Document Type
Article
Abstract
This past May, I marched in the final commencement of Trinity Christian College, a Reformed liberal arts institution where I had taught and researched for two decades.
Before the ceremony, I revisited Groot Hall, home of my old office building. It looked less ransacked than I had expected, probably because the professors had been too busy finishing up grades to pack. I made my way down its narrow hallways to the converted dorm room that had been my academic office. I had loved its high ceilings, designed in the 1970s for bunk beds, then converted to a space that welcomed my bookshelves. Standing by my old desk, I could feel again the vocational dignity Trinity had afforded me even while the college’s low enrollments had given it little status in the world of higher education. Yes, many people confused the college with another frail institution about thirty miles to the north, Trinity International University. And, sure, my college’s mascot, the Troll, selected for its alliteration in the 1950s, had been complicated by its internet connotations after the 2010s. Still, Trinity made me stand tall in my vocation. I had always wished to retire from the professoriate as a Troll.
Publication Date
8-27-2026
Recommended Citation
Mattson, Craig, "When a University Dies" (2026). University Faculty Publications and Creative Works. 1150.
https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/calvin_facultypubs/1150