Liberal Arts Action Lab
Finished in 2017 by JCJ Architecture, the Liberal Arts Action Lab is located at 10 Constitution Plaza in Hartford's business district. Students utilizing the Action Lab work to build research projects in collaboration with their peers, Trinity faculty, and local community groups and organizations. The goal of the building and program is to better integrate Trinity into Hartford, as well as to address local issues through a liberal arts approach.
The lab is a space for students from both Trinity and Capital Community College, which is located on Main Street in Hartford. Students take two courses at the lab, one dedicated to research methods and the other focused on a research project. The projects are done in groups that consist of a mix of students from both schools. Trinity students are encouraged to use the shuttle in order to get to the lab from campus.
The teams of students are required to submit a proposal in the form of a question pertaining to the research they want to carry out. Past projects/proposals have included Frog Hollow Story Telling, Black Heritage, School Nutrition, and COVID-19 & Community Health Perspectives. Hartford partners have included Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance (SINA), Hartford Heritage Project, Grow Hartford Youth, and the Hispanic Health Council.
The Action Lab is also Trinity's first building expansion into downtown Hartford since the College's founding, which, combined with the goals of the lab, hopes to place Trinity both “physically and intellectually” in the Hartford community.