Trinity fireworks over Northrup Hall
Anniversary Celebrations
Trinity displays growth at major milestones

Trinity’s 150th celebration isn’t the first time the University has reminisced on its past. As Trinity reached its semicentennial, centennial, and sesquicentennial markers, we’ve viewed these periods as turning points in a larger story. And as Trinity continues to reach more milestones, building momentum as an innovative, forward-thinking institution along the way, these anniversary celebrations also serve as opportunities to anticipate our ambitious next steps.

In 1919, President Samuel Hornbeak (left) led a celebration in Waxahachie

Trinity at 50

By 1919, Trinity University had already changed campuses once (from Tehuacana to Waxahachie), seen 6,500 students matriculate, and granted 500 bachelor's degrees.

These graduates included 175 teachers, 115 ministers, 45 lawyers, 12 physicians, and 9 foreign missionaries. Of those who did not graduate, it was estimated that at least 100 entered the ministry.

At this semicentennial mark, President Samuel L. Hornbeak decided to capitalize on the anniversary by beginning a drive to raise Trinity’s endowment to the million-dollar level, eventually hoping to appeal to wealthy friends of the university and national philanthropic organizations such as the Carnegie and Rockefeller foundations. This drive began with a two-day kickoff celebration on campus with hundreds of graduates and former students in attendance. 

The celebration included a memorial service for students who had died in the first world war, meetings of the Alumni and Former Students' Association, and a pageant depicting "Fifty Years of College Life".

President Laurie and student hold up centennial flag


Trinity at 100

By 1969, Trinity had moved to its skyline campus in San Antonio, and was in the midst of an ambitious development of both its campus and academic resources.

This development, commonly known as the “miracle on Trinity Hill,” was spearheaded by President James Laurie. Through shrewd planning, financial acumen and forward-thinking leadership, Laurie has been widely credited with creating much of the foundations—literally and figuratively—of the University we see today. 

As U.S. President John Kennedy would use the looming end of the 1960s as a deadline for reaching the moon, so had Laurie used Trinity’s upcoming centennial in 1969 as an ambitious deadline for reimagining the University’s potential.

Starting in the 1950s, Laurie would use Trinity’s approaching 100-year mark to light a fire under the posteriors of donors, developers, architects, faculty and the rest of the Trinity community. Trinity would immediately embark on a fifty million dollar academic and campus development campaign, resulting in a master plan that saw forty-two buildings erected with only an auditorium remaining to be completed by 1968.

Physical changes weren’t Laurie’s only contribution. In 1969, Laurie also oversaw a change in Trinity’s longstanding relationship with the Presbyterian Church, as the University would enter into a covenant with the presbyterians that severed official church association but preserved an amicable relationship moving forward.

Laurie, left, also used the centennial to pass the torch to future president Duncan Wimpress.

With so many changes to mark and achievements to celebrate, Trinity finally reached its centennial in 1969. The university used the milestone to reflect on its origins, and staged a series of celebratory events to mark the occasion. 

Beginning with a Founders' Day centennial flag-raising ceremony and an all-school picnic, the campus community honored the pioneers who established Trinity in the village of Tehuacana in 1869. Other events included symposiums, the publication by Trinity University Press of a series of University histories, and a ceremony marking the return of the Waxahachie main building's cornerstone to the Trinity campus. A musical dramatization of Trinity's first 100 years, Follow the Sun, was presented in conjunction with the Dallas Theater Center and performed for Trinity audiences as well. 

These celebrations were bittersweet, as Laurie used the centennial to make one final change: he announced his intention to step down as president, and handed the reigns to Duncan Wimpress in 1970.

Collage of Trinity service event at San Antonio Food Bank


Trinity at 150

At Trinity’s sesquicentennial, the University launched a yearlong celebration.

Starting in February, President Danny Anderson kicked off the festivities with a day of service.

This big ask was a call for Trinitonians to do what they do best: serving their communities. 

More than 500 students, faculty, staff, and alumni stepped up to the challenge, not only in San Antonio, but through various Trinity Alumni Association chapters throughout the country. In one day, Trinity Tigers provided 13 community agencies with more than 1,500 hours of service toward a goal of 150,000 hours of service in 2019.

Volunteers began the day with inspirational remarks by Goodwill CEO Kevin Bergner ’79, who encouraged students, faculty, staff, and alumni to embrace Trinity’s tradition of thinking deeply and acting meaningfully. From there, hundreds of participants fanned out across the city to perform acts of service from assembling food boxes for senior citizens at the San Antonio Food Bank to clearing brush at McAllister Park.

Collage of Trinity 150th celebration with fireworks and festival


Following an afternoon of service, participants returned to campus to celebrate with food and drink, carnival rides, a beer garden, petting zoo, and live music. San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg ’99 shared his Trinity memories with the crowd. A spectacular fireworks show capped off the evening, shooting into the sky over Northrup Hall.

These celebrations also marked the launch of this unique website, which explores Trinity’s history and momentum and will continue to be updated throughout the year with new content. The University has also published a commemorative book: Trinity University: Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future.

Through the year, the 150th celebration has also been an opportunity for reunions across Trinity’s academic departments. Notably, Trinity’s choral program invited its past and present members to reconnect with longtime friends, relive their choir memories, and re-energize your passion for music at the Alumni Choir Festival, the largest gathering of choir alumni in Trinity’s history.

Trinity representatives are honored by Governor Greg Abbott


Trinity’s 150th milestone was also honored with an official proclamation at the Texas legislature, presided over by Governor Greg Abbott.

Going into the fall, Trinity’s 150th party isn’t over! The University community is eagerly anticipating Alumni Weekend this October 4-6. Events will include the ever-popular “class without a quiz,” Fiesta with the faculty, a tour of campus memories, the Trinity vs. Austin College football game, and a 150th Block Party on Oakmont Court, where alumni can stroll through the decades of the 1960s to 2010s at each University home. This weekend’s series of events will be a memorable opportunity to celebrate reunions, reconnect with special friends, and feel at home back at Trinity.

LeeRoy Tiger is Trinity's lovable mascot, spreading #TigerPride wherever he goes.

You might be interested in