Rising Against the Tide: Trinity University

As recession hit the economy, colleges and universities had started worrying about the reduction in their endowments which would mean less scholarships and grants for students, less capital to invest in order to improve education and less money to attract top notch professors and students. Several educational institutions admitted that their endowment had been reduced by a huge margin, ranging up to 25 percent which was still less than 40 percent reduction of stocks in the stock market. And even elite universities like Harvard and Yale were not spared.

Brandeis University had to sell its more than century old museum in order to meet its costs. Other universities followed suit by either decreasing student scholarships, reducing its faculty workforce size or by increasing tuition fees. Amid all this chaos, there was one educational institution that stood tall against the tides. It announced that it had achieved its mission of raising a massive 200 million dollars as part of its capital campaign for University Endowment. It also gave away more scholarships than previous years, hired several professors and welcomed the largest international student body in its history. With a capital campaign of ‘Dream. Inspire. Achieve.' Trinity University rose against the tide and surprised the educational world.

The timing at which it announced its massive capital campaign couldn’t have been worse. Soon after Trinity announced its ambitious plan under the presidency of Dr. John Brazil, 9/11 struck and spread of terror temporarily stagnated US economy. The campaign was stalled for a year following that dreadful incident said Vice President Marc Raney as quoted in My San Antonio.com. As things were starting to get a little better, US economy took a slump and things stopped getting rosy again. But, president Brazil still pushed for the campaign and used his skills and charm to achieve what he earnestly aspired. Students at Trinity may not realize how much hard work and perseverance was put into achieving this ambitious goal and what this accomplishment means for their education at Trinity. But this will manifest in various ways that will probably not go unnoticed.

While students, both national and international were worried about how this economic recession will translate in their financial aid package, Trinity students got to see unexpected results. Trinity University increased every student’s financial aid this year, meaning there was not a single student who saw a decrease in his/her financial aid. On top of that, Trinity admitted a record high number of international students. It’s a huge commitment since needs of international students are several times higher than those that of national ones. To commit to this means substantial aid has to pour in every year for their entire 4 years at Trinity. This huge burden would have been impossible without the accomplishment of this highly ambitious 200 million dollar capital campaign. San Antonio.com acknowledged it as “the largest private capital campaign in the city's history.”

Also, the renovations of various residence halls will not go unnoticed. It would not have been possible, viable or reasonable in these economic times had it not been for this accomplishment. Miller Residence Hall went a complete renovation and is now equipped with better facilities, in stark contrast to its till-now-but-no-longer-brother Calvert Hall. Plans to renovate Calvert Residence Halls have also been already announced. While Trinity already boasts of having ‘Dorms Like Palaces’ in Princeton review’s rankings, these moves will make Trinity’s residence halls even superior and provide an incentive to prospective students along with making Trinity students happier with Residential Life and the university administration as a whole.

Another major change will be the renovation of Science Buildings. Chapman Auditorium will also be renovated, parts of which have already been completed. Storch Building has also already seen some changes that have been appreciated by students and faculty. Pictures  related to these can be seen on Trinity Dean's Blog (Yes, above one is from his blog).  Moody Engineering Science building will be completely reconstructed and there will be new buildings for Engineering and Chemistry Department. While these might cause temporary uneasiness, it will be greatly appreciated and beneficial in the long run.

Dream. Inspire. Achieved. It also gave Trinity students to be proud of their own institution. According to a recent endowment analysis by National Association of College and University Business Officers, half of all colleges and universities have an endowment of 88 million or less. Trinity University has closer to 1 billion (I believe); 200 million dollar was what it achieved only in these few years under President Brazil. Trinity University has moved steadily and shone under the presidency of Dr. Brazil. It became much more diverse since it opened its doors to lot many international students. It has proven that it is a superior institution to attend, receive high quality education where students get to understand that”Life is what you make of it” (in President Brazil’s words).

See a complete description of how Trinity’s 200 million dollar Endowment will be spent.

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