WARDEN’S REPORT

This report could begin with the many clichés that defined 2020, but, by now, we all know what kind of year it was, and what kind of turmoil and uncertainty it brought about. It was certainly a challenging year for Trinity, as our teaching and living environment needed to change swiftly and often to adapt to the evolving COVID-19 crisis.

Though we’re not out of the woods yet, when I reflect back on 2020, I do so with a sense of pride and accomplishment, because what we as a College achieved was quite extraordinary, particularly as we shifted our teaching programs online in a matter of days. Chair of the Trinity College Board, Charles Sitch, reflected that 2020 could indeed be considered Trinity’s finest year.

We did manage to squeeze in one major event before the pandemic took hold, and that was the opening of our new residential building on 7 February. The building was opened by the then federal Minister for Education, MP for Wannon and Trinity alum the Hon Dan Tehan, and the opening was attended by 160 alumni, staff, students and friends of the College. Though we had reduced student numbers for much of 2020, many students still got to benefit from this comfortable and modern space, which has plenty of common areas for socialising and study, and makes quite the statement on our Parkville campus.

Despite Trinity’s finances taking a hit in 2020, we were also able to progress development and commissioning of our second campus at 611 Elizabeth Street, which we are committed to completing to give our students and staff access to the best teaching facilities possible. Timing on completion of this project depends on the return of international students to Melbourne when Australia’s borders open to these people.

Unfortunately, the financial impact of COVID-19 meant some difficult decisions needed to be made, and this included a number of staff redundancies and fraction reductions. These decisions were not made lightly, and it still saddens me that we went into 2021 with a leaner cohort of staff compared to the same time in 2020.

To the staff who remained at Trinity College, however, I am incredibly thankful for their dedication and flexibility, as they worked – almost always from home – to keep Trinity operating as the respected institution that it is, inspiring students of exceptional promise to imagine and achieve a better world.

Of course, I’m also proud of our students in each division, who adapted to the changing learning and living environment with such grace and understanding, while maintaining our strong sense of community.

PATHWAYS SCHOOL

We had 1002 students commence our Foundation Studies program in 2020, with students in our January and February intakes studying in Melbourne, while those in later intakes mostly studied with us from their home countries. We had 1154 students graduate from our Pathways School in 2020, and of these graduates, 85 per cent were accepted into the University of Melbourne. Trinity graduates continue to be the top-performing undergraduate cohort at the University of Melbourne.

To help recruit students into our programs, we introduced our inaugural live lecture series, which saw 24 teachers run 15 sessions across five months. Pleasingly, 173 students who attended these sessions went on to enrol in January and February 2021 intakes. 2020 also saw us develop our new Comprehensive and Comprehensive Plus programs, which will replace our Extended and Main Plus intakes in 2021.

RESIDENTIAL COLLEGE

At the start of 2020, we had 362 students living in our Residential College. A number of students elected to remain a part of our community, from their homes, as Melbourne went into two lockdowns, while others deferred their place. By the end of the year, we had around 50 per cent of our original cohort on campus. Nevertheless, we still delivered more than 136 tutorials per week and 338 hours of consultations across the year, and held many virtual and on-campus events to help our students stay connected.

We also progressed action items proposed as part of the Neave review into our Residential College culture. This included development of a new sexual misconduct policy (to come into effect in 2021), development of a staff training program that will be reviewed annually to ensure it appropriately responds to changes in statutory and regulatory requirements, and a review and update of our alcohol policy.

Despite the many on-campus disruptions – and, indeed, broader societal uncertainty –we attracted 402 applications in 2020 from young people wishing to live in our Residential College and had an unprecedented number of students wishing to return, so go into 2021 with a full cohort of students.

A very special word of thanks to the Residential College team, led by Dean Leonie Jongenellis, who remained on campus for the whole year, not leaving the campus for months during lock down. It was truly an exceptional effort that ensured that the Residential College community remained strong despite the rigors of lockdown, social distancing and online learning.

THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL

Despite having to move all teaching to an online format in March, the Theological School was able to meet its enrolment targets for the year. One commencing PhD student was awarded the new Moorhouse Doctoral Scholarship, and two others received a prestigious University of Divinity research fellowship. In addition, four faculty members published books through reputable international publishers and we welcomed two new staff – Dr Scott Kirkland, who took on the role of John and Jeanne Stockdale Lecturer in Practical Theology and Ethics, and Dr Christopher Porter, who joined us as a post-doctoral research fellow.

Twenty-four students graduated in 2020, including three with a PhD. Six students were ordained deacon and three were ordained priest.

ALUMNI NETWORK

Our alumni network was incredibly supportive of Trinity in 2020, and we are forever grateful for the $3.25 million in donations received from 631 Trinity alumni and friends, which helped the College navigate a very difficult year, and will help us and our students into the future.

We held our Drinks Under the Oak gathering and AGM of the Union of the Fleur-deLys in February with 287 attendees. Despite the huge disruption to our event calendar in 2020, in total, 1411 people attended 40 events – 25 of which were held virtually. Our online platform, My Trinity Connect, grew by 506 members.

GOVERNANCE

The strength of Trinity’s governance and management processes was clearly evident during the COVID year. The Board and governance committees met more than 90 times (compared to approximately 70 times in a normal year), despite some committees not meeting at all.

The Senior Management Team met 145 times during the year to deal with fluid and rapidly evolving situations as outbreaks, lockdowns and other events unfolded. The advice and direction provided by our governance committees and the Board were invaluable in enabling the Senior Management Team to navigate the College through the year, avoiding or adapting to the ‘slings and arrows’ that COVID threw at us. I am most grateful to the Chair and members of the Board and committees for their support during this trying year.

Once again, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the Trinity community – students, staff, alumni and friends – for supporting us throughout 2020. It has been challenging, but it did prove just how well connected, adaptable, resilient and generous our community is. Trinity College is a truly special place and one I am very proud to be a part of.

Professor Ken Hinchcliff

Warden and CEO