Trinity Support Available During Federal Shutdown

November 9, 2025

(photo credit)

Below is a message I sent to the Trinity Campus Community on Friday, November 7, 2025, and this follows an earlier message asking faculty and staff to donate to our Shutdown Awards for Student Assistance (SASA Fund) as well as our earlier survey on how the shutdown is affecting our campus community.  We know that more than 450 students are on SNAP aid themselves or through their parents, and many of our employees and students also are federal workers or have federal workers in their families who have lost wages during the shutdown.  What’s happening is a moral catastrophe for millions of Americans; we see the impact right here on our campus.  Know that we are trying to help you as much as possible during this increasingly serious humanitarian crisis.

Dear students and colleagues,

As the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history drags on, I am very concerned about the impact on everyone in our Trinity community.  We discuss this regularly in our senior staff meetings, and we are always looking for ways to support our students, faculty and staff who are suffering the negative consequences of the political situation.  You have told us that you or family members have lost wages, that governmental services you depend on have stopped, and that your reliance on SNAP and WIC benefits is now very precarious.  While Trinity cannot possibly replace all of the federal dollars lost in this sad situation, we are doing what we can to provide some support to help relieve your stress.  These are some of the primary sources of support at this time:

  • Trinity’s Emergency Student Assistance Fund provides grants to students in need.  We are grateful to many benefactors who have supported this fund since the pandemic.  Dr. Karen Gerlach administers the fund and you can read more about it here:  https://discover.trinitydc.edu/student-affairs/emergency-student-assistance/
  • This fall, we have awarded more than $100,000 in emergency grants from our private funds and DC Futures funds to 165 students and the numbers are growing.  Note that the DC Futures funds are now exhausted so any future emergency grants must come through the regular emergency fund process.
  • A group of faculty, staff, alumnae and trustees have contributed more than $15,000 to our Shutdown Appeal for Student Assistance (SASA Fund) to provide additional support to students especially for food or other federal support declining in the SNAP and WIC programs.  Dr. Gerlach administers this program along with the other emergency grants and students may apply using the same Emergency Student Assistance Fund.
  • If you would like to make a contribution to the SASA Fund program to help students in danger of losing SNAP and WIC benefits, please use this link:  https://discover.trinitydc.edu/development/student-assistance/
  • We are also grateful to all those who have provided non-perishable goods to help keep our food pantry well-stocked.  Dr. Gerlach and Dean Bowie also administer that program.  Please note that if you know of someone who needs help to get a meal immediately, let Dr. Gerlach or Dean Bowie know; we are working with Metz food service to be sure that no one who is hungry is turned away from the dining hall.
  • If you are an employee, faculty or staff, we have a small emergency fund to help colleagues in need.  Please contact Executive Director of Human Resources Ms. Michelle Burke if you need some assistance from this fund.

These are all modest short-term measures to help those in need on our campus.  We pray that our political leaders will move quickly this weekend to end their disputes and work together for the good of our nation and the people whom they are supposed to be serving.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.  Thanks to all those who are helping out with your contributions and support!

Grateful,

President Pat McGuire

 

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Two Pope Leos, Social Justice and Trinity’s Ongoing Mission

October 31, 2025

(On Friday, October 24, 2025, Trinity conducted a symposium as part of Alumnae Reunion.  The topic was Social Justice, tracing the influence of Catholic social teaching on Trinity from Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum to Pope Leo XIV and Dilexi Te.  Videos of the symposium panels are posted on the website and highlighted through the text and photos below, which also includes the text of my opening remarks.)

From Leo XIII to Leo XIV: A Century of Social Justice Shaping Trinity
Remarks for the Symposium on Social Justice, October 24, 2025
President Patricia McGuire

‘The elements of the conflict now raging are unmistakable, in the vast expansion of industrial pursuits and the marvelous discoveries of science; …in the enormous fortunes of some few individuals, and the utter poverty of the masses; in the increased self-reliance and closer mutual combination of the working classes; as also, finally, in the prevailing moral degeneracy. The momentous gravity of the state of things now obtaining fills every mind with painful apprehension; wise men are discussing it; practical men are proposing schemes; popular meetings, legislatures, and rulers of nations are all busied with it…’  (Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum)

That litany of societal conflicts and concerns sounds utterly familiar to our mid-21st Century ears, but in fact, that is the opening paragraph of a landmark 1891 document whose author, Pope Leo XIII, was, in some ways (not all) ahead of his times.  His great encyclical, Rerum Novarum, boldly fused longstanding Church teachings with the urgent contemporary problems emerging in the era of the Industrial Revolution, focused in particular on the rights of workers, the amassing of wealth by a few, and the dangers of socialism as a solution.  The document is an artifact of religious ideas and cultural beliefs prevalent in the late 19th Century (its view of women as made for work in the home has a particularly noxious effect on 21st Century sensibilities) and yet it also sounds remarkably modern in 2025 as society continues to grapple with many of the same problems that Leo XIII addressed.

With that continuity of human problems and theological perspectives, when a new pope was elected in 2025, he took the same name, Leo — Leo XIV — explaining in an address to the College of Cardinals shortly after his election that, “I chose to take the name Leo XIV… mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour.”

(Panel on Social Justice in America: Witness in the Public Square – L to R:  Dr. Stephen Thorne of Trinity; Mr. Ralph McCloud of NETWORK; Ms. Krisanne Vaillancourt of the Catholic Mobilizing Network; and Ms. Kim Davis of the Georgetown Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life — watch the video)

As we gather for reunion at Trinity in October 2025, we are experiencing a national climate and world situation that is beset with political and social conflicts: rising authoritarianism; a wealth gap that is breathtaking; an unfolding technological revolution that threatens human agency, reason and conscience with artificial intelligence created by a few masterminds; and deliberate efforts in some quarters to roll back years of progress on issues we might group under the umbrella of social justice — the near-abandonment of concern for the poor in public policy; the withdrawal of public monies supporting relief programs such as USAID; the horrific treatment of migrants; the denial of common sense programs to support racial and gender justice in education to provide greater opportunities to those who have suffered educational and economic marginalization.  Social Justice, the foundational concept inherent in Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical on the rights of workers, is a pillar of Catholic teaching with seven distinctive tenets:

  • The Life and Dignity of the Human Person
  • The Call to Family, Community and Participation
  • Rights and Responsibilities in the Community and Society
  • The Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
  • The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
  • Solidarity with our Brothers and Sisters
  • Care for God’s Creation

Pope Leo XIII aptly summed up the idea of social justice in this paragraph in his encyclical:

“As regards the State, the interests of all, whether high or low, are equal. The members of the working classes are citizens by nature and by the same right as the rich…It would be irrational to neglect one portion of the citizens and favor another, and therefore the public administration must duly and solicitously provide for the welfare and the comfort of the working classes; otherwise, that law of justice will be violated which ordains that each man shall have his due. …Among the many and grave duties of rulers who would do their best for the people, the first and chief is to act with strict justice — with that justice which is called distributive — toward each and every class alike.”  (Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum)

The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, our Founders and spiritual mothers still influencing Trinity today, created at Trinity a college rooted in the ideas and ideals of social justice with an expectation that we would not simply know and study those teachings, but act upon them throughout our lives as Trinity graduates.  Founded by St. Julie Billiart in 1804 in France, and later moving to Namur in Belgium, the SNDs were known for their devotion to the education of women, girls and the poor.  In 1897 in Washington, they decided to expand their work to focus on justice for women in higher education who were largely excluded from Catholic colleges in that day.   In a sense, what Leo XIII started in the 1890s, and now what Leo XIV carries forward with bold clarity into the mid-21st Century, is a commitment to social justice that has shaped and guided Trinity for 127 years.

A bit of historic context is important, so let’s look back for a few minutes to that tumultuous time in 1897 when Sisters Julia McGroarty (left portrait) and Mary Euphrasia Taylor were conspiring with Cardinal James Gibbons and the rector of Catholic University Dr. Phillip Garrigan to launch the nation’s first Catholic college for women.  The SNDs were moving quickly, buying land and securing articles of incorporation in just a few months.  But trouble arose when their intentions became public, generating opposition over the very idea of a college education for women.

It’s safe to say that as progressive as we might think of him today, Pope Leo XIII was not a fan of the idea of Trinity College when he first heard about it.  His view of women’s rights and position in society was clear when he wrote in Rerum Novarum that, “women are not suited for certain occupations….a woman is by nature fitted for home-work, and it is that which is best adapted at once to preserve her modesty and to promote the good bringing up of children and the well-being of the family.”

Leo also firmly held negative views about another practice that Catholic clerics generally viewed as  “near occasion of sin” — the “amalgamation of the sexes,” or in other words, the dreaded “coeducation.”

The SNDs had no intention of making Trinity coed, but a vicious rightwing monsignor at Catholic University, totally opposed to the whole idea of the new college for women, spread a rumor that the school would be coed, that the women would also take classes with the men at Catholic University.  The rumors reached Pope Leo who was on the verge of condemning the entire effort.

But Sisters Julia and Euphrasia were persistent, and they had strong allies in Dr. Garrigan and Cardinal Gibbons, and the latter had great influence with the Vatican and Pope Leo.  Many communications ensued, several visits to the cardinal in Baltimore and even a famous one-day round-trip to see the papal nuncio in Atlantic City.

Cardinal Gibbons (right portrait) advised the sisters that they had to make a very strong case for the founding of Trinity to the Vatican directly.  Sister Julia McGroarty wrote to Cardinal Rampolla, the Vatican Secretary of State.  In her letter she was adamant:  “Education, as Your Eminence doubtless knows, is the cry of the age in America.  Parents desire their daughters to be equally well informed with their sons, and with the independence characteristic of the country, when a lawful avenue of knowledge is closed to their daughters, seek it for them through another plainly showing that if the Church does not supply this want of the age for our American Girls, the latter will continue to frequent Godless schools, and the charge will be repeated that the Church is opposed to the Higher Education of Women!” (Text of Sr. Julia’s letter found in the handwritten Foundations manuscript in the Trinity Archives.)

 In her mention of “Godless schools,” Julia was referring to the fact that Catholic women, denied admission to the then-new Catholic University of America, were enrolling at Columbian College, the precursor to George Washington University, where they had no religious instruction.  She went on, “During the eight years of its existence the Catholic University has done more for the elevation of the Catholic Church in the United States than any other institution many years its senior…Trinity College, we are assured, will accomplish for women what the University is doing for men, by drawing to the service of the Church …the influence and intellect of our talented girls, whose services otherwise will be lost to us through the opposing influence of the schools they frequent.”  (Foundations manuscript)

In an age without email or texting, no air travel or cross-oceanic telephone service, the letters had to go by ship.  Days and weeks dragged by.  Finally, at the end of November, Cardinal Gibbons summoned Sr. Euphrasia to his office in Baltimore where he told her that he received a letter from Cardinal Rampolla who said that he spoke to Pope Leo and “… in regard to the college to be established under his patronage at Washington by the Sisters of Notre Dame, he was satisfied with the explanation received and would no longer listen to disadvantageous reports about it.”

The persistence of the sisters prevailed!!  With that cryptic message, the Sisters of Notre Dame had the green light to move forward with the founding of Trinity!!

(Dr. Amy Uelmen of Georgetown University Law center discusses how considerations of diversity, equity and inclusion are part of the Social Justice mission of Catholic Higher Education; video)

We could spend hours reviewing the great history of Trinity from that green light in November 1897 to our meeting here today 127 years later.  But for today’s consideration the relevant issue is that Trinity IS here, still, and unwavering in her commitment to live and work in the light of our faith teachings on social justice.  Trinity today educates a distinctive population of students — 95% female, 56% African American, 30% Latina, 70% Pell grantees — who know first-hand the oppressive effects of poverty, violence, economic and social marginalization.  They come to Trinity seeking the power of change that a great college education can bring to their lives and the lives of their children and families.  They are here to live and carry forward to others the ideals of social justice.

Just weeks ago, our new pope, Leo XIV, refreshed our understanding of the history and contemporary urgency of social justice in his apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te in which he wrote,

“The acceleration of technological and social change in the past two centuries, with all its contradictions and conflicts, not only had an impact on the lives of the poor but also became the object of debate and reflection on their part. The various movements of workers, women and young people, and the fight against racial discrimination, gave rise to a new appreciation of the dignity of those on the margins of society. The Church’s social doctrine also emerged from this matrix.”  (Pope Leo XIV, Dilexi Te)

(Dr. Jeannine Marino of Trinity interviews Christopher White on his book Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy; video)

Dilexi Te demands that we recommit to solidarity with the poor and marginalized of our society.  For Catholic educational institutions, this means radical inclusion of those who have been denied the advantages of educational opportunities that others have easily accessed.  Pope Leo XIV writes, “Since ancient times, Christians have understood that knowledge liberates, gives dignity, and brings us closer to the truth. For the Church, teaching the poor was an act of justice and faith.”

Pope Leo goes on:  “For the Christian faith, the education of the poor is not a favor but a duty. Children have a right to knowledge as a fundamental requirement for the recognition of human dignity. Teaching them affirms their value, giving them the tools to transform their reality. …Catholic schools, therefore, when they are faithful to their name, are places of inclusion, integral formation and human development. By combining faith and culture, they sow the seeds of the future, honor the image of God and build a better society.”

Pope Leo’s words here echo the 1991 instructions of Pope John Paul II to Catholic higher education in Ex Corde Ecclesiae: “The Christian spirit of service to others for the promotion of social justice is of particular importance for each Catholic University… Every Catholic University feels responsible to contribute concretely to the progress of the society within which it works: for example it will be capable of searching for ways to make university education accessible to all those who are able to benefit from it, especially the poor or members of minority groups who customarily have been deprived of it.”  (Pope John Paul II, Ex Corde Ecclesiae)

(Panelists discuss the immigration crisis:  Todd Scribner of USCCB; Celia Rivas of Catholic Charities; Rosa Reyes, director of the Dream Partnership at Trinity; students Belky Lemus Alvarado ’27 and  Sayuri Cervantes Perez ‘26; video)

Trinity today lives this mission of our Church in all that we do.  But we are immensely challenged by a political culture that actively and with some degree of malice disparages the works of mercy and solidarity, denigrates the whole idea of social justice, and that has said, directly to colleges and universities, that caring for equity and inclusion is wrong and possibly illegal.  Trinity’s mission is stronger and more durable than the political winds of the moment.

Even as those courageous Sisters of Notre Dame dared to confront their opposition in 1897 — smartly, politely, but firmly — so, too, Trinity today will continue to give our witness to a world that needs more light, less heat, more grace, less judgment, more solidarity, less opprobrium, more charity and hope for a better, more just and peaceful future.

I hope today’s program can engage you in this important discussion not only for Trinity and the students we serve today, but for all of higher education, our nation and Church.

Thanks to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi ’62 for joining us and sharing her thoughts on Social Justice and Trinity’s mission in today’s challenging climate.

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In the Footsteps of the Women of 1900

October 26, 2025

In the Footsteps of the Women of 1900
Remarks for Cap & Gown Convocation
President Patricia McGuire
October 25, 2025

 Congratulations, seniors, Class of 2026!  The regalia you now wear so proudly vests you with your status as true scholars and leaders in the Trinity community and beyond.  Your robes link you in that long line of Trinity women reaching across 12 decades to the very first Trinity pioneers.

In November 1900 when the first brave students made their way onto Trinity’s campus, with Main Hall still under construction, they kindled a revolution that still burns bright to this very day.  Let’s take a minute to think about the arcs of history and justice from their vantage point:

In 1900, this nation was just 111 years old and had already suffered many grievous conflicts and doubts about this experiment in democracy and liberty.

In 1900, slavery had only been abolished for 37 years via the Emancipation Proclamation; the Civil War with its still-fresh wounds in the national psyche had ended just 35 years previously.  1900 was only four years past the nefarious “separate but equal” ruling of the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson that held that segregated facilities did not violate the Constitutional right to equal protection.  It would take another half century for the Supreme Court to right that historic wrong, in 1954, ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated schools were inherently unequal.  It would take ten more years for the Civil Rights Act to pass in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act to become law in 1965.  Laws that are now in jeopardy, sad to say.

In 1900, small groups of progressive women had been talking about women’s rights for about 52 years since Elizabeth Cady Stanton and friends first gathered to declare women’s rights at Seneca Falls.  It would take another 20 years for women to win the right to vote in 1920, and even longer — 72 years — for women to earn equal rights in education through the enactment of Title IX in 1972.

In fact, the founding of Trinity was necessary because women had so few collegiate options in 1900.  Mt. Holyoke, the first of the seven sister colleges, was 63 years old, but Wellesley and Smith had just turned 25 and Bryn Mawr was a mere teenager, only 15.  Many people disparaged the then-new women’s colleges as dangerous fads.  Among conservative Catholic circles, some even declared Trinity’s founding to be part of a heresy called “Americanism.”

The women who moved into the south wing of Main Hall in November 1900 were progressive souls, eager to learn and flourish in an age when a college education was a rare privilege even for men, and rarer still for women.  They were also women astride enormous chasms of social, economic and political upheaval as this nation and world marched inexorably forward into times of great inventions (electricity, automobiles, airplanes, telephones, new technologies) fostering rapid social change, propelled even more swiftly through the world wars, political and economic revolutions of the 20th Century.  Trinity’s pioneer women used their education here to engage with, shape and lead the forces of change across that dynamic century.

What do those women of 1900 have to do with you, Trinity students of 2025?  They are your foremothers, sisters in the spirit bound to you, and you to them, through the values and traditions of Trinity.  They started our traditions of class colors (they were the first Red Class) and the Cap and Gown tradition that we continue to this very day.  But more than colors and academic costumes, they were the women who started Trinity’s long tradition of education for justice, the formation of citizen leaders who see the problems of this world as theirs and ours to confront, address, resolve in every way possible.

They did not ask why women were excluded from higher education, but instead they asked Why Not — why not develop the knowledge and skills and talents necessary to lead in a tumultuous time.

As we look back on the women of 1900, we can see how time collapses across the decades, how issues we thought were long-settled have risen up like so many rock formations after large earthquakes.  This nation is almost 250 years old now, and yet, values and principles we thought were long settled in 1776 and 1789 are no longer universally accepted; Democracy, itself, seems precarious as authoritarianism rises.

The Civil War, so close still in 1900, seems uneasily close again, haunting our politics and civic compact with new strains of racial venom, a loud keening that seems to mourn the “lost cause.”  After a century of hard-won battles for civil rights, we are now told by our government that we dare not speak of, teach about, practice fundamental ideas of diversity, equity and inclusion — words that in our modern history became the polite scrim shadowing our still-unresolved national struggle and sins of racial injustice and oppression.

I need not tell you that we live in dangerous times, my friends.  The boots of the National Guard stomping along our streets sound the danger, but even more, the shadows of ICE lurking at train stations and along bus routes and outside places where day laborers seek work, the cruel and inhumane snatching of bodies of mothers and fathers and children whose only alleged crime is a lack of papers — papers! — these dangers and nefarious arrests are the shame of our nation and a scandalous assault on human rights.  Surely a lack of papers can be cured easily if a just and compassionate nation had the willpower to fix it.  Whatever happened to the “self-evident truths” about “inalienable rights” to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”??

The Great American Experiment seems on many days to be fraying beyond repair, and yet, on other days, we see the American spirit roaring back to proclaim the very reasons why our founders fought a revolution and declared their independence:  No Kings!

We see people marching and proclaiming that We, the People, are the rulers of our own society and our own fate.  We’ve been there before in this nation.  50 years ago, when I sat in this very chapel wearing my cap and gown for the first time, the my classmates and I —- like you, a Green Class — were already veterans of marching — marching to end a war, to achieve some peace, to secure civil rights and women’s rights.  We thought we made progress back then, only now to see the stones roll back down the mountain.  And so new generations must march again!

As we look back in wonder and admiration at those pioneer women 125 years ago, we must realize that the long arc of history also teaches a hard, inexorable lesson:  no rights are forever, we cannot take our form of government for granted, our privileges should always count less than our obligations to work even harder for equity, fairness and justice for all.  Our greatest, most precious obligation is to pass our freedom and prosperity on to future generations, each striving to achieve even more than the last.

You may hear all of this and be saying to yourself: “Wait!  I don’t want to lead a revolution, I just want to be a good nurse!” Or maybe you are an immigrant or a person of color thinking, “How can I lead others when I feel so oppressed, threatened, at risk myself?”  Your hesitation is understandable, given the risks of this moment, but being a mere bystander is not a choice. Dangerous times demand courageous responses.

You don’t have to march in the streets to stand up and be counted. We spent yesterday, Friday, in a symposium examining the influence of Catholic teachings on social justice from Trinity’s founding on through our work today.  As the generations of Trinity students and graduates have done across twelve decades, you will raise up and exemplify the values of freedom, equality and social justice in the excellence of the work you do each day; in the compassion you extend to your patients and students and clients; in the care you show for truth and integrity in all of your actions; in the choices you make about the causes for which you will be advocates and activists in your communities; in the voluntary sharing of your talents and resources with those in need; in the solidarity you express with others who accompany you on this journey; in the ways in which you teach your children to follow your good example.

No one person can ensure the change we desire in our communities and this nation, but together, we can unite as a powerful force for good, for justice and peace as Trinity students and graduates have done for 125 years.

May you leave this Cap and Gown convocation today vested with the strength, wisdom and love of the Trinity to be your constant companions, sources of support and inspiration all the days of your lives.

Congratulations, Class of 2026!

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Federal Shutdown Affecting Trinity Community

October 22, 2025

We conducted a campus survey to find out how the federal government shutdown, now 3 weeks old, is affecting members of the Trinity community.  57% of those who responded were students; 23% were faculty (both full-time and part-time); and 19% were staff. In the comments below, respondents express many concerns about finances, mental health and career change support.  Trinity offers support for those affected by the federal shutdown in several ways:

 

We will provide additional information, resources and guidance as the shutdown drags on.  For now, you can see the results of our survey below, and feel free to add you comments using the comment link at the bottom, or email me directly at president@trinitydc.edu

Q1: Our first question asked whether the respondent is a federal worker, or has family members as federal workers, or contractors, or internships:

Q2:  Estimate of the Likely Financial or Other Impact of the Federal Shutdown on You and Your Family

Here we begin to see the real toll that the shutdown is having; some of the answers:

  • The government shutdown has cause financial hardship for my family and me due to a $1,200
    loss in income, making it difficult to manage essential expenses.
  • $5,100 of expenses within this month. I am not able pay all of my bills.
  • $28,000
  • Government shutdown result in a loss of income while my regular pay is disrupted. This could make it difficult to cover essential expenses such as bills, food, household items, and other basic necessities for my family and I.
  • $7,000
  • $5,500
  • $6,000
  • Devastating
  • $2,000
  • $4,200
  • Both parents will lose 100% of income for the duration of shutdown
  • Significant
  • Huge
  • We will struggle to buy food and pay rent
  • $8,000
  • $70,000
  • We were behind from cutbacks but housing, food, and healthcare are at the top of the list.

Q3 Do you or members of your household work in local private service businesses that would suffer losses in a federal government shutdown, e.g., restaurants, car services, dry cleaners, similar services that would lose business in a shutown?

30% – YES
70% – NO

  • I work for [an] agency that operates as a private contractor, and our budget depends partly on federal funding. The shutdown has reduced and delayed funding, which affects my ability to provide services, earn my regular income, and meet basic needs such as food, bills, and household expenses. This financial uncertainty has created additional stress and instability for my family.
  • My father works as a banquet server at a hotel. So I expect that there would be a loss of
    business in the hotel from the government shutdown
  • A member of my household may suffer losses because they work at a local private business.
    The business may decrease as a result of federal workers not being able to work or get paid.

Q4 Are there other ways in which a government shutdown might have an impact on you or your family?

  • The government shutdown also impact my family by delaying access to public services and
    programs we rely on, such as healthcare, housing assistance, and community resources.
  • Inability to pay bills Strain on mental health We may lose housing
  • I think another way a government shutdown might impact my family is through healthcare. We
    are all under a low-income healthcare plan, so that might be affected from the shutdown.
  • Loss of business as it relates to other government contracts that were in the process of being
    negotiated
  • We could lose the benefits of medical insurance, my monthly benefit from TANF, and food
    security from SNAP
  • Government support including but not limited to, SNAP, Maryland Medicaid; and temporary
    housing

Q5 What should Trinity be planning to do to support members of our campus community during the government shutdown?

  • Trinity should plan to provide financial, academic, and emotional support to students and staff
    affected by a government shutdown. This could include offering emergency financial
    assistance, flexible payment plans, access to food and housing resources, and clear
    communication about available support services. Additionally, Trinity could provide counseling
    and mental health resources to help community members cope with the stress and uncertainty
    caused by the shutdown.
  • Plan fun activities to relieve stress (i.e., movie nights, sound baths, massage therapy, yoga &
    pilates classes. Host these events during times when the non-traditional students can
    participate & engage with the TWU community.
  • Trinity should plan to use any extra funds in the budget to provide financial assistance to
    students, staff, or faculty directly affected by the government shutdown. This support could
    help cover essential expenses like food, transportation, and household needs until regular
    income resumes.
  • Listening sessions are always good.
  • I think reassurance is key in supporting members of our campus community especially when it comes to things like healthcare and aid. I know for me personally, I’m worried about federal aid and state aid might become less accessible.
  • Grocery gift cards, Extra mental health days.
  • Offer the ability to live on campus without the meal plan. If my family is unable to support my rent during shutdown, having the ability to stay on campus without having to buy the meal plan (as they are super unaffordable for me) would be helpful
  • Give me more time to pay off my balance.
  • Maybe a food drive and connecting with non-profit organizations for housing services.
  • Free to discounted new training and retraining courses in IT, computer application courses to displaced federal workers. Resume support and development.
  • Wellness, professional development, and career planning sessions
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Remembering Dr. Saundra Herndon Oyewole

October 5, 2025

(Dr. Saundra Herndon Oyewole)

A brilliant mind, a beautiful soul — how else to describe our beloved Trinity teacher, colleague and friend?  Dr. Saundra Herndon Oyewole exuded class and charm, but never with haughty airs or boastful chatter.  She was always a thoughtful, gracious and kind presence for all who knew her.

Dr. Oyewole, who died on September 26, was deeply devoted to her family as well as her students and fellow faculty members at Trinity.  I first met her when I became Trinity’s president in 1989.  After a stint at Hampshire College, Dr. Oyewole had joined Trinity’s Biology faculty in 1981, soon earning tenure and promotion to Associate Professor, and I was pleased to appoint her to the then-new position of Clare Boothe Luce Professor of Biology.  When Saundra’s dear husband Godwin came to visit, we swapped stories of our experiences at Georgetown Law Center.  And I always enjoyed seeing their children Tunde, Kolade and Aramide when they visited their mom at Trinity.  Saundra and Godwin were both graduates of the University of Massachusetts Ph.D. program (Saundra in Microbiology, Godwin in Communication).  In her earlier education, Dr. Oyewole earned her B.S. at Howard University and master’s degree at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Oyewole was not one to promote her roles and status as “first,” but it is important to note that she was Trinity’s first tenured Black faculty member and full professor, and later, the first Black dean and highest ranking African American at Trinity.  She was a quiet but persistent trail blazer whose legacy lives on in Trinity’s remarkable science faculty today.

As Trinity evolved through the 1990s and 2000’s, I was pleased to appoint Dr. Oyewole as Dean of the Faculty, and later Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.  A tireless advocate for increasing diversity in the medical profession, Dr. Oyewole held leadership positions including serving as president of the National Association of Advisors to the Health Professions, and she was active with the Association for Women in the Sciences.  She also spent a two-year sabbatical with the National Science Foundation as Program Director for Undergraduate Education.  Closer to home, Dr. Oyewole was a faculty leader as she chaired Biology as well as the Rank & Tenure Committee, and served a term as president of Trinity’ Epsilon Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

Upon her retirement in 2013, Dr. Oyewole received many accolades from her students, alumnae and faculty colleagues, hailed by all as a wonderful role model and great exemplar of Trinity’s highest values in scholarship, intellectual excellence and integrity.

We offer our condolences to her children and family, and we assure them that Dr. Oyewole’s legacy lives well in the excellent work of today’s Biology program.

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