Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights will permanently close at the end of the 2025-26 school year, citing financial struggles caused by declining enrollment and other factors.
The move follows the exits of some of the college’s top officials, including former President Aaron Kuecker and Vice President of Student Life Leah Fulton. Erin Nagelkirk, director of admissions, marketing and campus experience, announced in August she was laid off, though the school would not confirm how many staff were let go.
The Trinity Christian College board of trustees voted to shutter the 66-year-old Christian private college during a special meeting Nov. 3, the college said in a news release. The school plans to sell its 6601 W. College Drive buildings and land to fulfill debt obligations.
“Despite strategic efforts to adjust its growth model and eliminate its deficit, Trinity has faced fast-evolving economic and cultural realities: post-Covid financial losses, persistent operating deficits, a decline in college enrollment, increased competition for students and shifting donor giving and financial circumstances,” the college said. “These challenges impacted Trinity’s ability to continue providing a transformative, affordable education rooted in its Christian mission.”
Kuecker oversaw a 40% drop in tuition in 2023 to provide a clearer up-front cost and attract a more diverse range of students. Later that year, the college announced it would cut between six to eight of its roughly 65 faculty members and 10 of its 150 staff members.
Though the college provided few details about next steps for faculty and staff, it plans to lay off at least some employees ahead of commencement May 8.
“As we look at the wind-down process with a commitment to our students through May, there will be some positions that will not be essential throughout the coming months,” according to the college’s website. “We plan to communicate these timelines and this process as soon as we are able.”
Acting President Jeanine Mozie said in the news release the school will ensure a smooth transition for students not on track to graduate in May, providing them “advising, support and a multitude of resources.”
“Our deepest commitment in this season is to care for our people, particularly our students, faculty and staff, as we mourn this ending,” Mozie said. “Our leadership team is deeply saddened, and we dedicate ourselves in service to the Trinity community until we close our doors.”
Several students on Trinity’s campus Tuesday afternoon declined to be interviewed but said emotions were high as many were shocked by the news.
In a video posted online, Mozie said the trustees worked to consider every possible option in the face of financial challenges, but said there “is no sustainable path forward for our beloved institution.”
The college plans to guide students as they determine next steps, such as teach-out and transfer opportunities offered by other Christian institutions including Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais and Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
“Students have multiple options with comparable academic offerings, affordability and student programming that offers them the opportunity to stay on the same timetable to graduation,” the news release said. Faculty and staff will also receive guidance as they transition from their roles.
Officials from Olivet Nazarene University said in a news release they have worked with Trinity and are welcoming students from the Palos Heights college with open arms, offering “streamlined credit transfer processes and dedicated advising.”
“We’re sister institutions in faith and mission,” said Mark Reddy, vice president for enrollment management at Olivet. “When students are ready to write their next chapter, we’re honored to walk alongside them at Olivet.”
The Park Forest-based Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra has rehearsed and performed at Ozinga Chapel on the Trinity campus. Organizers said they were working diligently Tuesday to gather details on how the closing would affect its programs, but said all concerts scheduled for this year remain unchanged.
The most recent closure follow cuts at other Chicago area colleges and universities, with small religious schools in particular struggling with inflation and demographic shifts.
Moody Bible Institute in Chicago’s River North neighborhood let go of
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between 8% and 9% of its staff in May as part of a broader restructuring, the baiduhai reported. Its enrollment numbers show a steep drop in matriculating students over the past decade.Just north of Springfield, Lincoln Christian University shut down last spring, following in the footsteps of Lincoln College, a predominantly Black school a few miles away that closed two years earlier.
“Across the country and, I’m sure, across Illinois, the percentage of kids who are choosing a Bible institute has dropped dramatically from 50 or 100 years ago,” James Fraser, a professor emeritus at New York University who specializes in religion and higher education, told the Tribune. “On the other hand, a school can thrive catering to a small but very focused group.”
While not a Bible school, the small, arts-focused Columbia College Chicago laid off 20 full-time faculty members in June as part of planned cuts to the college’s programming, the Tribune reported. The school has been plagued by financial troubles for years, with a budget deficit once expected to reach nearly $40 million. The school’s cost-cutting initiatives in December reduced the number of undergraduate degrees offered from 58 to 33.
Trinity Christian College’s founders began work in the 1950s to form the institution, according to the college’s website. The first board of trustees was elected in 1959, and purchased the Navajo Hills Golf Course in Palos Heights for the campus, opening that fall as a two-year college with 37 students and five faculty members.
In 1966, the board initiated the process for the college to become a four-year, degree-granting institution, the website states. The first baccalaureate degrees were awarded in May 1971.
“The Trinity story is enduring,” Mozie said. “It lives in the generations of people who have been formed by the faithful service of this community and will continue to impact their own communities for years to come.”