2006-2007 Academic Year - Trinity University

TRINITY UNIVERSITY
GENERAL INFORMATION
STATEMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL MISSION
Trinity University is an independent coeducational university whose mission is excellence in the
interrelated areas of teaching, research, and service. Trinity seeks to provide broad and intensive
educational opportunities primarily to undergraduates in liberal arts and sciences, and in selected
professional and pre-professional fields. It also offers a small number of selected high quality graduate
programs.
Trinity University is dedicated to creating a superior intellectual environment by: recruiting, developing,
and retaining outstanding faculty members dedicated to teaching, to scholarship and creative endeavor,
and to service to the University and its community; identifying, and attracting talented and highly
motivated students to its predominantly full-time, residential student body; and providing a supportive
and challenging experience wherein students, faculty, and staff can realize the potential of their abilities
and engage their responsibilities to others. Trinity respects its historic ties to the Presbyterian Church,
with which it continues to have a covenant relationship.
THE CHARTER
An independent University founded in 1869 by Presbyterians, Trinity is an institution that served a full
century as “the college of The Synod of Texas.” In 1969 a covenant was adopted between the Synod
and the University, and the previous legal ties were dissolved. Trinity’s covenant is one of mutual trust
and obligation in which the Board of Trustees commits itself to continue to pursue the purposes for which
Trinity University was founded. The church pledges itself to continue its interest in and support of the
University.
The amended charter creates a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees consisting of 36 persons who have
complete control and management of the institution. The legal purpose of the corporation is to maintain
and operate a coeducational institution and to confer degrees upon graduating students and other
deserving persons. The Charter was amended in November by the Synod and Board of Trustees.
ACCREDITATION
The academic programs of Trinity University fulfill the requirements of leading accrediting and education
agencies. Accreditation materials are available in the Office of the President. Trinity University is
accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866
Southern Lane, Decatur GA, 30033, (404) 679-4500, www.sacscoc.org) to confer bachelors and
masters degrees. It also holds membership in the Association of American Colleges, the Association of
Texas Colleges, the Presbyterian College Union, the American Council on Education, and the
Independent Colleges of America.
Texas state teachers’ certificates are issued to those students who fulfill the requirements of the Texas
Education Agency. The University is a member of The American Association of Colleges for Teacher
Education and is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education for the
preparation of elementary teachers, secondary teachers, and school service personnel, with the
master’s degree.
A chapter of Phi Beta Kappa is active on the Trinity campus. In addition, Trinity University is approved
and accredited by the Texas Education Agency, the United States Office of Education, and the American
Chemical Society.
Trinity’s undergraduate Engineering Science Program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation
Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (EAC/ABET). EAC/ABET is the
only national agency that accredits engineering programs.
The Department of Music is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools
of Music, the national accrediting agency for schools and departments of music in American colleges
and universities.
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