Another Christian college closes, and alumni feel the loss

It was 9 a.m. on a Monday in Palos Heights, Ill., last November when Daniel Salgado’s phone lit up with an email notification. Its message would change the rest of his year.

Salgado was one of 766 undergraduate students at Trinity Christian College starting the day receiving the same email. In his inbox was a video of acting President Jeanine Mozie and Board of Trustees Chair Ken Dryfhout announcing that the current school year would be students’ last.

“After a period of intense deliberation and prayerful discernment the board of trustees has voted to close Trinity Christian College at the end of this academic year,” Dryfhout said.

The news stunned Salgado, a senior and graphic design and marketing double major. Throughout the day he saw fellow students with tears on their faces. Soon after, Salgado, vice president of communication for the student body, met with the student government to discuss how to respond.

“We were all pretty upset, but we knew that this was something that is changing all of us,” he said.

At the meeting, the cabinet decided to set up a town hall between students and the college president. Salgado said students who attended the forum asked questions like “Where am I going to go?” “What were the finances?” and—most prominently—“Why is Trinity closing?”

According to Salgado, many students left unsatisfied. “One of the things the president said is that we don’t have the answers yet, and so that left a lot of students with anger,” he said.

Trinity, founded in 1959, ceased academic operations this year following its May 8 commencement. In its official statement, the college cited the reasons for its closure as post-COVID financial losses, persistent operating deficits, a decline in college enrollment and increased competition for students, and a shift in donor giving and financial circumstances.

Trinity’s closure comes at a time of particular challenges for U.S. colleges and universities. According to BestColleges, an online higher education resource, since March 2020, 49 mostly private schools or campuses, including some Christian colleges, have closed or announced planned closures. The website cited issues connected to accreditation, finances, enrollment, and the pandemic as the reasons for closure.

When WORLD contacted Trinity for comment, an employee at the main office said she would forward the request to Mozie. WORLD followed up later with an email to Mozie but did not receive a response before publication.

Alan Haven, associate vice president of marketing and communications for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, noted that challenges affecting Christian schools like Trinity are sad but not unique.

“Many of the demographic and financial challenges that member institutions grapple with in the current Christian higher ed market also apply to higher education in general and are not new to campus leaders and boards,” he said.

Stephen Cartwright, Trinity’s campus pastor for the 2025-26 school year, said he noticed similar challenges. Cartwright, who has worked in the Christian higher education sphere for 13 years, began working at Trinity last year. He knew the institution was experiencing some challenges when he interviewed, but he didn’t expect the school to close so soon.

He named funding as one of the biggest challenges Trinity has faced in recent years. He and Salgado pointed to a recent tuition decrease and overreliance on a small number of donors as concrete examples of financial instability.

In fall 2023, Trinity decreased its tuition from $33,800 to $19,800. According to the latest published audit in 2024, the school was operating at a net loss. Auditors remarked they had “substantial doubt” about Trinity’s ability to meet its financial obligations and continue operating. Additionally, the audit showed that an estimated 76% of all financial contributions to the school came from three donors.

Haven noted that a common challenge for colleges is “a greater reliance on philanthropic support in order to offset the traditional dependence on enrollment revenue.”

Erik Hoekstra, president of Dordt University, is a 1989 alumnus of Trinity. While he expressed sorrow at Trinity’s financial difficulties, he noted the strength that comes from a diversity of donors.

According to its latest audit in 2024, Dordt University received over $17 million in financial contributions. Hoekstra said those contributions came from between 3,000 and 4,000 donors.

But even while he sees many Christian colleges struggling with finances and enrollment, Hoekstra is optimistic about their role in higher education.

“Today there’s a tremendous opportunity for Christian universities to be distinctive, to be clear,” he said.

Kurt Dykstra, president of Trinity from 2015 to 2022, said he believes that Christian higher education is in a state of crisis. Trinity’s closure represents the heightened pressures for Christian colleges and universities, he said. While even nonreligious colleges are seeing fewer students apply today, Christian institutions have a harder time adapting.

“Christian colleges are smaller and have missions that aren’t driven by big dollars,” he said.

Dykstra loves the school and sees its closure as more than just a statistic. According to him, Trinity struggled because it is “small, young, and thinly endowed. … Seeing them shut down is a disappointment and a loss for Christian colleges.”

Students felt that loss tangibly. So did Cartwright, the campus pastor.

“In short, what I felt was just sadness,” he said. “But I also felt a focus coming on, like, ‘Oh, Lord, maybe this is part of why I’m here.’”

Cartwright decided to remain present for his students for the remainder of the school year. In the days following the announcement, he expanded his one-on-one meetings with students. “I made more availability slots in my Calendly for sure,” he said, referring to scheduling software.

He also organized a worship night focused on lament. Cartwright said students he cared for expressed a spectrum of emotions including anger, doubt, and acceptance.

On May 8, Salgado walked the stage to graduate. He has grieved the end of campus life, but he said he’s grateful for his experience at Trinity, even through the ups and downs.

“It’s sweet and beautiful that Trinity isn’t specifically a place, but it’s the people,” Salgado said. “It’s the community that was there, and it’s a blessing that that community is still out there.”