Our Idea of Excellence
Our vocation.
The conversation between student and teacher is the heart of our school; all that we do must be born of and nourish that relationship. We are called to challenge the minds, fire the imaginations, and train the bodies of the young people who have been entrusted to us; to enlarge their spiritual lives and to increase their capacity for mutual and self-respect. We intend to prepare them to learn confidently for the rest of their lives and to give generously and joyfully to others. We can accomplish these things only if we keep our students safe and well while they are in our charge.
Our obligation.
We must ask our young people what they believe in so they can know themselves in the world. We must give them the tools of rigorous and passionate intellectual inquiry and self-expression so they can grow. In our commitment to diversity, we must show our students how to be colleagues and friends so they can act out of respect and love. We must lead them to distinguish right from wrong and then do what is right so they can be persuasive and courageous citizens.
Our promise.
As a school community with these purposes and responsibilities, we will engage the larger communities of city, nation, and world of which we are a part. We will serve our neighbors. We will live fully in our city—exploring its byways and playing over its terrain. We will learn its history and traditions, and what it can teach us of the arts and sciences. We will embody and celebrate its diversity.
Our means.
Labore et virtute. The terms of our motto, hard work and moral excellence, are meant to strengthen us as we pursue the promise and joy of Trinity School. We ask Trinity families, alumni, and friends to join us in taking on this high calling.
Trinity School Annual Report 2023-2024
Head of School
Alexis Mulvihill
Associate Head of School for Advancement & Operations
Myles B. Amend
Director of Communications
Kevin D. Ramsey
Please note: This issue of Annual Report deals solely with the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which ended 30 June 2024. All gifts received after that date will appear in the 2024-2025 Annual Report. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of this report. Please accept our apologies for any errors or omissions and report them to the Office of Advancement at 212-932-6860.
Annual Report is published each year by Trinity School and is sent free of charge to alumni, parents, and other friends of the School. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Trinity School, Annual Report, 139 West 91st Street, New York, NY 10024-1326.
Trinity School admits students of any race, color, gender, gender identity or expression, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, or sexual orientation to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, gender identity or expression, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, or sexual orientation in administration of its employment policies, educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid programs, or athletic and other School administered programs.
© Copyright 2024 by Trinity School, 212-873-1650, 139 West 91st Street, New York, NY 10024-1326. All requests for permissions and reprints must be made in writing to Trinity School Annual Report, 139 West 91st Street, New York, NY 10024-1326. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.
DEAR FRIENDS,
On behalf of the board of trustees, it is my pleasure to present Trinity School’s 2023-2024 Annual Report. More than anything else, I want to express our gratitude for the remarkable generosity of our community to Trinity School. The many gifts of time, talent, and treasure offered by thousands of individuals speak volumes about the vitality and importance of Trinity’s mission and continue a long tradition of partnership and philanthropic support that has been a characteristic of this School since its founding 315 years ago. The Trustees and I are grateful beyond words.
2023-2024 was a year of transition as we prepared for John Allman’s retirement in June and for Alexis Mulvihill to take on her new role as Trinity’s 30th Head of School. John and Alexis have worked carefully together and with the senior leadership team and the board, and their partnership this year has assured a smooth transition.
John’s fifteen-year tenure as Head of School has been transformative. He led the School through two cycles of comprehensive strategic planning, two decennial cycles of the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) accreditation, a $140 million capital campaign, and major physical expansion and improvement projects. Under his leadership, the School created the Office of Public Service, the Office of Global Engagement, the Upper School Minimester, and the Middle School Out-of-the-Box Days, all programs meant to provide singularly “Trinity” experiences for our students. Over these years, the School has expanded the depth and breadth of its program across all three divisions and our students now benefit from offerings in every discipline that were made possible by his thoughtful, energetic, mission-driven engagement with faculty, department heads, and the principals. Furthermore, he led the School with care and energy through a once-in-a-century pandemic. We owe him an inexpressible debt of gratitude.
This year also marked the completion of my term as president of the board of trustees. It has been my honor to lead the trustees and to work closely with John, Alexis, the senior team, and all of you to steward this extraordinary institution. I am deeply appreciative for the trust that the board placed in me and for the support of the entire community as we have worked to meet the challenges and opportunities of the past three years. I look forward to supporting my successor, Igor Kirman P’22 and ’24, as he begins his term as president. I also want to welcome and congratulate Alexis Mulvihill as she becomes our Head of School. I know I speak for the entire board when I say that we are immeasurably grateful to her for accepting our invitation to lead Trinity and united in our support of her vision and aspirations for Trinity.
Finally, my thanks, once again, to each of you for your incredibly generous support of Trinity. Your gifts impact every aspect of the educational experience of our students. They enable the School’s leadership and faculty to “dream big”; to work to achieve the aspirations expressed in Vision 2028 , the School’s inspiring strategic plan; and they support our incredible teachers and everyone who works every day to lead our students as they “pursue the promise and joy of Trinity School.”
Gratefully,
David Perez, P’22, P’24, P’28 President 2021-2024
DEAR FRIENDS OF TRINITY SCHOOL,
My job here in this letter is to do what I love doing best—namely, to thank all of you, from the bottom of my heart, for your profound generosity toward our beloved school! As you keep reading, you will see a written record of this collective generosity, in the name of last year’s Annual Fund, and I hope the record will make you feel as deeply proud of our community as I feel. Truly, I consider us to be twice blessed: once for the real, material impact of your gifts; and again, for the spirit of generosity that defines our community and inspires those gifts in the first place.
With deepest thanks and with profound optimism for our shared future,
Alexis Mulvihill Head of School
ADMISSIONS AND FINANCIAL AID
TRINTY SCHOOL
Trinity School remains one of the finest educational institutions in the city thanks to its superb academic program and flourishing community. The 2023-2024 admissions year was another outstanding year for Trinity, with an abundance of highly qualified applicants. The School continues to attract and select exceptionally strong candidates through its competitive admissions process.
• Admission to Trinity is remarkably competitive for pre-school age children applying to Kindergarten and eighth grade students applying to Grade Nine. During 2023-2024, 611 applications were received for sixty-three Kindergarten places and 470 applications were received for sixty-three Grade Nine places.
• While twenty percent of Trinity students throughout the three Schools receive some form of financial aid, more financial aid money is necessary to enroll a strong and increasingly diverse group of students. A greater endowment is also essential if the School is to increase access for qualified students of different economic backgrounds.
• The Office of Admissions continues to achieve great success in admitting outstanding candidates. This, along with the desirability of a Trinity education, is reflected in the phenomenal number of students who choose to enroll at Trinity. During 2023-2024, ninety percent of all Kindergarten applicants and sixty-nine percent of all Grade Nine applicants who were admitted by the School chose to enroll at Trinity.
ADMISSION YIELDS 2023-2024
MATRICULATION OF THE CLASS OF 2024
The members of the class of 2024 have enrolled at the following colleges and universities.
Amherst College
Bard College
Barnard College
Bowdoin College
Brandeis University
Brown University
Carnegie Mellon University
Colby College
Colgate University
Colorado College
Columbia University in the City of New York
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Duke University
Emory University
Georgetown University
Harvard University
Haverford College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Indiana University Bloomington
Lafayette College
New York University
Northwestern University
Pomona College
Princeton University
Rice University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Stanford University
State University of New York at Binghamton
Syracuse University
The George Washington University
The University of Chicago
Tufts University
Tulane University
Università Bocconi
University of California, Berkeley
University of Oxford
University of Pennsylvania
University of Southern California
University of St Andrews
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Wake Forest University
Washington University in St. Louis
Wesleyan University
Williams College
Yale University
Nearly all of Trinity’s resources support the School’s primary mission of educating students. Of the School’s annual expenses of $78 million approximately eighty-four percent supports the students’ education in the form of faculty and staff salaries and benefits, instructional materials, and student financial aid. The remaining sixteen percent of Trinity’s expenditures includes maintenance of the School’s physical plant, the provision of high-caliber information technology, and debt service on the bonds that were issued in order to construct the Henry C. Moses Middle School and the new building, Annex link, and related renovations.
• The cost of a Trinity education significantly exceeds the full cost of tuition for every student. In order to supplement each student’s education, even those paying full tuition, Trinity relies on the generous donations of alumni, current parents, grandparents, trustees, and other friends of the School. Gifts that are made to the Trinity Fund and the endowment, as well as donations to the Holiday Fair and spring benefit, support a Trinity education for all who attend the School.
• In order to maintain the highest educational standards, Trinity provides opportunities such as a highly-skilled professional faculty, small class size, and an excellent ratio of teachers to students. These practices are not only highly effective, they are also fundamental to the success of the School and must be continued.
• With the cost of living in New York continually rising, it is crucial that Trinity be energetic in its efforts to retain and recruit faculty who will offer students the very best quality of education.
EXPENDITURES 2023-2024
$46,831,884
Trinity School remains far too dependent on enrollment, with tuition and fees the primary sources of its income. The Trinity Fund and the endowment, which both contribute to the annual operating budget, provide a consistent stream of income, but more must be done to safeguard Trinity’s future. Continued reliance on tuition and fees hinders growth of academic programs, as any additional programmatic expense must be passed on as an increase in tuition. Growth of Trinity’s charitable giving will have a tremendous impact on the financial stability of the School, greatly increasing its ability to offer enhanced educational opportunities for all students.
• Over time the cost of providing a Trinity education has risen faster than inflation predominantly because of the labor-intensive nature of education and the high cost of doing business in New York City. Intense competition for faculty, ever increasing maintenance expenses, and technological advances have raised costs and, as a result, increased the need for additional funds.
• Together, Trinity Fund gifts and endowment income (the percentage of endowment the board decides to spend annually) make up fourteen percent of the School’s income; while tuition and fees make up eighty-four percent.
• Tuition at Trinity is among the highest among New York City independent school, as is its dependence on tuition as an income source is one of the highest. Continual increases in philanthropic support are necessary if Trinity hopes to decrease its reliance on tuition as a primary source of income.
TRANSFER FROM ENDOWMENT 5.00%
TUITION AND FEES 84.00% GIFTS 8.84%
INTEREST AND OTHER INCOME 2.16%
INCOME 2023-2024 Tuition and Fees $66,561,746 Gifts $7,006,626 Transfer from Endowment $3,960,000 Interest and Other Income $1,715,312 TOTAL INCOME $79,243,684
ENDOWMENT FUNDS
AND PLANT FUNDS
FINANCIAL AID
Berrisford Scholarship Fund $30,706
Bluhdorn Scholarship Fund $493,595
Bode Scholarship Fund $3,182
Clarence Bruner-Smith Scholarship Fund
Caffrey Scholarship Fund $44,239
Edward Cimilluca ‘56 Financial Aid Endowment $257,462
George Herland Scholarship $44,727
Joseph and Marion Heffernan Scholarship Fund $86,914
William Randolph Hearst Scholarship Fund $191,634 The Golden Family Financial Aid Fund $67,426 John McEnroe Scholarship Fund $420,072
Class of 2000 Scholarship Fund
Rudin Financial Aid Endowment $249,492
W.A. Schiffer Scholarship Fund $37,953 M. Sosnoff Scholarship Fund $1,786,367 Rosenwald-Feldman Fund $538,264
Cecilia Sandoval Memorial Fund $6,093 The Frank Smith Scholarship Endowment $76,983 Trinity Scholarship Fund $5,270,270 The Lafer Family Scholarship Endowment $370,753 The John Barry Baldwin ’58 $1,000,000 Financial Aid Endowment
The Besty Chi Urias Financial Aid Fund $118,959
The Smith Family Scholarship Fund $250,000
FACULTY ENDOWMENT
Class of 1990 Faculty Endowment Fund
Class of 1993 Fund for Faculty Endowment
$163,837
$150,887
Class of 1994 Professional Development Fund $146,659
Class of 1996 Fund for Faculty Enrichment
$139,910
The Paul Philippe Bolduc Faculty $101,711 Fellowship Endowment
Robin and Helen Lester Faculty Endowment Fund $462,874
Joe L. and Hilppa A.K. Roby Upper School $348,899 Faculty Endowment
Suellyn Preston Scull Endowment for $1,409,441 Professional Development
SPECIAL PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS
Abrams Film Fund
$25,661
Anne Adams Memorial Endowment Fund $45,757 for the Archives
C. Bruner-Smith Fund in Literature
Class of 1997 Technology Fund
Class of 2001 Technology Fund
$37,143
$192,155
$1,338,641
The Colvin Family New Initiatives Fund $197,330
The Domestic Experiential Learning $285,823 Initiative Endowment
The James H. Fogelson Memorial $145,699 Mathematics Symposium
Ruth B. Hackney Endowment for Global Travel
$596,611 and Cultural Studies
Patricia and Kyle Hawkins Multicultural $26,951 Enrichment Fund
Helen Sentner Johnson Playground
$1,010
The Nasta Family Endowment for Public Service $26,816
Performing Arts Endowment
$54,023
The David Roberts ‘02 and Julia Roberts $112,345 Global Engagement Endowment
Barbara Robinson Collection
Science Computer Fund
Science Fund
$8,207
$27,838
$56,960
Silverman Technology Fund $356,501
Susan Stein Shiva Memorial Fund $144,062
Louis Stone and Stanley L. Kaufman $100,741 Film Fund
Trinity Parish Chaplaincy Fund $2,306,648
The Wallach Administrator Travel $183,401 Grant Endowment
Women’s Varsity Athletic Program Fund $152,225
Robert Lehman Art History Curriculum $350,855
J. Sheafe Satterthwaite Endowment Fund $100,173 Branch Elliman Science Endowment Fund $791,970
Nicholas J.P. Kau ’08 Fund for Shakespeare $276,771 and Wrestling
Nolop STEM Fund $308,399
The Marcus De Costa Fund for LGBTQ+ $186,638 Inclusion and Support
Wanita Camp Charitable Remainder Trust $11,193 The Class of 2022 Community and $233,886 Wellness Endowment The Class of 2023 Student Life and $449,485 Well-Being Endowment The Class 2024 Experiential $139,800 Learning Endowment The Ritter Aiello Family Endowment for $18,291 Domestic Travel and Science
PRIZES AND AWARDS
American Geriatric Society Prize Fund
Anne Adams Prize in Literacy
The Blumenthal Prize in European History
Bonsall-Langford Fund
Bronx Opera Prize
$2,923
$15,857
$1,403
$10,600
$1,580
Jack Calderon Prize in Photography $5,804
Elaine Elliot Prize Fund
$7,536
Annelle Fitzpatrick ’96 Award for $44,782 Gentleness of Spirit
J. Hanly Community Service Award Fund
Jerzy Kosinski Fund
McVickar Citizenship Prize Fund
Religion Prizes Fund
Trinity Parish Religion Prize Fund
Warren W. McCollum Theatrical Prize
$16,706
$46,849
$29,767
$601
$8,639
$1,782
THE ROLE OF ENDOWMENT
UNRESTRICTED
General Purpose
Hawley Trust Fund
Lower School Fund
Edwin R. Maslen Endowment Fund
Mooney Fund
$31,518,436
$539,006
$17,568
$743,889
$63,254
As expenses for providing a Trinity education continue to rise, the School’s sources of income are perpetually under strain. Endowment income must increase in order to relieve the strain placed on tuition. An increase in endowment is critical in meeting the School’s needs and maintaining its position as a leader in high-quality education in New York City. Trinity is continually making a deliberate effort to increase endowment and relieve financial pressures on expendable operating income sources like tuition and fees.
• Trinity’s per student endowment is one of the smallest in our peer group. The Brearley School, for example, has an endowment-to-student ratio that is over $100,000 more per student than Trinity’s.
• The endowment is not a single entity, but rather slightly over one-hundred individual funds established for a variety of purposes and consisting of both donor-restricted endowment funds and funds designated by the board of trustees to function as endowment.
• Trinity’s $82 million endowment provides critically needed stability. The majority of income, however, has been designated for specific purposes, which limits the endowment income that can be used to supplement annual operating costs.
• Only twenty-eight percent of Trinity’s endowment is completely unrestricted—not designated for a specific, unchanging purpose. Other schools have endowments that are close to 100 percent unrestricted, which allows for maximum flexibility in spending policy.
TOTAL ENDOWMENT 2023-2024 $82,919,022
These figures reflect fund balances as of 30 June 2024.
DONATION REPORTS
GIFTS
TRINITY FUND SUMMARY
*Please note that many donors are members of more than one constituency.
2024-2025 TRINITY SCHOOL BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Officers
Igor Kirman
President
Adrienne Barr
Secretary
Jeffrey M. Scruggs
Treasurer
James M. Deutsch ’96 Vice President
Shiva S. Farouki Vice President
Nicole S. George-Middleton ’93 Vice President
Rainu Kaushal Vice President
Iva Mills Vice President
Jennifer S. Selendy Vice President
Alexander H. Southwell Vice President
Conrado Tenaglia Vice President
Camille Hackney Thornton Vice President
Members
John P. Arnhold ’71 Emeritus
Philip E. Berney Emeritus
Margaret Hess Boyden ’97
Andrew R. Brownstein Emeritus
Geoffrey J. Colvin ’70 Emeritus
Jennifer Conway
Kelley A. Cornish
Cary J. Davis
Chandrabali Ghose-Paul
Courtney Goldsmith Ex Officio President, Parents’ Association
Kelly Granat
Damaris R. Hernandez ’97
Caroline B. Hribar ’96
Eileen P. Kavanagh
Tory Kiam ’78 Emeritus
William P. Lauder ’78 Emeritus
Lauren Davis Levine ’94
Rabbi Joy Levitt
Justin Lubell ’02
Emily F. Mandelstam Emerita
Matthew McLennan Emeritus
Ashmi Mehrotra
David Perez
Griffin Schroeder
Benjamin R. Shute Jr. ’54 Emeritus
Douglas T. Tansill ’56 Emeritus
George H. Walker
Yadwa Yawand-Wossen
Tony K. Yung ’96 Ex Officio
President, Trinity Alumni and Alumnae Association