College Plans For Task Force for Women to Develop into Spring

Kat Namon ’22

News Editor

This fall, President of the College Joanne Berger-Sweeney created a Task Force on the Status of Women at Trinity as a part of the college’s “Women at the Summit” initiative. This initiative spans 18 months, and features thematic content over the course of the next three semesters having to do with the fiftieth anniversary of co-education at Trinity. The initiative is intended to commemorate this historic milestone by creating content and events that everyone on campus and within the Trinity community can participate in. The framework of the theme revolves around the idea of “yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” These themes will be and have been featured in many all school events, including Convocation/Matriculation, Commencement, Homecoming, and Reunion.

On Oct. 17, an open conversation with Berger-Sweeney and Chair of the Board of Trustees Cornelia P. Thornburgh ’80, Trinity’s first female in that position, took place during common hour as part of this Women at the Summit initiative. Special Assistant to the President Karolina Kwiecinska spoke with the Tripod about the event, adding that “the October 17th common hour event featuring Chair of the Board, Cornelia Thornburgh was planned as part of the college’s ongoing celebration of the 50th anniversary of co-education by the Women at the Summit steering committee. The event celebrated the two highest leadership positions at Trinity–simultaneously held by women–highlighting a significant anniversary in our school’s history.” Kwiecinska continued, adding that while the event is independent from the Task Force, it “underscores the work of the Task Force, highlighting that more needs to be done to close the gender gap in leadership positions, both at Trinity and in the broader context of society.”

The new task force, which Berger-Sweeney is co-chairing, looks specifically at the status of women at Trinity today. Berger-Sweeney, when asked how she sees the current status of women at the college, said that it is “good, on a trajectory to being better.”

Kwiecinska also spoke to Berger-Sweeney’s objective in creating this task force, adding that “she created the Task Force on the Status of Women at Trinity to examine the college’s progress in the last 50 years, since the beginning of co-education. The President’s Special Council for Women dissolved in 2006, and this task force provides us with an opportunity to reconnect, determine the slate of unfinished business and reestablish a vision of welcome and equitable learning for all genders. Over the course of the semester, the Task Force has worked to identify these issues with the goal of sharing their findings with the campus community in the spring of 2020.”

The Women at the Summit Steering Committee has many other events planned for the upcoming spring 2020 semester, as the college continues its celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of co-education.