History and Mission

A private career-oriented Catholic college in the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy, Trocaire 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.

History and Mission
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Trocaire College, the only independent private, two-year college in the City of Buffalo, was founded in 1958 by the Sisters of Mercy as Sancta Maria College, offering higher educational opportunities to women of the Order. The College gained distinction early on in the field of Nursing and Health Science education. In 1967, in an effort to honor the heritage of the founding Sisters, the College's name was officially changed to Trocaire., the Gaelic word for mercy. Trocaire granted admission to lay female students in 1965 and male students in 1972.

The college has evolved extensively over the past 50 years as it has arrived at its current structure. The Trocaire College of today is a vibrant, multi-dimensional coeducational Catholic college which continues to operate in the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy.

The College's mission to create a community of learning in which students are empowered to discover themselves and gain access to professions in healthcare, business and hospitality, is firmly rooted in our desire to improve the quality of life of those students we serve.

Our first-ever capital campaign with the Sisters of Mercy, Support Hope, successfully generated the funds needed to undertake and complete a major renovation project that consolidated all operations in one main building.

Many firsts have occurred at the college in Trocaire's 50+ years, including:

  • The initiation of the first private college Associate Degree Nursing program in Western New York
  • The first and only remaining Associate Degree Radiologic Technology (Diagnostic) program in Erie County
  • The first Evening Nursing program in Western New York

More recently, the College has expanded and strengthened program offerings to include:

  • Bachelor of Science 2+2 program in Nursing
  • Bachelor of Science 2+2 program in Radiologic Technology