The Role of the Endowment in Transforming Trinity College

Commonfund hosted its annual Commonfund Forum, March 10-12th, in Orlando, Florida. The agenda included a range of sessions on relevant topics for institutional investors. In this Forum Spotlight, Joanne Berger-Sweeney, an accomplished neuroscientist and experienced leader in higher education, and the 22nd president of Trinity College sits down with President and CEO of Commonfund OCIO, Tim Yates for a discussion of Trinity's transformation under her leadership since 2014.

The first African American and the first woman to serve as president of the college since it was founded in 1823, Berger-Sweeney is a champion of a liberal arts education, improving campus equity and diversity, fostering community and global engagement, caring for the school’s proud alumni, and preparing students to lead bold and transformative lives.

Berger-Sweeney also touches on the role of the endowment to serve as source of reliable and growing funding. Further, Dr. Berger-Sweeney speaks to the lessons she has learned in other leadership roles as a board member of Hartford Healthcare, Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and the Luce Foundation, among many others.