Trinity College Names Its First Woman President

Joanne Berger-Sweeney was named the 22nd president of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. When she takes office on July 1, she will be the first woman and the first African American to lead the college since its founding in 1823.

Dr. Berger-Sweeney currently serves as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. Earlier is her career Dr. Berger-Sweeney spent 13 years on the faculty at Wellesley College, rising from assistant professor to the Allene Lummis Russell Professor in Neuroscience.

In a statement, Dr. Berger-Sweeney said, “I am honored and humbled to be joining the Trinity community at such an important time for the College and for American higher education. Trinity’s long and proud liberal arts tradition is rooted in preparing students to think critically and broadly, to live examined and purposeful lives—work that I believe is of vital importance for the future of our nation. I am pleased to be a part of both Trinity’s tradition and its future, both of which are rooted so deeply in its home city of Hartford. I have felt at home on this campus since my first visit. And with the strong alumni and alumnae support base, I look forward to the successes the faculty, staff, students and I will achieve together.”

Dr. Berger-Sweeney is a 1979 graduate of Wellesley College. She holds a master of public health degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a Ph.D. in neurotoxicology from the School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.