PRESIDENT'S REPORT: 2021-2022
This is our moment.
August 18, 2022
Letter from 20th President Vanessa B. Beasley
What an exciting time it is to join Trinity University as your 20th President. Thanks to the efforts of my predecessor, Dr. Danny Anderson, and many of you, Trinity stands on a solid foundation, poised for even greater success.
This report demonstrates how Trinity has fostered student success through enduring excellence, intentional inclusion, and perpetual discovery. As we begin this academic year, our students are more academically talented and diverse. Our faculty and staff are more capable and committed. And our alumni and friends are more engaged and energized than ever.
I join this institution at a significant moment as we celebrate our newly-earned classification as a National Liberal Arts institution by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education. This is an important milestone and one that we can continue to build upon in the coming years.
I am thrilled to begin immersing myself in what it means to be a Trinity Tiger, and I am excited by the multitude of opportunities that are in front of us today. Together, we will ensure Trinity University’s best days still lie ahead.
Let’s get to work!
REPORT CONTENTS
The Trinity Story
Trinity University makes a bold move into the national spotlight. Jump to Section
Student Success
Trinity's commitment to the student experience is all about access. Jump to Section
Culture and Community
The University makes forward movement through inclusive excellence. Jump to Section
Sustainable Future
University supporters are Tigers at heart. Jump to Section
Budget and Operations
Fiscal measures focused on student success. Jump to Section
Campus Impact
Meet Trinity University's leadership boards. Jump to Section
THE TRINITY STORY
Making Big Moves
Trinity University is celebrating its newly earned classification by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as a Baccalaureate Arts & Sciences institution.
As a result, Trinity will move to the National Liberal Arts category in the U.S. News & World Report rankings this fall. The move better reflects Trinity’s core mission and positions the University for greater national recognition.
Read About the Reclassification
Why now?
Trinity University has been No. 1 in the West for 29 of the past 30 years. Making the bold move to step onto the national stage reflects our commitment to playing a transformative role in the future of the liberal arts nationally.
Exceptional Student Profile
Trinity University is home to the best and brightest, and the recent cohorts of incoming students prove it. Over the last three years, Trinity has seen a marked increase in quality and diversity of incoming students, and the Class of 2026 is no exception.
$1.7 Billion Endowment
The University uses a growing endowment—its value among the top 60 of all colleges and universities in the nation—to enable access to a Trinity education, regardless of financial need.
Increased National Rankings
The University is on the rise in rankings across the nation, including moving from No. 42 to No. 38 in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education’s list of the nation’s best liberal arts colleges, and from No. 98 to No. 89 in College Consensus’ list of the best universities in the nation.
RANKINGS AND ACCOLADES
Trinity's academic programs and outstanding students are consistently ranked among the best in the nation by respected sources each year.
STUDENT SUCCESS
All About Access
Trinity University's Class of 2026 continues to raise the bar, in academics and in diversity. As of June 1, 2022, Trinity accepted 31% of applicants from a pool of more than 11,400 applications. Of those admitted, the middle 50% had SAT scores from 1340 to 1470 and GPAs of 3.7 to 4.0.
The University continues to prioritize accessibility of its liberal arts education, regardless of a student’s background or socioeconomic status. Trinity’s partnership (Trinity Community Investment) with the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) has proved a valuable asset for this initiative. The program has continued to gain momentum, taking root in the San Antonio community. This fall, Trinity enrolled 17 students from SAISD, more than doubling the number from last year.
For the Class of 2026:
49% identify with an underrepresented background
15% students from San Antonio
6.4% international students
16% Pell-eligible students
15% first-generation college students
Bolstering Student Success Services
Trinity University continues to deliver an exceptional and accessible student experience by charting individual, tailored paths to success.
Changing Course
In Trinity's Office of Academic Advising, a team of six dedicated staff academic advisers guide new students through Trinity's curriculum. This new office shows Trinity's commitment of significant resources toward improving advising, teaching, and academic support at the University.
Resilient Success
Student Accessibility Services has launched several creative initiatives to improve opportunities for the 15% of the student body it serves. In addition to a new accommodation management system, the team has launched new literacy tools, telepresence robots, captioning solutions, and note-taking tools.
Professional Pipeline
The Center for Experiential Learning and Career Success (CELCS) has met a high demand for Trinity graduates by expanding access to volunteer and internship opportunities, undergraduate research openings, career and graduate school exploration tools, and interview prep.
Record-Breaking Outcomes
98%
2021 Outcomes Rate
as defined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)
Tigers in the undergraduate Class of 2021 achieved a 98% positive outcomes rate, the highest in Trinity’s recorded history. That means new graduates are busy changing the world in new careers, graduate schools, fellowships, the military, and other ways. Employers increasingly value the problem-solving and creative thinking skills that are instilled through experiential learning, rooted in the liberal arts.
CULTURE AND COMMUNITY
Striving for Inclusive Excellence
Inclusive Excellence Advisory Council
In 2022, Trinity convened the Inclusive Excellence Advisory Council. This campus-wide group, consisting of more than 70 students, staff, and faculty, is charged with helping develop strategy and taking action related to our Inclusive Excellence efforts. This initiative calls for actions of radical empathy by considering another person’s point of view in order to connect more deeply with them.
Associate Vice President for Inclusive Excellence
Wilson Terrell Jr., Ph.D., has been named Trinity’s first-ever associate vice president for Academic Affairs for Inclusive Excellence. Terrell will be tasked with helping Trinity foster an environment where people can connect across differences, act with radical empathy, and nurture enduring relationships. He moves into this new role in his 19th year with Trinity, where he’s served as associate professor of engineering science.
Dr. Deneese L. Jones Award for Inclusive Excellence
The new award is named after Trinity’s recently retired chief academic officer and recognizes excellence in inclusivity in the Trinity community.
Deneese L. Jones Award Recipients
PLUS + other faculty and staff awards include:
SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Supporting One Trinity
Fiscal Year 2022 saw a record-breaking year of giving, thanks to Trinity alumni, parents, and friends who recognize the value of a Trinity education and seek to provide access to our educational opportunities for generations of Tigers to come.
AMOUNT RAISED
$32.8M
in gifts and pledges
- $14,626,716 Alumni
- $8,490 Current Students
- $4,562,437 Estates & Trusts
- $141,931 Faculty & Staff
- $740,469 Friends
- $7,179,381 Organizations
- $5,499,827 Parents
NUMBER OF DONORS
7,530
donors
- 4,038 Alumni
- 402 Current Students
- 22 Estates & Trusts
- 214 Faculty & Staff
- 1,299 Friends
- 241 Organizations
- 1,314 Parents
Trinity is thankful for every gift from alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff, and friends. The University also recognizes and thanks the members of its Board of Trustees, constituents of these groups, for their generous and continued support.
$25M Gift is Largest in Trinity's History
In Fall 2021, Trinity University announced a $25 million gift from Trustee Emeritus and the late Michael Neidorff ’65 and the Neidorff Family Trust for the University’s AACSB-accredited business school. This transformational donation is the single largest in the University’s history. In appreciation of the gift, Trinity’s business school was named the Michael Neidorff School of Business.
Read About the Gift Explore the Neidorff School of Business
Dicke Hall
The 2021-22 academic year saw significant progress on the building of Dicke Hall, Trinity’s new home for the humanities. The building will open to students, faculty, and staff for classes and collaboration in Fall 2022.
Beneski Parkway
A $3 million gift from Ted and Laurie Beneski P’11, P’14 inspired the naming of Beneski Parkway, Trinity’s new front entrance to campus off Hildebrand Avenue. The parkway will be dedicated in late August 2022, and is open for traffic onto the northern end of campus.
Annual Giving updates
2021's 1869 Challenge Smashes Records
Support from Athletic and Greek Alumni helped catapult the University toward record-breaking giving goals, and had a meaningful effect on increasing overall alumni participation.
Endowment Support
First-Generation Financial Support
The J.R. Hurd Scholarship Challenge, a FY21 initiative to endow five new scholarships for first-generation Trinity students, inspired a new initiative for FY22: Lissa Walls ’80 has pledged $1M to match up to 20 gifts of $50,000 each dedicated to scholarships for first-generation students.
In the spirit of One Trinity...
Donors and friends have also supported signature faculty and student initiatives.
Recognizing Faculty Achievement
The Board of Trustees recently created the Danny J. Anderson Faculty Prize, in recognition of our former President. The prize will honor faculty members for outstanding mentoring of research students. The honorees will be announced each spring at the final Academic Faculty Assembly. Awardees will receive $2,000 and their names will be added to a plaque.
ALE Internship Fund
Trinity graduate Carey Joullian ‘82 has established the ALE Internship Fund, which will provide money to support internships through the Arts, Letters, and Enterprise Internship Program. Joullian is the president, CEO, and chairman of the board of Mustang Fuel Corporation and its subsidiaries. He has been a Trinity Trustee since 2005, and has served the University in many other capacities over the years.
Supporting Student Orgs
Trustee and alumni Steve Mach ‘92 has committed funding to Trinity’s Trap and Skeet team to meet their annual program budget needs for the next four years. The team competes competitively in the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) Regionals and Nationals every year in San Antonio, and has consistently placed in the upper tier of national and international Division III clay target competitions.
BUDGET & OPERATIONS
Resources for Recognition
Trinity continues to effectively manage its balanced budget, in spite of a challenging economic climate, the persistence of COVID 19, and the continuing pressures facing all of higher education. While the FY22 budget included expense budget reductions of $10 million, the University was able to provide a 3% raise pool for employees, restore the retirement contribution match to 10% (effective 1/1/2022), and provide funding for a comprehensive staff compensation study.
A balanced budget was developed for FY23, but during Spring 2022 it became clear that the budget would need to be modified as a response to inflationary pressures. A proposal was developed to provide short-term bridge funding through a special distribution from endowment minerals revenue in the operating budget.
This revenue, totaling $5.3 million, supports a merit raise pool of 5.5% for faculty and staff (originally planned for 3%), which we believe is a necessary response to the current high-inflation to ensure that we retain and attract faculty and staff talent essential to our mission. The special distribution also includes a reserve for mid-year budget adjustments, if needed. As has been our practice for the last two years, the University will review the budget in late summer, and if material changes are necessary, present a revised budget at the September Board of Trustees meeting.
$162.2M
total revenues for FY23
(an increase of $13.9M from FY22)
$11M
increase in compensation budget
(an increase of 13.9% from FY22)
CAMPUS IMPACT
Trinity University Boards
The University welcomed four new members to its Board of Trustees in the 2021-22 academic year, bringing its total to 34 members and two constituent representatives.
Shari Becker Albright '83, M'86, William Scanlan Jr., and Nicholas A. Severino '88 began their terms in February 2022, and Darsh Preet Singh '08 in September 2022.
Archive
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