Joanne Berger-Sweeney

Joanne E. Berger-Sweeney (born September 21, 1958) is an American neuroscientist and the 22nd president of Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut. She is the first African-American and the first woman to serve in the position. Earlier in her career, Berger-Sweeney did proof-of-concept work on galantamine (brand name Razadyne), the second-most used drug to treat Alzheimer's disease.

Early life and education Berger-Sweeney was born on September 21, 1958, in Los Angeles. Her parents met at Clark College. Her father earned his law degree at Howard University, finishing second in his class. Her mother was executive director of the Los Angeles Girl Scouts Council and was the first African-American woman to lead a Girl Scouts Council in a major metropolitan area.

Berger-Sweeney attended Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles. Later in life, at her first commencement ceremony at Trinity College, Berger-Sweeney asked civil rights leader and former Holman UMC pastor Rev. James Morris Lawson Jr. to speak.

Berger-Sweeney attended Wellesley College, where she earned an undergraduate degree in psychobiology (neuroscience) in 1979. She received a Masters of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989. Berger-Sweeney did proof-of-concept work on galantamine (brand name Razadyne), showing that the drug reversed memory deficits in mice. Her work served as the foundation for clinical trials by Janssen Pharmaceutica, culminating in the drug's approval by the FDA.

Berger-Sweeney received her PhD in 1989. She completed her postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Health (Inserm) in Paris, France. In 2018, the college renewed her contract through 2024. Berger-Sweeney released statements affirming Trinity College's support for "academic freedom and free expression and inquiry."

The same professor had been suspended in 2017 after he used "#LetThemFuckingDie" on a Facebook post. Conservative media argued that the hashtag was in response to a post about the Republican Congressional baseball practice shooting, in which Steve Scalise was shot. Williams stated that the posts were not a call for violence against white people. Prior to the campus shutdown, Berger-Sweeney wrote in an email to campus that a "call to show indifference to the lives of bigots" when their lives are endangered is "reprehensible, and any such suggestion is abhorrent." he was eventually cleared in an investigation that concluded conservative media misinterpreted his posts.

Churchill Club Trinity students confronted Berger-Sweeney at a midday event on May 2, 2019, over the decision to approve the Churchill Club, a conservative student organization. Gregory B. Smith, professor of political science, had founded the club at Trinity College. The Churchill Club describes itself as being "dedicated to the preservation, dissemination and extension of the Western moral and philosophical tradition." Smith called African-American, Asian-American, Latino, Muslim and Jewish culture houses on campus “tribal enclaves,” which drew criticism.

Over two dozen students handed Berger-Sweeney a letter of demands, including that she reverse the club's approval, denounce white supremacy, and change the club approval process. Young Investigator Award, National Science Foundation (1994) Member, The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives Lifetime Mentoring Award, Society for Neuroscience (2006) Distinguished Alumna Award, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health (2015)

Personal life Berger-Sweeney's husband, Urs V. Berger , is a neuroscientist and computer scientist. They have two children.

Selected works