Enrollment declined sharply, indebtedness and faculty attrition mounted, and trustees began using endowment funds to maintain daily operations.

Consequently, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed Trinity's accreditation status on probation in 1936, jeopardizing its future.

San Antonio community leaders, who wished to maintain a Protestant-affiliated college in the city, approached Trinity with a relocation offer.

Lacking adequate facilities, the university functioned by using military barracks and quonset huts to house students and to provide library and classroom space.

[9] In 1945, Trinity acquired a former limestone quarry for a new campus and hired Texas architect O'Neil Ford to design a master plan and many of the buildings.

Laurie was responsible for drastically increasing Trinity's endowment, largely funded by the James A. and Leta M. Chapman Charitable Trust of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

For example, Trinity transformed into a residential undergraduate school, requiring all freshmen to live on campus and cutting the number of master's programs offered from more than 20 to four.

[12] Calgaard's successor, John R. Brazil, focused on replacing outdated campus buildings and improving the school's financial resources.

[17] Danny J. Anderson, a Latin American literature scholar and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas, succeeded Ahlburg as president in May 2015,[18] serving until May 31, 2022.

[20] Anderson also implemented several initiatives aimed at increasing the school's inclusivity, and by the end of his term 40% of Trinity's student body came from underrepresented backgrounds.

Vanessa Beasley, former vice provost for academic affairs, dean of residential faculty, and associate professor of communication studies at Vanderbilt University was named Anderson's successor on May 31, 2022.

[21] Trinity overlooks downtown San Antonio and is adjacent to the Monte Vista Historic District and just south of the cities of Olmos Park and Alamo Heights.

The 125-acre (0.5 km2) Skyline Campus, the university's fourth location, is noted for its distinctive red-brick architecture and well-maintained grounds, modeled after an Italian village, by late architect O'Neil Ford.

[22] Miller Residence Hall,[23] home to first-year students at Trinity University, was renovated and updated in 2010, earning gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council in the process.

In addition, Calvert Hall, the Thomas-Lightner complex, and The Center for the Sciences and Innovation[24] have been registered with the Green Building Council's LEED program and are awaiting certification.

The tower is now lit at night (excepting evenings when the lighting interferes with on-campus astronomical observances), a tradition begun on September 22, 2002, to commemorate Trinity's 60th anniversary in San Antonio.

[28] In 2006, the Ruth Taylor Fine Arts Center, consisting of the Jim and Janet Dicke Art Building, the Campbell and Eloise Smith Music Building, and the Ruth Taylor Recital Hall was substantially renovated under the guidance of Kell Muñoz Architects, providing 20,000 additional square feet of space.

It was designed by the San Antonio architectural firm Lake Flato Architects using a mass-timber structural system also known as Engineered wood.

The full-time, four-year undergraduate program is classified as "more selective, lower transfer-in" and has an arts and sciences focus with some graduate student coexistence.

[35] Trinity is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa society.

[36] Trinity offers 47 majors and 59 minors in the traditional liberal arts, business, sciences, fine arts, and engineering, and graduate programs in accounting, teaching, school psychology, school administration, and health care administration[5] and is the only university in San Antonio to offer a minor in creative writing.

In 1991, the New York Times reported that Trinity had discontinued campus Greek organizations right to pledge new members as a result of being in violation of the university's alcohol use policy.

Trinity defeated the 2015 champion, SUNY Cortland twice in the bracket rounds of the tournament en route to the championship.

[77] Club sports include men's and women's tennis, lacrosse, water polo, fencing, ultimate frisbee,[78] and trap and skeet.