Trinity Christian College Celebrates

On Thursday, Oct. 3, distinguished guests, faculty, staff, students, and friends of Trinity Christian College gathered in the Ozinga Chapel Auditorium on a beautiful fall afternoon to “Celebrate Possibility” with the inauguration ceremony of Trinity’s ninth president, Dr. Aaron J. Kuecker.

Christian Perry (’16) opened the ceremony with a warm welcome, reflecting on his experience of more than a decade at Trinity, first as a student and now as a member of the board of trustees. He said, “Today is a good day,” as he shared how Kuecker’s leadership continues Trinity’s longstanding legacy and is shaping its future for good. The invocation was followed by the singing of “You are Good” performed by Trinity’s student worship team.

The ceremony’s keynote speaker was Dr. Victoria White. A writer, pastor, designer, coach, facilitator, and teacher, she serves as managing director of grants and awards in Leadership Education at Duke Divinity School, where she cultivates and supports innovative Christian institutions and their leaders.

As a friend of Kuecker’s, White shared stories of their friendship throughout the years and how she reacted when he told her he had accepted the position of president at Trinity Christian College. She stated that Kuecker’s humble servant leadership will be a breath of fresh air in higher education, and she shared stories of how his vastly different view of seeing abundance in the world versus scarcity will set Trinity Christian College on a path to thrive for many years.

Members of the community joined Kuecker on stage to pray for and commission the new president, led by Cynthia Coffey (’12), director of adult and graduate admissions; Dr. Mario Guzman, associate professor of psychology; Tyren Brown (’25); and Rev. Chad De Jager, a member of the board of trustees.

Dr. Leah Fulton, vice president for student life, shared quotes from the community about Kuecker’s commitment to Trinity, noting his joyful, hope-filled leadership and how he prioritizes working with students. One quote stated, “Not only has [Kuecker] led careful and strategic thinking about the direction of the college, but he has put the students, staff, and faculty at the center of his forward thinking. Aaron cares deeply for this community. Most importantly, he cares about the ways this community is a picture of Christ and the church working to bring redemption to all areas of creation through our individual and collective work.”

Also presented, as “a mosaic of Kuecker’s leadership,” was a commissioned artwork titled “Connection” by senior student Hope McIntosh (’25). A description of the artwork reads, “This painting has many layers, representing the underlying connections and invisible strings that are present yet not always seen. This painting holds a silent image of a tree, which is only seen when sought out. This painting resembles a mosaic or stained-glass window or puzzle, showing that we are all connected to one another. Connection. It surrounds us. We are all connected in God’s perfect kingdom.”

Expressing his gratitude as he took the podium for his inaugural address, Kuecker began, “There is a lovely line at the end of the book of John that states, ‘Jesus did many other things . . . if every one of them were written down, I supposed that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.’ . . . I suppose that is how I feel with my gratitude, in this moment, right now. There is so much gratitude and so many people I am grateful for in this moment, and if I spent my time telling you how grateful I am, I would go on too long.”

He continued by sharing his vision for Trinity Christian College, laying out a plan to continue work that has begun in the Transformative Colleges Initiative, which launched at the start of his leadership in 2022 and focuses on the well-being of the student and provides access to all who seek to pursue Christian higher education. 

“My consistent prayer for our community,” stated Kuecker, “is that we will contribute to a campus in which powerful teaching, a posture of love, and transformed structures work together to bear witness to Jesus and the fullness of God’s kingdom.”

Read the full story on the Trinity Christian College website.