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Trinity Christian College announced today that the Board of Trustees has confirmed Dr. Aaron Kuecker as the College’s ninth president. Kuecker has served as interim president since April 2022.

“Over the past year, Kuecker has shown clear direction and vision for the mission and future of Trinity Christian College. We are excited for this new phase in his leadership and the momentum he has created to carry forward,” stated Cal Tameling, Chair of the Board.

Previously, Kuecker served as the College’s Provost since July 2016. Kuecker previously served as Associate Professor of Theology and Director of General Education at Trinity from 2008-2013 before joining LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas, where held several roles, including Dean of the School of Theology & Vocation, Professor of Theology, and Director of the Honors College. Kuecker returned to Trinity as Provost in July 2016.

Kuecker’s academic work has primarily focused on identity formation in the early Christian church, with an emphasis on New Testament studies and biblical theology. He received his Ph.D. in New Testament studies from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, his M.Div. from Western Theological Seminary, and his B.A. in political science from Central College. Before earning his Ph.D., Kuecker served as associate pastor and youth pastor at Community Reformed Church in Zeeland, MI.

Kuecker’s confirmation as President of Trinity comes during an exciting time for the College. In the past year, Trinity launched a set of strategies aimed at radically reducing student loan debt while creating innovative approaches to student wellbeing and vocational formation. The Wellbeing Wednesdays, Earn, Network, and Learn, and Tuition Transparency and Access initiatives have launched a revised economic model that opens the door of access to those who desire Christian higher education.

“Each of the initiatives we set in motion this past year is rooted in the Christian vision of how God made the world to be filled with abundance and gifting that should inspire deep generosity and connection,” said Kuecker. “We are committed to continually asking ourselves, ‘What if a college structured itself with the belief that we were made for cooperation and not competition? What if we dare to believe that there is enough time for students to be well and partnerships to thrive?’ Those Christian convictions were the soil in which each of these initiatives took root. I am excited and honored to lead this community forward toward this vision.”

“It has taken the work of the entire campus to move Trinity in these exciting, mission-driven directions,” Kuecker continued. “The transformation and progress we have seen over the past year is a testament to the expert and dedicated faculty, staff, Board of Trustees, and community we have supporting the mission.”

Tameling concluded, “Trinity is blessed with extraordinary leaders like Kuecker and other executive team members who are well equipped with strong leadership skills, passion, and faithful commitment to lead. We look forward to Kuecker’s leadership in the areas of our current core priorities and the ongoing implementation of Board-endorsed resolutions for diversity and belonging at Trinity.”

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About Trinity Christian College

Trinity Christian College, based in Palos Heights, Ill., is an accredited Christian liberal arts college offering more than 70 programs through bachelor’s, master’s, and adult degree completion courses of study. Founded in 1959, the College is a community of Christian scholarship committed to shaping lives and transforming culture. Trinity was recently ranked in the top tier at #15 for Regional Colleges – Midwest by U.S. News and World Report and a Top Value in the Midwest.

To learn more, visit trnty.edu.

Trinity Christian College is pleased to announce Andrew Marks as the new Vice President of Admissions, Athletics, and Financial Aid. Marks comes to Trinity with a wealth of experience in the higher education sector.

Marks began his career at Calumet College of St. Joseph following his time as a student at the college. After 22 years at Calumet, holding various roles across the college, he is eager to bring the expertise he has gained to Trinity. “I have really enjoyed working in many different roles over the years and have a strong understanding of the many facets within higher education,” stated Marks. “Bringing this knowledge to my role at Trinity is exciting and gives me energy; I hope to bring that same energy to the team and look forward to learning from them along the way.”

He holds a Master of Science in Management with a concentration in organizational leadership, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, all from Calumet College of St. Joseph. His various roles over the years have given way to a unique skill set for this leadership position. Marks spent several of his years as Sports Information Director, Assistant Athletic Director, Head Coach for both Men’s and Women’s Volleyball, and later Director of Enrollment Management. Most recently, he served as Assistant Vice President for Athletics and Enrollment and served on the board of trustees at the college from 2017 – 2021.

“Andrew brings a unique blend of student focus, leadership acumen, strategic thinking, and collegiality. His high value for the transformational potential of faith-based higher education, his firsthand experience of the formational value of athletics for our student-athletes and the wider community, his commitment to eliminating barriers to college access, and his desire to work with colleagues from across departments are notable,” said President Aaron Kuecker.

Marks is excited about the future of Trinity Christian College. He feels confident that now is the right time to join the team and work towards the vision of what higher education will look like in the future. “Giving students an option to work towards a debt-free degree is unbelievable, but it’s exactly what is needed. I can’t wait to get to work with the team to push that mission forward together,” concluded Marks.

The opportunity for Marks to join Trinity’s mission followed Jeanine Mozie’s transition from Vice President of Enrollment to her new position as Chief of Staff to the President.

An education from Trinity Christian College does not just change lives—our graduates go on to flourish in their vocations. The life-changing value of a Trinity education has once again been recognized by U.S. News and World Report, which named Trinity to several of its “best” lists for 2024, including among the Top 15 Regional Colleges Midwest, #20 in Social Mobility, and a Top Value in the Midwest.

U.S. News uses multiple criteria for its highly regarded rankings. To be named among the “Best Colleges,” Trinity was rated for its graduation and retention rates, social mobility, academic reputation, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and graduate debt, among other factors.

“The collaboration between our excellent faculty and staff and our amazing students has produced transformational student outcomes, stated President Dr. Aaron J. Kuecker. “We are honored and excited when groups outside of Trinity note these outcomes and their strength in relation to other institutions in our region. We are proud of the work we are doing at Trinity, preparing students to flourish in their lives here and beyond their time in college.”

“Once again, this recognition is the result of the dedicated work of our faculty and staff, serving the Trinity learning community with such passion and excellence, said Vice President for Academic Affairs,” Jerome Douglas. “We have amazing students who are committed to their learning, and this is also a particular recognition of their gifts. We are honored to serve them as they embrace the joy of vocation here at Trinity.”

Along with the U.S. News rankings, Trinity is frequently recognized by many organizations for preparing students for a world that needs them. The College’s honors include being named a “College of Distinction,” One of the Safest Colleges in Illinois by Niche.com, and is routinely ranked the best BSN program in the state of Illinois.

In the fall of 2022, Trinity announced its Tuition Transparency and Access Initiative, designed to clarify, and simplify the complex world of college pricing. This fundamental shift, alongside other key initiatives for the College, has opened the door of access to any who wishes for the personalized benefits of a Christian higher education.

Trinity Christian College continues to lead the way in the sector of Christian higher education with innovative thinking and a relentless focus on student success, belonging, and support.

As a Christian institution, we are committed to keeping Jesus Christ at the center of all we do. We want to grow in our Christian faith as we bear witness to God’s transforming power that truly changes who we are and how we live. Our work of spiritual engagement is driven by a vision: All of Jesus for All of Campus!

Join us weekly on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 10:40 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. in the Ozinga Chapel Auditorium. Each week, students, faculty, staff, and community can find encouragement with worship songs representing a variety of styles, a brief message, and a time of fellowship and snacks in the Grand Lobby. Our chapel program strives to represent the intercultural and interdenominational voice of our campus community—all are welcome!

The Fall 2023 Chapel Series is Stories Matter. In his final book, the late theologian Robert Webber raised an urgent question: Who gets to narrate the world? We are surrounded by a frenzy of narratives that compete for attention and priority in how we decide to tell our stories.

This semester in chapel, we will travel through the book of Genesis and learn how God cares about our stories. God is not detached from history; throughout the Genesis narrative, God engages faithfully within the stories of each generation. Even when evil threatens to spin deceptive versions of reality, we will find that God promises to work out the details of our stories for good. The Christian narrative, then, points to Jesus Christ—the Author of every narrative—who redeems all things and opens new ways to tell our stories.

The chapel schedule is always available here, where you will also be able to access our chapel message podcast on Anchor and Spotify.

Despite the record-breaking heat in Chicagoland, faculty, staff, and student leaders gathered on Wednesday, August 23rd, to welcome the latest freshmen class for move-in day. Over 270 new students arrived on campus with carloads filled with everything they needed to start their college journey.

Shopping carts filled with bedding, fans, books, and lamps made their way from the parking lots to South and West Halls. Dozens of volunteers were there to greet each student and their family with a warm welcome to Trinity. Volunteers spent the day helping each student find their dorm room, stay hydrated in the heat, and make sure they felt at home.

Trinity President Dr. Aaron J. Kuecker stated, “Move-in days are huge for students and their families and friends. The excitement, nerves, prospect of goodbyes, questions about college – all these things combine to create a context in which a warm welcome is so important. [Trinity] delivered on that yesterday, and I am so grateful.”

Families had time to walk around campus, stop at information booths, request a song at the DJ station, and learn more about the Thrive Program or how they can get involved in student organizations during their time at Trinity. Many families took the opportunity to view the latest mural installment on the campus, located on the west side of Groot Hall.

As the day ended, there were tearful goodbyes and hugs between family and friends. The students then took their first step in the eight-week-long Thrive Program with a night of fun and fellowship, allowing plenty of time to get to know their fellow first-year students.

Other significant initiatives for the students as part of the Thrive Welcome Weekend include an event called Passport, which has students exploring the whole campus and stopping by key offices to gather vital information, which helps to set up each student for success. The second is a campus-wide worship service, which will be held on Sunday morning in the chapel.

Troy Schemper, Dean of Students, said, “We are welcoming many new students to campus this fall, and we want them to experience a Sunday worship service on their first weekend here.”

With first-year students all settled in and the remainder of the students planned for Saturday, August 26^th, the Trinity campus once again feels alive and bustling. Classes will begin on Monday, August 28^th, and the annual Convocation ceremony is planned for Tuesday, August 29^th, at 10:30 am in the Chapel Auditorium.

Click here to learn more about the Thrive Program at Trinity Christian College.

-Kate Meyrick ’17

This summer, several Trinity alumni, staff, and faculty traveled to Italy to sing in and tour the magnificent basilicas of Rome, Assisi, and the Amalfi Coast. The trip was organized through Perform International by Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus Master Dr. Pearl Shangkuan, with guest conductor Dr. Anton Armstrong.

I (Kate Meyrick, ’17) was thrilled and privileged to be one of the singers and tour members on this trip, sight-seeing and performing from June 6-13, 2023, with members of my Trinity family: Amy Meyrick ’23, Dr. Helen Van Wyck (Professor Emerita), Toni Esker (Assistant Professor of Music) and Dr. Yudha Thianto.

We performed a full gala concert with two other choruses (about 100 singers total) at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in the gorgeous mountain town of Assisi on Friday, June 10th. There were hundreds of people in the audience that night – a mix of tourists from around the world and community members from Assisi. The following Sunday, we traveled to Rome to sing during mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican City. Our accompanist was the incredible Ken Bos. In addition to singing in these magnificent basilicas, we also had the opportunity to tour other major cathedrals and learn about their art, architecture, relics, and the important events and miracles associated with their histories.

During a short visit in Orvieto, we toured the hilltop city’s Duomo (cathedral), associated with a Eucharistic miracle and an important site for the feast day of Corpus Christi. In Assisi, we were able to view St. Francis’ bones in the crypt of his basilica before making our way to the stunning main chapel, which is filled with frescoes of stories from his ministry of teaching, healing, and serving the poor. My personal favorite was St. Clare’s Basilica, a humble but special building dedicated to St. Clare of Assisi, who was a friend and fellow minister with St. Francis.

In Rome, we viewed the stunning gilded ceilings and priceless art by the Renaissance masters Raphael and Michaelangelo at St. Peter’s Basilica. Several of us spent a whole day visiting the other major basilicas of Rome, including the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, Basilica of St. Mary Major (which holds relics from the Nativity), Basilica of St. Augustine in Campo Marzio (the burial place of St. Monica), and The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem (where you can view relics of St. Thomas). It was a holy pilgrimage for many! Along the Amalfi Coast, in between limoncello spritzers and gelato, we visited the Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral in Positano and St. Andrew’s Cathedral in the city of Amalfi.

The Colosseum was awesome, the Pantheon was epic, but we all agree that the experience of singing in these basilicas – worshiping God and sharing our music with friends and strangers – was the highlight of our trip. It was an unforgettable experience, and thankfully, you can experience it with us! You can view our gala performance at St. Francis’ Basilica via Perform International’s Youtube channel, available through this link.

A series titled Interdisciplinary Research as a Sharing of Gifts was recently highlighted in Christian Scholar’s Review.  This three-part series covered the topic of interdisciplinary work across biology, education, and nursing at Trinity Christian College. They featured professors Dr. Clayton Carlson, Dr. Sara Baillie-Gorman, Dr. Karen O’Connor, Dr. Tina Decker, and Dr. Sarah Gouwens.

The interdisciplinary team was sharing their experience through a short series of three essays – a project that began when a student asked Dr. Carlson to help her think about the role of nursing in fighting antibiotic resistance.

The first essay focuses on the notion that within interdisciplinary work, “we each represent our own discipline, but we are all working for the same Kingdom.”

Dr. Clayton Carlson stated, “…interdisciplinary work makes the impossible possible. By partnering with thoughtful experts from outside of our own fields we are able to see our assumptions with new eyes and approach the familiar with new questions. Much of the time, when I am discussing antibiotics or biology, I am either teaching students or trying to impress peer scientists from other institutions. When conducting interdisciplinary work, a third kind of communication becomes possible wherein I am neither teaching nor sharing exactly but representing. In an interdisciplinary team, I represent my discipline which calls me to secure my foundations in one field in order to make it possible to build a bridge to another discipline.”

The second essay continued the series by presenting the education and behavior analysis disciplines. Dr. Karen O’Connor stated, “This project brought changes on our campus beyond our small group. As collaboration seeks to provide mutual support, Christian collaboration can provide mutual support with a common goal of bettering the Kingdom of God.”

In the final essay of the series, Drs. Decker and Gouwens shared their perspective from the Department of Nursing at Trinity. “This study provided the opportunity for us as nursing faculty to role model professional practice for students, giving them a real example of how faculty can collaborate with other professionals to participate in research, demonstrate innovation, and improve student outcomes that directly translate into clinical practice.”

Click here to read the complete three-part series.

-Rev. Ben Snoek, Campus Pastor

Before coming to Trinity, I oversaw the chapel program at Asbury University, a quaint community in Wilmore, Kentucky, recently gaining international attention for an unceasing chapel service that many marked as a sign of revival. Over the past few months, I’ve fielded many questions on this revival: How should we think about revival from a Reformed perspective? Was the Asbury Revival mere emotional hype? What needs to happen for revival to sweep Trinity’s campus?

I believe that the Asbury Revival expressed a genuine move of the Holy Spirit among a community that had prayed for years for God to breathe new life on their campus. At the same time, I’m mindful that the ways that God might breathe new life onto our campus at Trinity would likely look different than they do on other campuses. It is undoubtedly a joy to witness the Spirit bring revival in fresh ways that meet the distinct needs of every community. We need not be looking for the same things that happened in Wilmore to believe that God is moving, breathing new life through the work that we get to join. And God is indeed at work on our campus:

We have seen year-over-year growth in attendance at chapel, now held on Tuesday and Friday mornings in the Ozinga Chapel Auditorium. Our fall chapel series engaged the book of James, and our spring chapel series moved from the Old Testament to the New Testament, tracing the fulfillment of a promised ruler for God’s people from King David to King Jesus.

We have introduced a new student leadership position: the Spiritual Life Coordinators, who catalyze discipleship and worship opportunities in the residence halls and in athletics. This restructuring of our peer ministries responded to a conviction that Campus Ministries should resist isolating the work of ministry from the rest of campus life. Indeed, the Spirit is already working on every part of our campus, and we get to join this task. This reimagined approach to student spiritual formation is already bearing good fruit, and we are excited to build on this momentum next year.

We have assembled a powerhouse staff team: Erin Pacheco ’07 (Director of Spiritual Life Programs), who offers vision and leadership to our chapel program and Spiritual Life Coordinators, and Matthew Meyrick ’19 (Worship Coordinator), who shares responsibilities for chapel leadership and supervises our Outcry Leaders. Erin and Matt have brought great energy and have led our students toward an exciting vision of campus-wide spiritual engagement.

It has been a very full year. My pastoral work has brought me from emergency rooms and funerals to athletic championships and graduations. Serving Trinity students during such a crucial season of their spiritual journeys is a privilege. As we reflect on a year of campus ministry, our team continues to ask questions that anticipate meaningful Christian formation: What is Jesus doing here, and, in turn, how are we staying in step with the life-giving moves of the Spirit?

We are grateful for the prayers and support of the Campus Ministry Team at Trinity Christian College. May the Spirit continue to guide each of us toward God’s good and perfect will!

Since 1989, the Catherine Yonker Award has been given to those who significantly contribute to Christian racial reconciliation and cross-cultural understanding at the College. Trinity’s Campus Diversity and Unity Committee (CDUC) is pleased to announce that this year’s recipient is Professor Laura Dávalos, Director of the Office of Learning Services.

Professor Dávalos’ commitment to the students and the community of Trinity as a whole is apparent in the work she does each day. She is always willing to sit and speak with students about not only their academics but their needs as a whole person.  Olivia DeJong ’23 stated, “As someone who has worked with and received help from her, I can easily say that she puts her entire heart into her work and is, again, fully committed to helping students succeed.”

Trinity student Melissa Ballesteros ’24 and Sabor Latino President said, “Working closely with Director Dávalos has shown me firsthand the meaningful impact that she has on students’ academic journeys. Her energetic dedication to helping students succeed is truly inspiring and has made a significant difference in my own academic experience.”

The nominations cited Dávalos’ work with the students, no matter where they are at on their education journey. According to one nomination, “Trinity is a better institution with Laura Dávalos as one of its leaders. As the Director of the Office of Learning Services programs, Laura has welcomed students from all over the world to understand and rediscover their academic potential as whole persons within the Higher Education Community. In this way, she has made significant contributions toward Christian racial reconciliation and cross-cultural understanding.”

Nicole St. Victor, Director of Multicultural Engagement added, “As a cutting-edge leader, Laura has not been caught off guard by the rising accessibility needs felt across learning environments. Her biblical understanding of belonging allowed her to weather the pandemic, immediately responding to the community’s needs while remaining in step with the multiplicity of resources for the betterment of our learning community. She deserves this Catherine Yonker award and more.”

The Catherine Yonker Award and scholarship is given annually to a member of the Trinity community–faculty, staff, or an entering senior student—in recognition of their positive influence and action toward this goal. In Trinity’s earliest years, Catherine Yonker served as an executive secretary and founding member of the Trinity Women’s Guild. With her husband Jim, they also funded uniforms and equipment for Trinity’s first hockey team.