The recent announcement that Trinity Christian College will close in May hit hard. For Chicago-area residents, this 66-year-old liberal arts college has been an anchoring institution, dedicated to cultivating thoughtful scholars and skilled practitioners. As a former Trinity faculty member, I mourn for colleagues now forced to seek new positions in a slack labor market and for students leaving the familiarities of a tight-knit learning community.

But I also feel a kind of survivor’s guilt. Now employed at Calvin University, I find myself witnessing my former college’s final months from one of three “teach-out” schools formally welcoming Trinity students to complete their degrees. My attempted condolences feel laced with opportunism.

This personal dissonance echoes a broader question:

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