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Back to the February 2006 Newsletter Index THE ‘HAIL MARY’ IS NOT JUST A FOOTBALL PLAY AT THESE SCHOOLSIn 1976, at a meeting at Notre Dame University hosted by Notre Dame President Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, a group of Catholic university presidents joined the cultural revolution sweeping the country by signing a statement entitled The Nature of the Catholic University. With this document, which came to be known as the “Land O’ Lakes” statement, the signers formally broke with the Church, declaring their intention not to be bound by her teachings. The fallout from that statement has rendered once-faithful Catholic colleges and universities havens for blatant secularism, where true Catholic beliefs and morality are, at best, barely tolerated, and often openly scorned. Catholic parents who want their children to receive their higher education in good Catholic schools are faced with a depressing dilemma: the great majority of “Catholic” colleges and universities today are Catholic in name only. There are some notable exceptions, however. In the wake of the Land O’ Lakes devastation, various concerned Catholic laymen banded together to found institutions of higher learning that are unequivocally faithful to the Church and her teachings. And at least two already existing universities still merit the name “Catholic.” The following are snapshots of such schools. More information can be found on their websites. (Enrollment and tuition numbers are for 2005-’06.) Ave Maria School of Law Founded: Ave Maria School of Law was founded in 2000 by five professors who left the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in a dispute over the school’s inviting a “pro-choice” speaker to the campus. They enlisted the financial support of Domino Pizza founder Thomas Monagahn. Ave Maria espouses a natural law philosophy and teaches law within the context of the Catholic intellectual tradition. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia helped develop the school’s curriculum. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the school’s first annual Ave Maria lecture. Mission statement: “Inspired by Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, Fides et Ratio, Ave Maria School of Law offers a distinctive legal education characterized by the harmony of faith and reason . . . in fidelity to the Catholic Faith as expressed through Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the teaching authority of the Church. . . .” Tuition: $28,900. Rankings: Of the Class of 2005, 25 percent scored in the top 10 percent on the LSAT. The student body LSAT and GPA scores are similar to those of student bodies at law schools ranked in the top 20 percent by U.S. News & World Report. In 2003 Ave Maria’s first graduating class passed the Michigan Bar Exam at a rate of 93 percent among first-time takers, which was the top rate in Michigan. The University of Michigan Law School came in second with a pass rate of 90 percent. Ave Maria University Founded: In 2003 by Domino’s Pizza founder Thomas Monaghan and others. Ave Maria is the first major Catholic university to be built in 40 years and the first university and town to be built together. Majors: Biology, Classics and Early Christian Literature, Economics, History, Literature, Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, Theology, Pre-Theologate. Graduate programs: Pastoral Theology (M.T.S.), M.A. Program in Theology, Ph.D. Program in Theology. Tuition and fees: Tuition: $15,280; Room and board: 6,770; Fees: $525; Total: $22,575. Enrollment: 316. Endorsements: Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, a member of the university’s board of directors, said that Ave Maria is seeking to reverse the previously negative trend in Catholic higher education on a large scale. “The faculty already gathered in Florida is absolutely outstanding, with academic credentials that are formidable,” he said. “I believe that Ave Maria University could have a very large impact on Catholic higher education in America.” Christendom College Founded: In 1977 by lay Catholics led by Dr. Warren H. Carroll. Degrees offered: Associate of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts in Theological Studies. Majors: Classical and Early Christian Studies, English Language and Literature, French Language and Literature, History, Philosophy, Political Science and Economics, Theology. Tuition and fees: Tuition: $15,368; Room and board: $5,776; Fees: $450; Total: $21,594. Enrollment: (Undergraduate) 379. Rankings: In the Intercollegiate Study Institute’s College Guide, Choosing the Right College, Christendom was listed as one of the top 10 schools in the country. Insight magazine continually lists Christendom among the top 15 colleges in the U.S. that “teach the fullness of the Western academic traditions.” Franciscan University Founded: In 1946 by Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular. Majors: Accounting, Biology, Business Administration, Chemistry, Classics, Communication Arts, Computer Information Science, Economics, Education, English, French, German, History, Humanities and Catholic Culture, Legal Studies, Mathematical Sciences, Mental Health and Human Services, Nursing, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Education, Social Work, Sociology, Spanish, Theology. Graduate programs: Master’s Degrees in Theology, Philosophy, Counseling, Business, Education, Nursing. Tuition and fees: Tuition: $16,070; Room and board: $5,550; Fees: $530; Total: $22,150. Enrollment: Undergraduate: 1,981; Graduate: 440. Accreditation: National League for Nursing; Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools; Ohio State Board of Nursing Education and Nurse Registration; Ohio State Department of Education. Recognition: Franciscan University students were featured in an Aug. 29-Sept. 5, 2005, Newsweek article, “Roman Catholicism: ‘Hail Mary’ is more than a football play: Raised in the era of John Paul II, these young people are resurrecting old rituals and hewing to strict doctrine.” Magdalen College Founded: In 1973 by three laymen in conformity with Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Constitution On Catholic Colleges and Universities (Ex Corde Ecclesiae). Degrees: Bachelor of Arts and Associate of Arts in Liberal Studies; Apostolic Catechetical diploma (Vatican authorized). Majors: None. Classes at the college, known as tutorials, are conducted in the Socratic method of open dialogue. The authors read in the four-year program are masters of orderly thought, both ancient and modern, in fields such as philosophy, mathematics, science, language, the social sciences and catechesis. Tuition and fees: Tuition: $9,750; Room and board: $6,250; Books and fees: $350 (average); Total: $16,350. Enrollment: 120. Accreditation: The American Academy for Liberal Education. Ecclesiastical approval: Approved by the Ordinary of the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire. Southern Catholic College Founded: In 2005 by Catholic businessmen. Degrees offered: Bachelor’s. Areas of study: Business, English, Humanities, Psychology, Integrated Sciences, Early Childhood Education. Tuition and fees: Tuition: $17,325; Room and board: $6,800; Fees: $250; Total: $24,375. Enrollment: 72. Recognition: The National Catholic Register described Southern Catholic College as part of “a small but growing list of lay-run Catholic institutions that adhere consciously to the Church’s Magisterium and seek to form students to be apostles in the modern world. “In keeping with Pope John Paul II’s document on Catholic higher education, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, Southern Catholic requires all theology instructors to receive a mandatum from the local bishop. “A Catholic perspective is designed to inform not only theology classes, but history, philosophy, literature, math, science, the arts, and all of campus life, through a Catholic Integrated Core Curriculum.” Thomas Aquinas College Founded: In 1971 by several California college professors concerned about the secular direction of modern Catholic liberal education. Degrees offered: Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts. Majors: None. Thomas Aquinas has one program, the Great Books Program, in which students read the original works of the greatest minds, both ancient and modern, in Western civilization. They then, in classes of no more than twenty, learn through the Socratic method: a rigorous discussion of the readings. The program is similar to the Great Books Program of St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md., but with the important difference that the Catholic Faith guides the intellectual life. Tuition and fees: Tuition: $18,600; Room and board: $5,800; Books and supplies: $450; Total: $24,850. Enrollment: 359. Accreditation: American Academy for Liberal Education; Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Rankings: In U.S. News & World Report’s 2006 edition of America’s Best Colleges: ranked a “Top College” (88th among top 104 National Liberal Arts Colleges), and the only Catholic college included among the 40 “Best Value” rankings. Endorsements: Described in the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s “Choosing the Right College” (2001) as “virtually unparalleled for providing its students with a rigorous liberal arts education.”
Thomas More College of Liberal Arts Founded: In 1978 by Catholic educators. Degrees offered: Bachelor’s. Majors: Literature, Philosophy, Political Science, Biology. Tuition: Tuition: $10,650; Room and board: $8,000; Total: $18,650. Enrollment: 86. Endorsements: The Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s Choosing the Right College: The Whole Truth about America’s Top Schools (2006) wrote: “Thomas More may be the closest thing now existing to the tiny ‘colleges’ which grew up at Paris and Oxford in the Middle Ages and nourished such thinkers as Thomas Aquinas and Ignatius Loyola . . . “The approach of all departments . . . is characterized by a degree of openness that is often lacking in higher education, both at other religious institutions and especially at secular schools . . . “All aspects of life at Thomas More are suffused with the school’s commitment to faithful Catholicism.” University of Dallas Founded: In 1956 by the Sisters of Saint Mary of Namur. Degrees offered: B.A., B.S., M.A., M.S., M.M., M.B.A., M.F.A., Ph.D., Five-year M.B.A. program. Majors: Art History, Biochemistry, Biology, Business Leadership, Chemistry, Classical Philology (Greek, Latin), Classics (Greek, Latin), Drama, Economics, Economics and Finance, Education, English, French, German, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics, Politics, Psychology, Spanish, Studio Art, Theology. Pre-Professional programs: Business, Pre-Architecture, Pre-Dentistry, Pre-Engineering, Pre-Law, Pre-Medicine, Pre-Physical Therapy, Pre-Seminary, Pre-Veterinary Medicine, Teaching Certification. Tuition and fees: Tuition: $19,604; Room and board: $7,026; Fees: $807; Total: $27,437. Enrollment: 1,200 undergraduate; 1,920 graduate. Rankings: Top 10 Colleges for American Values based on the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s Choosing the Right College. Recognized by the Princeton Review for being “one of the best private school bargains in the nation” and in the top 20 for having outstanding professors. Ranked by the National Review as one of the top liberal arts schools in the nation. Endorsements: Pope John Paul II’s official biographer, George Weigel, calls Dallas “the best Catholic college in America. “UD is intentionally Catholic without being a ghetto. Its faculty rejects the canard that a Catholicism faithful to the Magisterium is anti-intellectual.” |
