Students Are Central to Success

For Belle Wheelan ’72, studying at Trinity University was like a dream come true. As a San Antonio native, Wheelan had always passed by the “University in the Sun” and thought, “One day, maybe.” After receiving her acceptance letter at just 16 years old, Wheelan stepped onto campus as a student and was met with remarkable warmth and a community where she belonged. 

From making the cheerleading team as a first-year student to becoming the president of her sorority chapter her senior year, Wheelan’s time at Trinity was marked by engagement, hard work, and a spirit of helpfulness from peers and professors alike. “All your professors knew your name; they made it a point to learn who you were. Classmates actually got together and helped each other,” Wheelan says. “I carried that involvement and student-centeredness with me professionally as I began my career and always tried to keep students first.”

Since graduating from Trinity, Wheelan has become a leader in higher education, from teaching at San Antonio College to serving as president of Northern Virginia Community College, as Virginia’s secretary of education, and, most recently, as president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, from which she retired in July. While her career has taken her to many different universities and colleges, Wheelan remains dedicated to her alma mater. She’s given consecutively to Trinity for the last 24 years, making her Trinity True, a designation given to Trinity community members who support the University consistently over time, regardless of the amount they give annually. 

Leaning on her motto, “Students are central to success,” Wheelan prioritizes access to education through both her work and her annual giving. “Someone invested in me when I went through Trinity, because I attended on scholarship,” Wheelan explains, “so it seemed appropriate that I gave back so somebody else could matriculate as well.”

Wheelan is sharply focused on the student experience and firmly believes that education prepares students for life by developing perspective and a greater appreciation for the rest of the world. “If you had a good experience and you know that there are students who wouldn’t have that experience were it not for your generosity, then you should give back,” Wheelan says. 

Although Wheelan graduated from Trinity more than 50 years ago, her belief in the “University in the Sun” remains, and her gifts help empower students to access the warmth of a Trinity education.