Trinity Christian College was a private Christian college in Palos Heights, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1959 by a group of Chicago businessmen who wanted to establish a college providing students with a Christian higher education in a Reformed tradition as a college in Illinois. The college offered degrees in more than 70 programs of study. In 2023 and 2024, it reduced its number of employees by 10 percent.[2] On November 4, 2025, Trinity Christian College announced it would close at the end of the 2025-26 academic calendar.[3]
 | |
| Motto | Unum Deum In Tres Laudamus Te |
|---|---|
Motto in English | Glory to God Alone |
| Type | Private college |
| Active | 1959–2026 |
| Affiliation | CCCU CIC |
| President | Jeanine Mozie (acting) |
Academic staff | 55 |
| Students | 854 (fall 2024)[1] |
| Undergraduates | 825 (fall 2024) |
| Postgraduates | 29 (fall 2024) |
| Location | , Illinois , United States |
| Campus | |
| Colors | Navy Blue & Columbia Blue |
| Nickname | Trolls |
Sporting affiliations | NAIA – CCAC NCCAA Division I – North Central |
| Mascot | Troll |
| Website | www |
 | |
Campus
editThe Martin and Janet Ozinga Chapel, a 1200-seat facility, provided practice and rehearsal rooms for the music department, and housed the campus ministries program under the direction of the campus chaplain. The Grand Lobby hosted a variety of events beneath its stained glass window, the first of a series of stained glass panels hung throughout the building designed to celebrate Trinity Christian's mission in Reformed higher education.
The Heritage Science Center comprised 38,000-square feet (3,500 m2) of classroom and lab space for chemistry, biology, and physics programs, as well as classrooms and a lecture hall for technology and computer science studies.
The Art and Communication Center (ARCC) provided Trinity Christian students with art and design studios, a graphic design lab, student gallery, The Marg Kallemeyn (black box) Theatre for the performing arts, and the Seerveld Gallery that welcomed guest artists and student artists.
New athletics fields and a new athletics complex were developed with completion of the DeVos Athletics and Recreation Center in the autumn of 2013. The facility featured a state of the art lab for exercise students, a bouldering wall, and a fitness center.
Academics
editTrinity Christian College claimed a cohesive approach to its core curriculum of philosophy, history, English, and theology. Although students are drawn from predominantly Reformed and Presbyterian church backgrounds, students also come from other Christian traditions such as Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, and Roman Catholic.
Accreditation and memberships
editTrinity Christian College was a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and the Council for Independent Colleges (CIC).[4] The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.[5]
Adult undergraduate programs
editIn 1998 Trinity Christian College opened the TRACS department, now called Adult Undergraduate Programs, to serve the needs of the non-traditional student. Adults 23 years of age and older could complete their college degree through this program.
Graduate studies
editAthletics
editThe Trinity Christian athletic teams were called the Trolls.[8] The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) since the 1987–1988 academic year. The teams were also a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the North Central Region of the Division I level.
Trinity Christian competed in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, track & field and volleyball. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field and volleyball.
The women's soccer team collected Trinity's first national title by winning the NCCAA National Soccer Tournament in 2005 and returned to the NCCAA national finals in 2007.
Closure
editOn November 4, 2025, Trinity announced it would close after the 2025-2026 academic year. The college's board of trustees made this decision after reviewing the college's financial outlook. Reasons cited were financial challenges post-COVID, declining enrollment, competition for students, and shifting donor support.[9] According to Inside Higher Ed, the college "operated at a loss in eight of its last 10 fiscal years and enrollment shrank from 1,068 in fall 2019 to 872 last year."[10]
Academic records and transcripts were put under the custodianship of Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
References
edit- ↑ "Trinity Christian College". College Navigator. National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
- ↑ "Trinity Christian College cuts 10% of faculty positions in first year of tuition reduction". Chicago Tribune. 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
- ↑ "Trinity Christian College Announces Closure at the Conclusion of the 2025-2026 Academic Year". Trinity Christian College. 2025-11-04. Retrieved 2025-11-04.
- ↑ "CCCU". Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
- ↑ "HLC". Higher Learning Commission. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
- ↑ "Graduate Degrees at Trinity Christian College".
- ↑ "Graduate Degrees at Trinity Christian College".
- ↑ "The Legend of the Troll". Trinity Christian College Athletics. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
- ↑ White, Kelly (2025-11-04). "Trinity Christian College to close after 66 years". Southwest Regional Publishing. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ↑ Moody, Josh. "The Colleges That Couldn't Survive 2025". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 31 December 2025.