Mission Statement

Trocaire College - a private career-oriented Catholic College in the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy - strives to empower students toward personal enrichment, dignity and self-worth through education in a variety of professions and in the liberal arts. Recognizing the individual needs of a diverse student body, Trocaire College provides life learning and development within a community-based environment. Trocaire College prepares students for service in the universal community.

Vision Statement

Trocaire is the college where lives are transformed. Our students will be graduates of choice in career-oriented professions.

History

Trocaire College, a private coeducational Catholic College with a strong liberal arts core, was established by the Buffalo Regional Community of the Sisters of Mercy in 1958 and is a member of the Conference for Mercy Higher Education (CMHE). The College is governed by a Board of Trustees. It has a liberal arts core curriculum which provides the essential backdrop against which all programs of study are formed. Trocaire College is chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York and confers the degrees of Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Professional Studies, and Associate in Arts, Associate in Applied Science, and Associate in Science. It is also authorized to confer Pre-Baccalaureate Certificates.

Chartered in 1958, the former Sancta Maria Junior College opened with an enrollment of young religious women preparing to be educators. The status of the College changed in 1965 when the State Education Department extended the charter to permit the admission of laywomen. The curriculum was enlarged to meet the needs of the community which demanded increased opportunities for postsecondary education.

In June 1967, Trocaire College graduated its first lay students. A few months before, the name Sancta Maria, had been changed to Trocaire College, the Gaelic word for Mercy. The change gave the College a distinctive name and one significant for a Community dedicated by its foundress, Catherine McAuley, to the works of mercy.

In 1971, Trocaire College became a coeducational institution. The first male students were admitted in the fall of 1972.

In the late 1990s, Trocaire College undertook major renovations under the Support Hope capital campaign. A new four-story wing was built at 360 Choate Avenue. All classrooms, the library, and other offices housed at 110 Red Jacket Parkway were moved to Choate Avenue. State of the art computer and science labs were added to respond to the needs of the 21st century.

Through the generosity of Russell J. Salvatore, the Russell J. Salvatore School of Hospitality and Business was established at the College’s Extension Center (Trocaire Achievement Complex) at 6681 Transit Road, Williamsville, NY and opened in 2007. The site expanded with a second floor in 2009. In 2019, the Trocaire Technology Institute was also established at the site, now named the Trocaire Achievement Complex. Trocaire College’s charter was amended by the Regents of the University of the State of New York in 2009 to allow the College to confer the degree of Bachelor of Science. Trocaire College now offers several programs at the Bachelor’s level. Academic offerings at Trocaire College have continued to expand in response to community needs as determined through community surveys and analysis of local, regional and national trends.