  A complete, fundamental understanding of the proton must include knowledge of
the underlying spin structure. The transversity distribution,
$h_1\left(x\right)$, which describes the transverse spin structure of quarks
inside of a transversely polarized proton, is only accessible through channels
that couple $h_1 \left(x\right)$ to another chiral odd distribution, such as
the Collins fragmentation function ($\Delta^N
D_{\pi/q^\uparrow}\left(z,j_T\right)$). Significant Collins asymmetries of
charged pions have been observed in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering
(SIDIS) data. These SIDIS asymmetries combined with $e^+e^-$ process
asymmetries have allowed for the extraction of $h_1\left(x\right)$ and
$\Delta^N D_{\pi/q^\uparrow}\left(z,j_T\right)$. However, the current
uncertainties on $h_1\left(x\right)$ are large compared to the corresponding
quark momentum and helicity distributions and reflect the limited statistics
and kinematic reach of the available data. In transversely polarized hadronic
collisions, Collins asymmetries may be isolated and extracted by measuring the
spin dependent azimuthal distributions of charged pions in jets. This thesis
will report on the first statistically significant Collins asymmetries
extracted from $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV hadronic collisions using $14$ pb$^{-1}$ of
transversely polarized proton collisions at 57% average polarization.
