Diversity & Belonging

In December 2021, the Board of Trustees and the former president of Trinity Christian College formally instated the Task Force for Diversity and Belonging, which is comprised of select faculty and staff at the College who have missionally aligned their lives and their work to bettering Trinity’s community and the world with regard to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). This committee was mandated following the wake of several racialized murders which were publicized in the United States. These unjust events – in addition to the countless others in the past which have not been publicized – were felt strongly by our campus community. Many courageous steps were taken by students of color to communicate their own feelings of racial injustice that they had experienced at Trinity specifically. In response, Trinity Christian College is committed to strategic and ongoing action to ensure that all students, staff, and faculty feel that they belong at Trinity with full acknowledgment that we as a community are better because of that shared belonging to Trinity and to God.

The Task Force for Diversity and Belonging has two main initiatives: To review Trinity’s foundational documents and to craft a strategic action plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion. The strategic plan is comprised of data, assessment, and goals, all of which will be shared in a report to the Board of Trustees on October 7, 2022.

The Board of Trustees will respond to a list of recommendations compiled by the Task Force:

Summary of Recommendations

• Recommendation 1: Define the theological foundations of Trinity’s diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments and articulate them consistently throughout and beyond campus.
• Recommendation 2: Establish a dedicated Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion led by its own Vice President who sits on the President’s Council.
• Recommendation 3: Implement data-driven research and best practices to assess campus climate, and guide strategic approaches to fostering a healthy campus climate and sense of belongingness.
• Recommendation 4: Develop institutional practices that promote the academic success of historically underrepresented and underperforming students such as Black / Latin@ / Indigenous, Pell-eligible, first-generation, and conditionally admitted students.
• Recommendation 5: Strengthen the areas of curriculum and pedagogy in order to foster academic success for historically underrepresented and under performing students in the classroom.

The Task Force has prayerfully labored to identify these specific recommendations. In the report to the Board Trustees, each recommendation is accompanied by a rationale for how it will support the college’s goals, vision, mission, and priorities, a summary of needed resources, metrics for how to measure the impact of implementation, and strategies for operationalizing the recommendation. These recommendations will be reviewed by the Board of Trustees at their October meeting. As the Board engages with the recommendations, the Task Force is committed to engaging constituents throughout campus in ongoing conversations to continue to mature Trinity Christian College towards a community that more fully represents the Kingdom of God.

Questions about these recommendations or the Task Force may be directed to Dr. Phillip Powell, Chair of the Task Force for Diversity and Belonging, at phillip.powell@trnty.edu.

The abbreviated Task Force Report to the Board of Trustees can be viewed by clicking the button below.