Trinity Western University
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| Trinity Western University | |
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| Motto | Turris Fortis Deus Noster (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God) |
| Established | 1962 Trinity Junior College (1962-1972), Trinity Western College (1972-1985), Trinity Western University (1986-present) |
| Type | Private |
| Religious affiliation | Christian |
| President | Dr. Jonathan S. Raymond |
| Provost | Dr. Dennis Jameson |
| Students | 4000[1] |
| Undergraduates | 2700[1] |
| Postgraduates | 603 (2005-2006) |
| Location | Langley, British Columbia, Canada |
| Campus | Suburban Rural |
| Sport Teams | Trinity Western Spartans |
| Colours | gold & blue |
| Nickname | Spartans |
| Mascot | Sparty the Spartan |
| Affiliations | ATS, CIS, CHEC, UACC, CIS, CWUAA, CUP, RSC. |
| Website | www.twu.ca |
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Trinity Western University (TWU) is a private, Christian liberal arts university located in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. The school was founded in 1962 as Trinity Junior College, and now enrolls approximately 4000[1] students and sits on a 157-acre (0.64 km2) campus.[2] TWU is known for its broad-based arts and sciences curriculum. TWU offers 42 undergraduate majors and 16 graduate and post-graduate programs.[1] Trinity Western’s travel studies and exchange program enables students to study at Trinity’s partner institutions or universities across the world for a few weeks in the summer, a semester, or a year.
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[edit] History
The Evangelical Free Churches of America established a committee in 1957 to consider the feasibility of a liberal arts college on the Pacific coast. Trinity Junior College was formed as an arts institution associated with Evangelical Free Churches of America soon after, and enrolled its first freshman class in the fall of 1962. In 1972 TW Junior College became TW College and in 1980 it awarded its first baccalaureate degrees. It was granted its present status as a privately funded Christian university in 1985 and became known as Trinity Western University.[3]
Trinity Western University's motto is "A Mighty Fortress is our God" and its colours are gold and blue. [4]
[edit] Campus
The main TWU campus consists of 157-acres on the outskirts of historic Fort Langley. Nearby is the Langley City, and the Trans-Canada Highway. The university has a significant presence in the area. The Langley campus contains several residential dormitories, in which many TWU students live. These dormitories include Douglas Hall, Fraser Hall, Northwest, Robson Hall, and McMillan Hall.
[edit] Organization
[edit] University
Trinity Western University is governed by a Board of Governors and the president who manage the institution as a whole and provide a vision for the future. The current president of TWU is Dr. Jonathan Raymond.
[edit] Students
The Trinity Western University Student Association represents the student body of the university. The student council comprises a total of 15 representatives and 8 appointed members.[5] These 23 people are divided into five different departments which fall under a sixth, the Executive. The Executive branch of student council comprises seven members. These include the President, the Vice President, the Vice President of Finance, the Vice President of Student Relations, the Vice President of Academic Relations, an Executive Director of Events, and an Executive Assistant.
The Representative Assembly consists of the following: Senior Class Representative, Junior Class Representative, Sophomore Class Representative, Freshman Class Representative, Natural and Applied Technical Sciences Representative, Humanities and Social Sciences Representative, Professional Studies and Performing Arts Representative, School of Education Representative, School of Human Kinetics Representative, and School of Business Representative.
The appointed members, in addition to the Executive Director of Events and the Executive Assistant, are the Associate Director of Services, the Associate Director of Operations, two Events Assistants (and one Groundlevel Coordinator, another member of the Events department), and a Website Developer
The other departments that make up council are as follows: Communications Department, Events Department, Media and Finance Department, Faculty Reps Department, Class Reps Department, and the Executive.
There is also a five-member Senate that deals with inner-Council issues and appeals. Complete job descriptions and Student Council structure can be found in the bylaws[6] and policy manual.[7]
[edit] Academics
[edit] Undergraduate
The University offers undergraduate majors in 100 programs (ranging from Biotechnology to European Studies to Nursing to Aviation), with over 1200 courses from which to choose.[8] The academic structure of the university is as follows:
- Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
- Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences
- Faculty of Professional Studies and Performing Arts
- School of Business
- School of Human Kinetics
- School of Education
- School of Nursing
- Redeemer Pacific College – TWU’s constituent college of Catholic studies
[edit] Graduate
The School of Graduate Studies offers 17 programs of study ranging from Interdisciplinary Humanities, to Business Administration, to Nursing, to Korean Studies, to Theology, and awards the following degrees: MA, MBA, MSN, MC, MSt, MTh, MTS, MDiv, DMin. Within these faculties and schools the University awards the following degrees: BA, BSc, BBA, BEd, BHK, BScN. Honours programs are also available in a number of majors.
[edit] University profile
Trinity Western University is a privately funded public Christian university. The TWU focus is on total student development and education. TWU is a member of the AUCC, and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, and is recognized by the United States Department of Education.The university's seminary was accredited by Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada in 1997.[9]
Trinity Western’s students[1] hail from all 10 Canadian provinces, 37 U.S. states, and 33 foreign countries: 61% Canadian,[1] 28% USA,[1] and 11% international.[1] The University employs a faculty of over 300 instructors and professors,[1] enabling a student/faculty ratio of 11 to 1, and an average class size of 16. Over 85% of the University's professors have doctorates.[8]
[edit] Programs
TWU offers a liberal arts and sciences curriculum in 45 undergraduate and 17 graduate programs within 5 faculties: arts and religious studies, business and economics, natural and applied sciences, social sciences and education. It also offers extensive seminary training whereby students can receive graduate theology degrees. Other programs include Trinity Western Educational Services and Training (TWest-Continuing Studies), cooperative education and aviation studies. Research institutes include the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute, the Ethics Institute and the Family Research Institute.[4]
[edit] Travel studies
Trinity’s international programs offer students the ability to study all over the world during the summer: studying Kinesiology while attending the 2008 Olympics in China, Coral Reef Biology in Hawaii, Johannine literature in Turkey, or Cross-cultural communications in Guatemala, among others.
Additionally, the University offers 15 semester programs which take place during the Fall and Spring terms. Trinity’s research and exchange partnership with the University of Oxford enables students to study as a visiting student at Oxford for either a semester or year.
[edit] Library
The Norma Marion Alloway Library is the main library for undergraduate students, holding a circulation of over 300,000 books, 12,000 periodical subscriptions, and computer access to thousands more titles. The University Archives house several special collections: the Mel Smith Archives, the Robert N. Thompson Archives, and the Lyle Wicks Papers, which chronicle Canada’s political history through the works and personal documents of these three political figures. The library also has a Korean collection.
The graduate school and seminaries each maintain their own individual libraries.
[edit] Satellite campuses
- Laurentian Leadership Centre – Ottawa
Trinity’s Laurentian Leadership Centre certificate program offers the rare opportunity for third and fourth year TWU students to experience a fully-credited semester of study as well as a prestigious Parliamentary, business, communications or NGO internship in Canada's national capital Ottawa. Although the program is open to students of any major, it is primarily designed for those who plan a career in political science, business, communications, history or international studies, all of which are majors at TWU. It also welcomes visiting students from other educational institutions.
Students live in a restored heritage mansion, the Booth House, just minutes from Parliament Hill, taking classes in Canadian Governmental Leadership, Ethics & Public Affairs, and Law, whilst participating in an internship in business, communications, government or non-governmental sectors.
- TWU Bellingham
Located just across the US border, classes at TWU Bellingham are taught by TWU professors and count toward a degree.
- TWU Richmond
Recently announced by President Jonathan Raymond in his 2008 State of the University Address was the grant of a rent-free 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) space to be used toward university education in Richmond.[10]
[edit] Student life
[edit] TWUSA
Trinity's students are represented by the Trinity Western University Students Association.
[edit] Athletics
The university is represented in the CIS league, the top university athletics league in Canada, by the Trinity Western Spartans.
Other teams, not part of the CIS, also compete for Trinity Western University including the TWU Titans hockey team, who compete in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League, and the Trinity Western University Bombers hockey team. TWU Titans, Soccer Male and Female team.
[edit] Fine Arts
Members of TWU’s chamber choirs are often invited to guest perform with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, performances which have been broadcast on a number of occasions on CBC Radio; as well, TWU's choirs have performed frequently with the CBC Radio Orchestra, the Vancouver Chamber Choir, and at venues including Carnegie Hall in New York City and frequent performances at the Orpheum, Vancouver, and the Chan Shun Concert Hall. TWU's Director of Choral Activities is Wes Janzen, D.M.A., a recognized choral expert at the international level[citation needed] and an adjudicator at numerous Choral Olympics events, now known as the World Choir Games.
[edit] Student Media
The official student newspaper, "Mars' Hill," is a member of Canadian University Press (CUP) and the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP). In 2006 it was a finalist for the ACP's National Pacemaker Awards for best non-daily newspaper, and won the Pacemaker in 2008.[11]
[edit] Community Covenant
From time to time TWU has garnered publicity due to the University's policy known as the "Responsibilities of Membership." As a private university, Trinity has made the decision to enact certain “responsibilities" which the University believes accompanies an atmosphere more conducive to learning and community. Beginning in the 2009-10 school year, TWU introduced a "Community Covenant" to replace the "Responsibilities of Membership."
Notably more restrictive than standards imposed by Canadian law and public universities, members of the TWU community are restricted from:[12]
- communication that is destructive to TWU community life and inter–personal relationships, including gossip, slander, vulgar/obscene language, and prejudice
- harassment or any form of verbal or physical intimidation, including hazing
- lying, cheating, or other forms of dishonesty including plagiarism
- stealing, misusing or destroying property belonging to others
- sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman
- the use of materials that are degrading, dehumanizing, exploitive, hateful, or gratuitously violent, including, but not limited to pornography
- drunkenness, under-age consumption of alcohol, the use or possession of illegal drugs, and the misuse or abuse of substances including prescribed drugs
- the use or possession of alcohol on campus, or at any TWU sponsored event, and the use of tobacco on campus or at any TWU sponsored event.
[edit] TWU vs. BC College of Teachers
In 1995, TWU launched a teaching certification program, but the British Columbia College of Teachers denied accreditation of TWU's program, arguing that the agreement students must sign is discriminatory and that those graduating from Trinity Western's program will discriminate against gay students. The lower courts in British Columbia and, later, the Supreme Court of Canada, ruled in favour of Trinity Western University, stating that there was no basis for the BCCT's decision, and, moreover, that "the concern that graduates of TWU will act in a detrimental fashion in the classroom is not supported by any evidence."
The final analysis of the case, as reported by the Factum of the Intervener, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, was that "In the circumstances of this case the Council of the B.C. College of Teachers failed to conduct such an enquiry and erroneously concluded that equality of rights on the basis of sexual orientation trump freedom of religion and association. They do not."
[edit] Notable alumni
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Fast Facts about TWU. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
- ^ "Langley Times". Langley Times. http://www.langleytimes.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=47&cat=40&id=771893&more=. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ "What Trinity Western University is All About". http://www.twu.ca/academics/calendar/ac0708-what-twu-is-all-about.pdf. Retrieved February 2009.
- ^ a b Gail Kudelik Revised: Jennifer Werden. "Trinity Western University". Thecanadianencyclopedia.com. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0010034. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ TWUSA Student Council[dead link]
- ^ TWUSA Bylaws[dead link]
- ^ TWUSA Policy Manual[dead link]
- ^ a b "Academic Calendar 2007-2008". Twu.ca. http://www.twu.ca/academics/calendar/2007-2008.aspx. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ "Member Schools". Associated Canadian Theological Schools. http://www.ats.edu/MemberSchools/Pages/SchoolDetail.aspx?ID=15. Retrieved 2006-11-14.
- ^ "Richmond Campus Announced at University Address". TWU. http://www.twu.ca/about/news/general/2008/state-of-the-university-address.html. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ "2008 ACP Newspaper Pacemaker Winners" (in English). National Scholastic Press Association/Associated Collegiate Press. http://www.studentpress.org/acp/winners/npm08.html. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ http://www.twu.ca/governance/office/twu-community-covenant-agreement.pdf
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Trinity Western University |
- Trinity Western University main web site
- Trinity Western Magazine
- Trinity Western University v. British Columbia College of Teachers
- Trinity Western University v. British Columbia College of Teachers
- Trinity Western University page at the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
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Coordinates: 49°08′25″N 122°36′03″W / 49.1403°N 122.600761°W
