Trinity Western University

Categories: Cleanup from August 2005 | Universities and colleges in British Columbia

Trinity Western University (TWU) is a private Liberal arts university located in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. The University, founded in 1962 currently enrolls over 3,500 students. With a broad-based arts and sciences curriculum, the University offers 48 undergraduate majors and 14 graduate programs. TWU has a thriving international and travel studies program, enabling students to study all over the world for either a few weeks in the summer (in New York City or Hong Kong, for example, studying business and commerce) or for a semester or year (as at the University of Oxford). TWU has a faculty of over 200 professors and instructors, 87% of whom hold doctorates.

University Profile

TWU's 3,500 students come from all 10 Canadian provinces, 37 U.S. states and 33 foreign countries. There are approximately 3000 undergraduate and 575 graduate students. TWU is accredited by the Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and is recognized by the United States Department of Education. The University employs 109 full-time and 98 part-time instructors, with a student/faculty ratio of 11.2 to 1, the average class size being 15.9.

The University offers several Bachelor's, Master's degree programs, and Doctor of Ministry (D.Min./D.M.) programs.

Recognitions

For two consecutive years, Trinity Western University alumni (Dorothy Peters & Matthew Thiessen) have earned the University of Oxford's prestigious "Best Dissertation" award for their graduate work.

Professor Peter Flint, Ph.D, of TWU has been appointed a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, granting the University $1.4 million for research.

TWU’s Dead Sea Scrolls Institute is home to the largest collection of primary Greek manuscripts of the New Testament in North America, fourth to Munster, the British Museum, and the Vatican.

TWU’s Septuagint Institute is the core of North America’s research, translation, and study of the earliest Greek translations of the Jewish texts.

TWU's Laurentian Leadership Centre in Ottawa provides students with the opportunity to spend a semester studying the political process in the nations capital while also completing an internship in a government office, non-governmental organization, or on Parliament Hill. Students reside on prominant Metcalfe Street, just minutes away from Parliament Hill, in the historic Booth House.

Trinity Western University is the first B.C. University, and one of six in all of Canada, to obtain Certified Financial Planner registered status, offering a bachelor-level CFP education program.

Canada's leading conservation organization, The World Wildlife Fund, has awarded Professor Karen Steensma a highly competitive $10,000 grant to complete research on the endangered Oregon Forest Snail.

The women’s soccer team is the current CIS national championship team.

31 per cent of TWU's student-athletes are CIS Academic All-Canadians.

Spartan women's volleyball assistant coach Ryan Hofer was named Male Coach of the Year by Volleyball Canada, the National Association for Volleyball in Canada.

Trinity Western University was granted exempt status from detailed reviews of its programs by the Minister of Advanced Education, becoming the first non-public institution in the province granted this standing.

In 2002, Trinity Western University president Dr. Neil Snider, was presented with the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (also called the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award). Senator St. Germain described TWU as a University which is “recognized worldwide for the excellent calibre of education that it produces.”

Trinity Western University has won four bronze awards at this year’s Council For Advancement and Support Of Education (CASE) District VIII Juried Awards Competition. The competition is held each year to acknowledge the best in university advancement projects and publications across the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada.

Members of TWU’s chamber choirs are often invited to guest perform with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, an event broadcasted on CBC Radio.

Trinity Western University vs. British Columbia College of Teachers

In 1995, TWU attempted to certify students going through its teaching 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 might 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 inquiry and erroneously concluded that equality of rights on the basis of sexual orientation trump freedom of religion and association. They do not."

Athletics and Student Government

The university is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the Trinity Western Spartans. Their students are represented by the Trinity Western University Students Union.

Notable alumni

• Nathan Braun
• Roger Cross
• Richard J. (Rick) Sutcliffe
• Phillip H. Wiebe (professor)

External links

• Trinity Western University main web site
• TWU Students Union
• Laurentian Leadership Centre
• Trinity Western University v. British Columbia College of Teachers
• Trinity Western University v. British Columbia College of Teachers