Warden's message: What a wild ride

Times of crisis challenge us in so many ways, but they are also times of profound learning, and so it was for Trinity during the pandemic illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The COVID-era, which is still ongoing, has become one of the most far-reaching global events of our time. It pushed governments in ways they had not been pushed before, created all kinds of logistical challenges, strained global health systems, changed the way we work forever, and highlighted how interconnected and disconnected our modern society has become, all at once.

But it also highlighted how, arguably, resilient our societies and institutions are in this modern world. To the best of my knowledge, no government was overturned through coup or war directly because of the pandemic, our Australian systems of government persisted and largely functioned effectively, our economy withstood the pressure (for the most part), and our health system is something we should be very proud of.

Of course, there were winners and losers in the pandemic, and some people, organisations and industries sailed through the experience more easily than others. For Trinity College, it was a very difficult time – one of the most difficult in our 151-year history. The pandemic tested our resilience, our ability to adapt and change, and our conviction in holding onto the things most important to us.

It was incredibly unsettling for our residential students, who had to curb many of the events and traditions that our students would normally get to experience, and they were either locked out of or locked in our campus for months on end.

In our Theological School, students couldn’t partake in important rituals on campus, like morning prayer or Evensong, or even the group morning teas that so many love.

And the international students in our Pathways School were particularly hard hit, with many stuck here in a foreign country, away from their families, or forced to study from their bedroom in their home country, taking our Foundation Studies course entirely online, while missing out on the fun and important in-person social interactions that come when studying abroad.

But, we learned that we could function as a residential community during long periods of lockdown, that we could teach online to many hundreds of young people around the globe and in Melbourne, that we could support the mental health of our staff and students during the most trying of days, and that, when it was over, we could resume our life as a College of three divisions.

We learned that our fundamental values and principles, our shared sense of community, our system of governance, and our sense of “place” formed the bedrock on which we stood as a College during those turbulent, unsettling and frightening times, so that we emerged as a strong and financially sound College to face the next 151 years.

I know many people would rather forget the COVID years, but, at Trinity, our history is our story, so we wanted to capture a historical record of the events that unfurled during the very strange time that was COVID. We also wanted to share and celebrate the experiences and achievements of our alumni, as many played important roles to help us adapt to the new world we all suddenly found ourselves in.

To that end, this is our history book, and we hope you find the stories interesting. Of course, if you’re concerned that this content might take you back to a place you don’t want to go, please use discretion.

To all our staff, students and supporters who helped us get through those challenging COVID years, thank you once again. If there’s a key message that the pages of this magazine highlight, it’s that community is everything.

Professor Ken Hinchcliff (TC 1976)
Warden and CEO

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