executive Council helped her amplify that commitment.ProfessorKing said that Ashna once told him that she didn’t aspire to change the world; instead, she hoped to help one person at a time. Ashna’s light shone briefly in our lives, but with an intensity that chased every shadow, and with the power to assure her aspiration becomes her legacy.
Susan Schalk ’83 Nov. 13, 2021
Rafael Arias ’93 Sept. 23, 2021
A biology major with a concentration in cell and molecular biology and a minor in chemistry, Ashna brought her curiosity and concern for others to everything she did. Her faculty advisers describe her as a person of purpose and intention who hoped to use her formidable gifts to ameliorate the suffering of others. She brought that em pathy and passion to the laboratory, where she helped spearhead new research on eye disease. In the process, professors Jona than King and Corina Maeder say she built a better community of learners, elevating younger students and brightening every room with her smile and stories.
MathenyRebecca ’89
Deirdre North ’79 Nov. 14, 2021
Oct. 17, 2021
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Robert Smither ’84 Sept. 26, 2021
John Hixson ’79
Jason Waldhelm ’01 Oct. 9, 2021
Vanessa Garza Lowe ’94 Oct. 27, 2021
Carol Underdahl ’82 Jan. 12, 2021
A perfect post-COVID day for me now is to drive down to the spectacular south campus complex and watch a women’s varsity game. I see these scholar-athletes growing through teamwork, and I stand in awe of the female and male coaches who are preparing them for life after Trinity.
Alumna reflects on the journey for Trinity women student-athletes over the past 50 years
Of course, few knew of our plight because media coverage of wom en’s sports was sporadic or nonexistent. In my sports editing jobs for the Trinitonian and Mirage, and later as the first sportswriter at the San Antonio Light, I tried my best to level the publicity field. It wasn’t easy.
I hadn’t given much thought about those early Title IX days since in juries forced me to hang up my softball glove and running shoes. But my work the past few years on a Trinity women’s sports history project has provided newfound clarity to that long and sometimes painful journey.
Title IX is 50! But don’t think “50 is the new 30” applies to this historic birthday. Considering how far women have come in education and athletics since 1972, we certainly can’t afford to go backward.
What were those days like for aspiring female athletes? Aside from tennis, our other (non-scholarship) women’s teams in 1974 not only shared uniforms, but we had to wash them ourselves. The training and treatment facilities for men’s teams were inaccessible to the wom en. We often had to provide our own equipment. You could bend our skimpy running shoes in half. Our softball team didn’t have an on-cam pus diamond, so we practiced on a scruffy dirt patch by Thomas dorm and played our “home” games in Brackenridge Park. Also, coach Libby Johnson juggled three sports and taught classes on a meager paycheck. She wasn’t allowed to recruit, and most of her “prospects” had little ex perience, since hardly any schools hosted organized girls teams before Title IX mandated equity.
Don’t get me wrong—we players had a blast thanks to coaches and administrators such as Johnson and Shirley Rushing, who shielded us from the rancorous Title IX conversations. While they were fending off doomsday predictions of the end of men’s sports, they always found a way for us to play.
Happy Birthday, Title IX!
TRINITY82 Summer 2022 COMMENTARY
Betsy Gerhardt Pasley is a 1977 Trinity graduate who played varsity sports and wrote for daily newspapers before completing a 32-year career in corporate communications and marketing. She retired in 2011. Between travel and volunteer work, Betsy found time to inspire The Playing Field website (playingfield.coateslibrary.com) as well as help research and write the book The Legacy of Women’s Sports at Trinity University: From the Sidelines to the Headlines, which will be published in 2023 by Trinity University Press.
So what have I learned? We absolutely needed Title IX to open doors for women to pursue athletic activities and professional degrees. Trinity made the right decision to adopt the NCAA’s non-commercial Division III. And my transformative time at Trinity learning journal ism, playing softball, running on the first women’s track team, making lifelong friends, and meeting my future spouse changed my life.
Also unknown to us was the administration’s debate over the choice posed by Title IX. Should Trinity adopt the commercial “win at all costs” philosophy of Division I with athletic scholarships, or instead take the path of a balanced academic/athletic student experience? Texas schools like St. Mary’s and A&M went the competitive route, but Trinity’s then-President Ron Calgaard was intent on elevating the
school’s academic reputation, so he chose the alternate path, ultimately moving all sports into the NCAA’s Division III non-scholarship option.
by Betsy Gerhardt Pasley ’77
I’ve been delighted to discover that in the decades since, Trinity has fine-tuned its academic standing, joined a co-ed athletic conference, built world-class sports fields and facilities, hired visionary athletic leaders (such as Bob King and Julie Jenkins, among others) and be come the gold standard for Division III.
Betsy cheekily “appraises Playgirl magazine foldouts” and gets ready to race in the 1977 and 1976 Mirage yearbooks, respectively.
Last Look
Elia Sato ’25 runs through a spray of water and colored powders on Prassel Lawn during Trinity’s celebration of the Hindu festival of Holi, also known as the Festival of Colors. Hosted by Trinity’s South Asian Student Association, the annual event marks the arrival of spring.
photo by Suly Welsh ’24
What’s next for Trinity? See page 7.
Dr. Anderson, President Anderson, Danny, Danderson, DJA—we’ll miss you! Thank you for helping Trinity build an incredible surge of energy and momentum these past seven years. We’re truly a force in motion, rising in rankings and reputation on a national scale. If there ever was a moment to get excited about Trinity’s future, that moment is here and now.
One Trinity Place San Antonio, TX 78212-7200
Farewell, Anderson!President
As much as the world around Trinity may change in the coming days, months, and years, our University will still draw energy and inspiration from tried and true sources: We will call upon diverse voices, talents, and ambitions of our community to enrich opportunities for students and alumni. We will turn challenges into boundless opportunities. We will redefine the liberal arts. And we will do it together.
Non-Profit Organization U.S. PermitPAIDPostageNo.210 San Antonio, TX 78212
Since May 2015, Trinity University has been guided, moved, and inspired by the leadership, energy, and compassion of President Danny Anderson, who retired this year.
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