Initiatives Archive

–May 20, 2019

Eight Trinity students, along with Dr. Clay Carlson, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, took a road trip from Palos Heights to suburban Atlanta last month to present their research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR).

The NCUR 2019 conference, held at Kennesaw State University, brought together students and faculty from around the country in an event that supports and promotes high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship.

The stellar caliber of work and dedication of Trinity students and faculty was clearly on display at the conference, Carlson said. Several of the Trinity presentations attracted so much interest that people were lined up to learn more. “Our student presentations looked great,” he said.

The students who presented were:

— Larissa Brumlow Music and National Identity in Ecuadorian Pasillo

–Casey Wiegers and Abigail Lammers: Bacteriophage and Their Prey in Chicagoland Area Waterways

–Marie Sonnenburg and Laura DeVries: Can Changes in Gut Microbiota Impact Function and Make Differences in Conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder?

–Marie Sonnenburg and Amber Shoberg: Transfer between Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Cardiac H9c2 Cells

–Jenna Van Der Pol, Olivia Otte, and Jessica Grevenstuk: The Effect of Perceived Mutability on Racial System Justification

Carlson also expressed his gratitude for the generous support of those in the Trinity community who have made attending the NCUR conference possible. “It’s an extraordinary accomplishment to be selected to present, and attending these types of conferences offers our students invaluable experiences,” he said. “We are grateful for all the encouragement our students receive that makes this possible.”

–May 20, 2019

Eight Trinity students, along with Dr. Clay Carlson, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, took a road trip from Palos Heights to suburban Atlanta last month to present their research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR).

The NCUR 2019 conference, held at Kennesaw State University, brought together students and faculty from around the country in an event that supports and promotes high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship.

The stellar caliber of work and dedication of Trinity students and faculty was clearly on display at the conference, Carlson said. Several of the Trinity presentations attracted so much interest that people were lined up to learn more. “Our student presentations looked great,” he said.

The students who presented were:

— Larissa Brumlow Music and National Identity in Ecuadorian Pasillo

–Casey Wiegers and Abigail Lammers: Bacteriophage and Their Prey in Chicagoland Area Waterways

–Marie Sonnenburg and Laura DeVries: Can Changes in Gut Microbiota Impact Function and Make Differences in Conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder?

–Marie Sonnenburg and Amber Shoberg: Transfer between Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Cardiac H9c2 Cells

–Jenna Van Der Pol, Olivia Otte, and Jessica Grevenstuk: The Effect of Perceived Mutability on Racial System Justification

Carlson also expressed his gratitude for the generous support of those in the Trinity community who have made attending the NCUR conference possible. “It’s an extraordinary accomplishment to be selected to present, and attending these types of conferences offers our students invaluable experiences,” he said. “We are grateful for all the encouragement our students receive that makes this possible.”

Trinity business major Mady Zula ’21 was “surprised but excited” when she and her team of seven students from Chicago-area colleges took first place in Ernst & Young (EY)’s Diversity Challenge at 1871, Chicago’s technology and entrepreneur center. Her team’s winning concept centered on an app they designed to solve a real-world problem for global professional services firm EY: how to attract a more diverse job applicant base.

Zula and 12 other Trinity students took part in the event, held April 5 and 6 at 1871 headquarters in Chicago’s historic Merchandise Mart.

The competition challenged more than 100 students from other Chicago area colleges and universities. Zula learned about the competition through Trinity’s Fusion 59 entrepreneur club, and was attracted by the opportunity to network with other business majors. But she admits to being intimidated at first, because she was the only Trinity student on her team, which also included students from Loyola University, the Illinois Institute of Technology, DePaul University, and the University of Chicago.

But intimidation soon turned to excitement as she and her teammates began analyzing the issue at hand.

“EY is already doing a great job with diversity,” she said. That made the project more challenging. Teams had 24 hours to brainstorm solutions and develop a presentation to the panel of EY judges in a “Shark Tank”-style concept pitch.

Zula’s team built their solution around a prototype mobile application that was designed to encourage undergrad applicants age 18-25 from diverse backgrounds to apply for jobs at EY and prepare them for an interview. The proposal included a home page, logo, and a detailed rollout plan.

App users earn points at different stages of usage, from signup to taking quizzes and participating in workshops offered by EY. The app also enables student applicants to upload their resumes and communicate directly with EY staff through email. “We wanted the app to be similar to LinkedIn, but be specific to EY,” Zula said.

During the judging process, she and her teammates discovered that all of the other teams had similar ideas of how EY could broaden applicant diversity, but none had developed an app and a solid plan to launch it. In fact, her team laid the groundwork so well that EY could actually launch the app in real life, she said.

Team collaboration was important, and members were grouped by major. Zula’s team included tech, marketing, and management majors, so all disciplines were represented.

The days were long: The Saturday brainstorming session ran from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the Sunday pitch session from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. But although it was “extremely exhausting,” it was also “a lot of fun,” and the team format made it easy to form strong friendships with her fellow teammates.

Zula double majors with management and marketing, and events like the 1871 experience are helping her to learn what she’s good at and what’s fun for her. “It was an incredible weekend! I learned a lot and was able to connect with other students in Chicagoland,” she said.

Along with Zula’s team winning the overall title, Soraya Limon, a social work major, participated on a team that won its division.

The 1871 team was also impressed with what participating students brought to the table. “Our entire community cannot stop raving about their tremendous efforts, knowledge and eagerness to get involved with the tech and entrepreneurship communities here in Chicago,” said Jessica Childress of 1871.

Trinity Students from a range of majors participated in the EY Diversity Challenge in April.

Nolani Schnabel- Entrepreneurial Management

Emily Schmidt- Accountancy

Mady Zula-Marketing

Josh Olson-Marketing

Mike Melody-Biblical Studies

Pat Hogan-Marketing

Dan Reiling- Computer Science

Ariel Love-Psychology

Kailah Price-English

Alec Visser-Computer Science

Joseph Wagner- Computing

Kynasia Hughlett- Communication Arts

Soraya Limon-Social Work

–May 6, 2019

Thanks to the faithful generosity of two dedicated donor families, Trinity will be able to grow our nursing program facilities and enrollment for the future.

“Trinity has been blessed by two significant gifts from the family of George and Agnes DeJong and another donor family who wishes to remain anonymous. Both families have been touched by past interactions with Trinity’s nursing program,” said Rick Van Dyken ’83, Vice President for Advancement. “We are grateful that they have felt the call to give back to today’s students, and to those who will carry on Trinity’s tradition of nursing with Christian excellence.”

The expansion is scheduled to be completed next summer, in time for the beginning of Fall 2020 classes. Under the nursing program expansion plan, the entire first floor of the Classroom Building will be reconfigured to include an additional new simulation lab, observation room, and a welcome center/study space for nursing students.

“These gifts will allow us to add critical lab space to be able to expand the use of simulation for hands-on experience, and provide new areas for interaction between students and faculty,” said Nursing Department Chair and Associate Professor of Nursing Tina Decker, D.N.P. “At Trinity, we focus on preparing our nurses for a world that needs them, and the nursing program expansion will allow us to grow our tradition of Christian nurses.”

Trinity’s nursing program, which is ranked among the top BSN program in Illinois by RegisteredNursing.org, is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. For three of the last four years, 100% of Trinity BSN graduates have passed the NCLEX-RN exam the first time they have taken it. Learn more about Trinity’s Nursing Program here.

Students from the Adult Business Program presented their final project: The Marketing Plan. Students formed into groups to create a marketing plan for a product or service of their choosing.

The products and services included Starbucks, Nicole’s Sandwich Shop, Vitalant, and Ford. It was a great ending to an engaging class on Marketing Management.

Congratulations on a job well done on the final!

As part of Trinity’s commencement ceremonies on May 4, Provost Aaron Kuecker Ph.D., honored the emeritations of two faculty members: Thomas R. Roose, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Physics and Science Education; and Michael Vander Weele, Ph.D., Professor of English.

Dr. Thomas Roose

Roose received his Ph.D. in 1982 and his M.S. in 1975 from Stanford University and his B.S. from the University of Illinois in 1974. Before joining the faculty of Trinity, he taught at Chicago Christian High School for six years and worked in the public and private sector for more than 20 years, including for ARCO Oil and Gas Co., the Gas Research Institute, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He has one patent, many trade secrets, two books, and more than 25 technical publications to his credit.

Roose’s emeritation proclamation cited his “significant academic formation along with several decades of professional preparation to teach all of the courses of the physics minor, the Foundations physical science courses, and courses in science education.”

It also pointed to his service as Chair of the Physics Department since the inception of the position; providing leadership and advocacy for his discipline, including successfully developing the minor in physics; his creative work with institutional partners to develop the Engineering 2+2 program, including formal partnerships with the University of Illinois – Chicago and Geneva College; his expertise and wisdom to multiple campus and faculty committees including CESAG (Campus Ecological Stewardship Advisory Group), Teacher Education Committee, FLUTE, and an HLC committee; his tireless advocacy for wise stewardship of God’s creation on campus, at his church, and in the broader community; his leadership of interim courses to Costa Rica to study rainforest ecosystems; and his faithful contributions to First United Methodist Church of Downers Grove, and the community through leadership in advocating for Christian environmental stewardship, his hours given to Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS), and his involvement with his church choir.

Dr. Michael Vander Weele

Vander Weele ’73 joined Trinity’s faculty in 1986. He has served the College as English Department chair, director of professional development, and co-founder of OPUS.

His emeritation proclamation stressed his commitment to scholarship, teaching, and service that has “shared his love of literature and language with the Trinity Christian College community, continually encouraging the College community to worship the Triune God through the radiance of words.”

Among his many contributions, Vander Weele served as a chief architect of the English department through curricular innovations that include apprentice-style courses modeled on the British tutorial method; planted numerous clusters of trees throughout the grounds, and designed a garden and curved brick path in the green commons south of Groot Hall in memory of Albertena Vander Weele; cultivated the community through collaborative writing projects with students, such as the published books Tasteful Diversity: The Stories Our Foods Tell and Voices of Redemption; organized the “End of Life Care” conference, the Edward Vander Weele Educational Lecture Series, and the annual Freshman Lecture event; produced a long career’s worth of scholarly publications, most notably on “the hospitable text,” the fiction of Marilynne Robinson, and the theology of John Calvin; served as an annual lecturer for the Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education; as member of the Advisory Council for the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the Ines and Calvin Seerveld Arts in Society Fund, and the national CCCU Faculty Development Board; shepherded students across the years, guiding many toward flourishing careers in literature and language; made his home an extension of campus: often hosting faculty reading groups in his living room and hosting yearly backyard barbecues for English students; and been a persistently encouraged mentor, a supportive colleague, a wise problem-solver, and a good friend to many on campus, leading in word, life, and deed.

As part of Trinity’s commencement ceremonies on May 4, Provost Aaron Kuecker Ph.D., honored the emeritations of two faculty members: Michael Vander Weele, Ph.D., Professor of English; and Thomas R. Roose, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Physics and Science Education.

Dr. Michael Vander Weele

Vander Weele ’73 joined Trinity’s faculty in 1986. He has served the College as English Department chair, director of professional development, and co-founder of OPUS.

His emeritation proclamation stressed his commitment to scholarship, teaching, and service that has “shared his love of literature and language with the Trinity Christian College community, continually encouraging the College community to worship the Triune God through the radiance of words.”

Among his many contributions, Vander Weele served as a chief architect of the English department through curricular innovations that include apprentice-style courses modeled on the British tutorial method; planted numerous clusters of trees throughout the grounds, and designed a garden and curved brick path in the green commons south of Groot Hall in memory of Albertena Vander Weele; cultivated the community through collaborative writing projects with students, such as the published books Tasteful Diversity: The Stories Our Foods Tell and Voices of Redemption; organized the “End of Life Care” conference, the Edward Vander Weele Educational Lecture Series, and the annual Freshman Lecture event; produced a long career’s worth of scholarly publications, most notably on “the hospitable text,” the fiction of Marilynne Robinson, and the theology of John Calvin; served as an annual lecturer for the Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education; as member of the Advisory Council for the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the Ines and Calvin Seerveld Arts in Society Fund, and the national CCCU Faculty Development Board; shepherded students across the years, guiding many toward flourishing careers in literature and language; made his home an extension of campus: often hosting faculty reading groups in his living room and hosting yearly backyard barbecues for English students; and been a persistently encouraged mentor, a supportive colleague, a wise problem-solver, and a good friend to many on campus, leading in word, life, and deed.

Dr. Thomas Roose

Roose received his Ph.D. in 1982 and his M.S. in 1975 from Stanford University and his B.S. from the University of Illinois in 1974. Before joining the faculty of Trinity, he taught at Chicago Christian High School for six years and worked in the public and private sector for more than 20 years, including for ARCO Oil and Gas Co., the Gas Research Institute, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He has one patent, many trade secrets, two books, and more than 25 technical publications to his credit.

Roose’s emeritation proclamation cited his “significant academic formation along with several decades of professional preparation to teach all of the courses of the physics minor, the Foundations physical science courses, and courses in science education.”

It also pointed to his service as Chair of the Physics Department since the inception of the position; providing leadership and advocacy for his discipline, including successfully developing the minor in physics; his creative work with institutional partners to develop the Engineering 2+2 program, including formal partnerships with the University of Illinois – Chicago and Geneva College; his expertise and wisdom to multiple campus and faculty committees including CESAG (Campus Ecological Stewardship Advisory Group), Teacher Education Committee, FLUTE, and an HLC committee; his tireless advocacy for wise stewardship of God’s creation on campus, at his church, and in the broader community; his leadership of interim courses to Costa Rica to study rainforest ecosystems; and his faithful contributions to First United Methodist Church of Downers Grove, and the community through leadership in advocating for Christian environmental stewardship, his hours given to Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS), and his involvement with his church choir.

As part of Trinity’s commencement ceremonies on May 4, Provost Aaron Kuecker Ph.D., honored the emeritations of two faculty members: Thomas R. Roose, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Physics and Science Education; and Michael Vander Weele, Ph.D., Professor of English.

Dr. Thomas Roose

Roose received his Ph.D. in 1982 and his M.S. in 1975 from Stanford University and his B.S. from the University of Illinois in 1974. Before joining the faculty of Trinity, he taught at Chicago Christian High School for six years and worked in the public and private sector for more than 20 years, including for ARCO Oil and Gas Co., the Gas Research Institute, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He has one patent, many trade secrets, two books, and more than 25 technical publications to his credit.

Roose’s emeritation proclamation cited his “significant academic formation along with several decades of professional preparation to teach all of the courses of the physics minor, the Foundations physical science courses, and courses in science education.”

It also pointed to his service as Chair of the Physics Department since the inception of the position; providing leadership and advocacy for his discipline, including successfully developing the minor in physics; his creative work with institutional partners to develop the Engineering 2+2 program, including formal partnerships with the University of Illinois – Chicago and Geneva College; his expertise and wisdom to multiple campus and faculty committees including CESAG (Campus Ecological Stewardship Advisory Group), Teacher Education Committee, FLUTE, and an HLC committee; his tireless advocacy for wise stewardship of God’s creation on campus, at his church, and in the broader community; his leadership of interim courses to Costa Rica to study rainforest ecosystems; and his faithful contributions to First United Methodist Church of Downers Grove, and the community through leadership in advocating for Christian environmental stewardship, his hours given to Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS), and his involvement with his church choir.

Dr. Michael Vander Weele

Vander Weele ’73 joined Trinity’s faculty in 1986. He has served the College as English Department chair, director of professional development, and co-founder of OPUS.

His emeritation proclamation stressed his commitment to scholarship, teaching, and service that has “shared his love of literature and language with the Trinity Christian College community, continually encouraging the College community to worship the Triune God through the radiance of words.”

Among his many contributions, Vander Weele served as a chief architect of the English department through curricular innovations that include apprentice-style courses modeled on the British tutorial method; planted numerous clusters of trees throughout the grounds, and designed a garden and curved brick path in the green commons south of Groot Hall in memory of Albertena Vander Weele; cultivated the community through collaborative writing projects with students, such as the published books Tasteful Diversity: The Stories Our Foods Tell and Voices of Redemption; organized the “End of Life Care” conference, the Edward Vander Weele Educational Lecture Series, and the annual Freshman Lecture event; produced a long career’s worth of scholarly publications, most notably on “the hospitable text,” the fiction of Marilynne Robinson, and the theology of John Calvin; served as an annual lecturer for the Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education; as member of the Advisory Council for the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the Ines and Calvin Seerveld Arts in Society Fund, and the national CCCU Faculty Development Board; shepherded students across the years, guiding many toward flourishing careers in literature and language; made his home an extension of campus: often hosting faculty reading groups in his living room and hosting yearly backyard barbecues for English students; and been a persistently encouraged mentor, a supportive colleague, a wise problem-solver, and a good friend to many on campus, leading in word, life, and deed.

–Oct. 10, 2018

Trinity hosted the Restorative Justice and Practice in a Fragmented World conference on October 6, sponsored by the Criminal Justice Department and funded by the Andrew Elliott Rusticus Foundation.

It occurred at the end of a week of a high-profile trial and final verdict in Chicago involving Jason Van Dyke, a police officer who shot and killed a young suspect, Laquan McDonald, as a dashcam appeared to show McDonald walking away – a version challenged by the defense. A murder verdict on the officer came down Friday afternoon, hours before the conference. Three of the conference’s presenters were on duty, with leaves cancelled, including Cook County, Ill., Sheriff Tom Dart. According to one of the conference’s organizers, Brad Breems, an emeritus Trinity professor, it was still unclear on Friday evening if those presenters would be able to attend. This event sharpened the salience of restorative justice (RJ), an emerging community-based approach to treating lawbreaking, adjudicating, and sentencing, Breems noted.

Along with Dart, other speakers included Restorative Strategies CEO Robert Spicer; Al Ferreira, a lead Chicago Police Department (CPD) procedural justice trainer; and Professor John Marshall Law School’s Michael Seng.

“The conference brought influential people in the field to our campus,” said one organizer, Brad Breems, an emeritus Trinity professor, “and embodies the spirit of Andrew Rusticus ’03, who exemplified restorative justice practices as a police officer before he died in training for a new position.”

The conference began with a welcome by Trinity President Kurt Dykstra, and included remarks by Roland Rusticus for the Andrew Elliott Rusticus Foundation.

Dart’s keynote address, “Restorative Justice in Criminal Justice Diversion Programs,” captured the audience with his sharp critique and stark alternatives to unequal and ineffective incarceration practices. Dart challenged systems that merely pass people on to another facility or back into society, no better than when they came entered. He enlivened his speech with poignant first-person videos, followed by a lively Q & A. “The end of his part of the program came palpably too soon for the audience,” said Breems.

Participants then broke to hear and discuss topics like murder victim families’ encounters with restorative justice in separate workshops by Gail Rice and Bill Jenkins; new restorative police-community relations by CPD’s Vanessa Westley; and retired Judge Sheila Murphy’s recount of her judicial enlightenment through restorative lenses. An insightful panel moderated by Sara Balgoyen, Director of Illinois Balanced and Restorative Justice concluded the morning sessions.

After lunch, another round of concurrent sessions highlighted RJ in schools and in legislation to govern restorative justice courts that will replace traditional courts when appropriate. Ferreira, a leading CPD and U.S. Department of Justice tactical and implicit bias trainer, stimulated conferees and linked to the current climate of tense, sometimes tragic, law enforcement-and-community interactions.

In his closing address, “Aspirational Justice: A New Paradigm for Healing and Radical Justice in a Fragmented World” Spicer offered a careful study of three centuries of slavery and another century of repressive slave codes and Jim Crow laws. He contrasted that to his range of proposals based on the U.S. Constitution and other seminal U.S. laws and documents. In response to America’s misappropriation of African Americans, he challenged and charged our society to apply principles of restorative justice to the underlying problem of social inequality.

In his closing, Breems remarked, “Trinity Christian College and its criminal justice program assert that the restorative justice perspective is essential as a progressive approach to social norms, law enforcement, peace-making, and peace-keeping. This conference and Robert Spicer’s innovative model show a way to a more just and peaceful America.”