BRIEF HISTORY

 

Trinity University of Asia, formerly called Trinity College of Quezon City, is the first full-fledged educational institution organized from the concordat of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines and the Iglesia Filipina Independiente. It is a private, non-profit, and church-related institution of learning founded in 1963.

Trinity University of Asia was launched by 160 shares of Procter and Gamble stock. It all started when Paul Matthews, who married Elsie Procter, whose grandfather founded Procter and Gamble Company, became the Episcopal Bishop of New Jersey, USA in 1951. Both the Matthews and the Gamble families were greatly interested in the missionary work of the Episcopal Church.

In 1922, Mrs. Mortimer Matthews presented to the Rt. Rev. Gouverneur Mosher, then Bishop of the Philippines, 60 shares of Procter and Gamble stock while Bishop Matthews added 100 shares the following year. The total shares of 160, valued then at $25,000, went to a trust fund to be spent in any way the Bishop of the Philippines considered most helpful to the work of the Church.

In 1961, the stock had increased to 867 shares, valued at $491,361.82. The Rt. Rev. Lyman C. Ogilby, then Bishop of the Philippine Episcopal Church, felt the funds would be best spent to set up a Christian school of high standards. It was then used to purchase the former Capitol City College from the P.E. Domingo family in 1963.

The former Trinity College of Quezon City was named after Trinity College of Hartford, Connecticut, USA, whose president then was Bishop Ogilby’s father. Dr. Arthur L. Carson was its first president. Dr. Arturo M. Guerrero, who succeeded him in 1967, served for 16 years until his death in 1983. Executive vice-president Ester A. Santos was appointed officer-in-charge until the third president, Dr. Rafael B. Rodriguez,  assumed  office  in  1984.  Col. Rizalino Cabanban was officer-in-charge from 1996 to 1997. Dr. Orlando B. Molina became fourth president and served from 1998 to 2001. In 2002, Dr. Josefina L. Sumaya became the fifth president  of Trinity College of Quezon City and the first president of Trinity University Asia in 2006. Dr. Wilfred U. Tiu served as the sixth president of Trinity University of Asia in 2017. Dr. Gisela D.A. Luna now stands as the current University President, having assumed office in 2022.

Trinity University of Asia started as a one-building campus. The administrative and college units moved to its present tree-lined campus on Cathedral Heights in November 1968 upon completion of the Science Building. It was constructed by a grant from The Netherlands government. Enrollment was high until tragedy struck on November 26, 1969 when fire razed the original plant housing the High School and the Elementary School at 226 E. Rodriguez, Sr. Avenue. However, with the help of students, alumni, and friends, here and abroad, an L-shaped three-storey building worth more than a million pesos was constructed. A gymnasium was built which was funded by the United Thank Offering of the Episcopal Churchwomen in 1971.

Subsequent additions to the campus skyline were the Trinity College Learning Center for Children (TLCC) which was built with funds bequeathed by Miss Mary Niven Alston, and the library building named the Wayland S. Mandell Hall, after the first chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mandell Hall was constructed and equipped with a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), American schools and hospitals abroad plus funds from the Booth Ferris Foundation, friends, and alumni.

A three-storey Elementary School building was funded by donors, led by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA) based in New York, USA and St. Margaret’s School in Tokyo, Japan. The two-storey Cabanban Memorial Hall houses the Computer Center for the High School and the Elementary School. Donations by the government of Japan and Trinity supporters made possible the two-storey Trinitian Center for Community Development (TCCD), formerly CAUSE Resource Center for various volunteer outreach projects.

Trinity also excels in sports. In 1985, it joined the National College Athletic Association (NCAA). In 2001, it was affiliated with the Colleges and Universities Sports Association (CUSA) where it won several gold medals in basketball, volleyball, swimming, chess, and tennis tournaments. Such competitions enable the students to spend leisure time productively through regular fitness and sports development activities.

In 1995, Trinity was recognized by then President Fidel V. Ramos as the “Friendliest School for the Disabled.” In 2002, the Zobel Foundation provided scholarship grants to members of the Disabled Enablement and Empowerment Program (DEEP), The University is also linked up with many non-governmental civic organizations, thereby continuing the tradition of caring for the underprivileged and the disabled.

The new millennium saw the construction of the Health Sciences Center, Ann Keim Barsam Hall, the two-storey Foodcourt, Patio Trinidad, and the Swimming Pool. The Health Sciences Center houses the College of Medical Technology, St. Luke’s College of Nursing, Health Sciences Library, and Audio-Visual Room. The Ann Keim Barsam Hall houses the Graduate School, College of Business Administration, Research and Development Center, Audio-Visual Room, Conference Room, and the KOBE International University Research Room.

Recently completed additional buildings and facilities were the University House, the University Chapel and Prayer Garden and the Student Center with a theater-type auditorium.

Sustaining its image nationally and internationally paved the way to its university status granted on 18 July 2006 by the Commission on Higher Education.

Trinity University of Asia was also awarded with Institutional Accreditation Status by The Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP) in August 2009. By December 10 of the same year, the university was granted Autonomous Status. The Autonomous Status is one of the most distinguished awards bestowed by CHED to private schools for their enormous contribution in the growth and development of tertiary education in the country and the Asia Pacific region.

Completing the distinctions earned by the University is the ISO certification issued by TÜV Rheinland after the university successfully met the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System Standards.