Thomas Aquinas College

Santa Paula, California

www.thomasaquinas.edu

Overview
uinas
Thomas Aquinas College was the first of the Aq
s

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new Catholic colleges launched after the on-

Thoma

ol
set of the crisis of Catholic higher education

l e ge
in the late 1960s. The founding of TAC helped
encourage the founding of other Catholic col-
leges “born from the crisis,” and the college
or its curriculum are often used as a guide for C
al
9 71
these institutions. if o
r nia - 1
While there are several solid Catholic
colleges that successfully reflect the Catholic
intellectual tradition, TAC has built a national
reputation for its rigorous Great Books ap-
quick facts
proach that traces its 20th-century lineage to
Columbia University, The University of Chi- Founded: 1971
cago and St. John’s College of Annapolis. Type of institution: Small liberal arts college
Setting: Small city
Located next to the small city of Santa
Undergraduate enrollment: 341 (2008–09
Paula, about an hour northwest of Los Ange-
academic year)
les, Thomas Aquinas has a simple yet unified
Total undergraduate cost: $29,800 (tuition,
classical curriculum. room and board for 2009–10)
It is fully committed to a Great Books ap- Undergraduate majors: One (Liberal Arts)
proach, a discussion-style class format and a
curriculum that emphasizes the rich tradition Five Key Points
of St. Thomas Aquinas. In fulfilling its mis-
sion, the college uses no textbooks, no lectures 1. A rigorous Great Books curriculum
taught by the Socratic method.
and no menu of majors. All graduates receive
a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts. 2. Solidly wedded to integrating classical
Among its many strengths is an impres- Catholic thought with academics.
sive faculty of “tutors.” All 37 tutors are well- 3. There is collegial student and faculty
rounded academics who engage students in (tutor) environment.
Socratic dialogue in small classes. Each is ex- 4. The college has acquired a prestigious
pected to be able to teach every course. A 1993 national reputation.
accrediting report quoted students as saying 5. The college was the first of the new
the tutors “‘were some of the smartest people’ orthodox Catholic colleges after
they had ever known.” Vatican II.

The Newman Guide 211

Thomas Aquinas College
From the
Financial Aid Office
“Thomas Aquinas College is committed
to making its unique program of Catho-
lic liberal education available to accepted
students, regardless of their financial
need. Through the generosity of its do-
nors, the College is able to offer financial
assistance to young men and women who
would otherwise not be able to attend.
“Thomas Aquinas College realizes that in
these challenging economic times some
families have experienced a dramatic
reduction in income and/or assets. The
College stands ready and willing to help
students and families with their demon-
strated financial need as determined by
the financial aid application.
“We encourage all families who feel they
are unable to manage the full cost of tu-
ition, room and board to apply for aid.
Visit our website for application materials
www.thomasaquinas.edu/financialaid.
“Sources of financial assistance include
Pell Grants, California State Grants, local
and national scholarships, Stafford Stu-
dent Loans, Canada Student Loans and
Veterans Administration benefits. Loan
debt is kept to a minimum, with average
student loan indebtedness only $15,000
after four years. The College also has its
own generous aid program that provides
need-based Service Scholarships (work-
study) and tuition grants.
“So apply for financial aid and let us
show you how we can help! Contact: Greg
Becher, 800-634-9797 ext. 5936, finaid@
thomasaquinas.edu.”
212
TAC has been practicing this way of edu-
cating Catholics—up to 95 percent of the stu-
dent body is Catholic—for more than a gen-
eration. The campus was originally located at
a Claretian seminary near Calabasas, Califor-
nia, in 1971 and moved to its permanent Fern-
dale Ranch location seven years later.
Despite its small size, the college has ac-
quired a solid reputation, with a national stu-
dent body coming from 42 states and several
other countries. It consistently ranks among
the best liberal arts colleges in the country.
Forty-five percent of its alumni go on to grad-
uate work.
Former president Dr. Thomas Dillon said
that to ensure this type of intellectual and
personal environment, the enrollment will re-
main at about 350 students. He told us, “You
can mass produce graduates—and a lot of col-
leges do—but we are interested in a commu-
nity of friends. We are looking for friendships
for life from TAC.”
It was that community of friends that
mourned Dr. Dillon’s death in a traffic acci-
dent in April 2009. Dr. Dillon, who had been
at Thomas Aquinas for 37 years and became
president in 1991, was highly respected for
his character and his intellect.
TAC co-founder Peter DeLuca is cur-
rently serving as interim president. A search
among the current tutors for a permanent
president is expected to be completed by the
end of 2009.
“This College simply wouldn’t exist if it
weren’t for Peter DeLuca,” wrote the college’s
first president, Dr. Ronald MacArthur, in
2001.
Both the Western Association of Schools
and Colleges, the regional accrediting agency,
and the American Academy of Liberal Edu-
cation accredit the college. This high quality
of education has been maintained without ac-
cepting federal or state government support.
The price for this nationally-recognized
education is well below the average for pri-
The Newman Guide

vate colleges in California. Tuition, room and
board cost students $29,800 in 2009-10. Gener-
ous financial aid packages may include fed-
eral Pell Grants and Stafford Loans.
Governance
Thomas Aquinas was founded by lay Catho-
lics and continues to be led by a lay board of
governors. The 30-member board includes
prominent Catholic business leaders. There
are no priests or religious on the board. The
college receives no financial support from
the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, although it
has received praise and official sanction from
Cardinal Roger Mahony, who presided at the
college’s new chapel
Mass of Dedication
in March 2009.
Among gover-
nors emeriti are Dr.
Ralph McInerny,
the distinguished
Thomist philosopher
and emeritus profes-
sor at the University
of Notre Dame, and
former U.S. ambas-
sador to the Vatican
William Wilson.
William Bentley
Ball, a Catholic con-
stitutional attorney,
and industrialist J. Peter Grace are listed as
some of the prominent deceased governors of
the college.
President DeLuca is a TAC co-founder
and has served as an officer of TAC for most of
its history, most recently as vice president for
finance and administration before taking the
reins after Dr. Dillon’s tragic death. DeLuca is
a graduate of St. Mary’s College of California
and was an early director of the Intercolle-
giate Studies Institute in the 1960s. Four of
his six children graduated from TAC.
The Newman Guide
Thomas Aquinas College
“I’ve been a customer as well as a pro-
ducer,” DeLuca has said. “I have all the same
good feelings that other parents have because
of that. And also, it’s been a tremendous
honor to spend my life doing something so
worthwhile and seeing it work. I feel as if I’ve
been able to strike a blow in favor of Western
Civilization after all.”
Public Identity
The founding document of Thomas Aquinas
College, “A Proposal for the Fulfillment of
Catholic Liberal Education,” begins with not-
ing the contemporary “crisis in the Catholic
college”—which was as much a prediction
as an acknowledg-
ment in 1969. The
document contin-
ues: “The first and
most pressing duty,
therefore, if there
is to be Catholic
education, calls for
reestablishing in
our minds the cen-
tral role the teach-
ing Church should
play in the intellec-
tual life of Catholic
teachers and stu-
dents.”
Dr. Dillon told
us two years ago that the college has remained
faithful to that promise. “Thomas Aquinas
College,” he said, “was the first of the new
Catholic colleges to set out for orthodoxy.
We’ve kept to the founding principles that are
contained in our founding document.”
Tutors explain that classical works such
as St. Augustine’s Confessions reflect the
Catholic intellectual tradition. Dr. Dillon
said, “There is a dedication to theology as the
highest science, and our curriculum focuses
on the ‘highest things.’”
213
Thomas Aquinas College

Perhaps this emphasis is reflected in a Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., Archbishop of

comment made to us by the director of ad- Quebec, Canada (2009).
missions that while 90-95 percent of the study
body is Catholic, there are numerous conver-
sions each year.
Academics
There appear to have been no question-
The Great Books curriculum is structured
able speakers on campus, as TAC reflects a
around six disciplines each year: seminar,
strong public witness to the faith. Many of
language, mathematics, laboratory, philoso-
the guest lecturers discuss the Thomist tra-
phy and theology. All the traditional classical
dition. In early
writers are present,
2007, for example,
including Descartes,
there was an all-
Galileo, Newton,
college seminar on
Tolstoy, Dostoyevs-
Aquinas’s Summa
ki, Einstein and even
contra Gentiles, a
the debates of Lin-
St. Thomas Day
coln and Douglas in
Lecture by Father
1858. The dean’s of-
James Schall, S.J.,
fice publishes a jour-
of Georgetown
nal, the Aquinas Re-
University and a
view, “in the hope of
lecture on Thomas
maintaining and en-
Aquinas by Dr.
larging a communi-
Paul Gondreau of
ty of learners which
Providence Col-
extends beyond the
lege.
confines” of the TAC campus.
In March 2009 Dr. McInerny gave a series
All students take required classes in
of three lectures on natural theology based on
each year. There are no electives, no classes
his prestigious Gifford Lectures, first given at
that reflect “vocational” training. No trans-
Glasgow, Scotland, in 1999-2000. According
fers are accepted. There are no study-abroad
to one observer, it was “very Aristotelian and
programs because it is deemed to be a dis-
Thomistic.”
traction from the college’s focus. Freshmen,
Among other recent speakers have been
sophomores and juniors participate in bian-
two papabili, Cardinal Francis Arinze of Ni-
nual evaluations with professors in a process
geria, who delivered the 2004 commencement
known as the “Don Rags,” named after a sim-
address, and Cardinal Christoph Schonborn,
ilar system used by Oxford University dons
O.P., the Archbishop of Vienna, Austria.
or professors. Grades mostly come from class
George Weigel, the biographer of Pope John
participation.
Paul II, spoke at a 35th anniversary event for
Our interviews indicate great respect for
the college and warmly endorsed it.
the tutors, nearly a third of whom are alumni
The last three commencement speakers
of Thomas Aquinas College. Interviewees
were: Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith,
were reluctant to single out any for special
then-Secretary for Divine Worship and the
praise. One staff member speaks of the “per-
Discipline of the Sacraments at the Vatican’s
sonal example of the tutors, who are exempla-
Roman Curia (2007); Cardinal George Pell,
ry role models, humble before the Truth, liv-
Archbishop of Sydney, Australia (2008); and
ing their vocations as husbands and fathers,

214 The Newman Guide

 Thomas Aquinas College

leading wholesome lives that the students ac-
tually have an opportunity to see because of
our small community and the tutors’ involve-
ment in the life of the college.”
Further, the tutors have formed a col-
legial faculty environment. One said, “Since
there are no departments, you do not find fac-
ulty who think they can only talk to others in
their field.” The curriculum and the faculty’s
wide familiarity with it promote a degree of
commonality.
The intellectual environment is rigorous
across the curriculum. One administrator
noted, “Yet another hallmark of our program
is its rigor in mathematics and laboratory sci-
ence. Four years are required in both subjects,
which is very unusual in any standard ‘lib-
eral arts’ program. This is why we tend not
to describe ourselves as a ‘liberal arts’ school,
but rather one that offers a ‘liberal education’
or a ‘classical education.’”
One tutor tells us, “In the case of the the-
ology courses, the depth and attention given
these classical works shows TAC’s commit-
ment to theology as queen of the sciences.” Al-
though it is the goal at the college for each tu-
tor to be able to teach every great book, those
who specifically concentrate on theology are
practicing Catholics, are carefully chosen and
take an Oath of Fidelity to the Magisterium.

Message from the President

Dear Parents and Prospective Students:

Thomas Aquinas College is unique among American colleges and

universities. We hold with confidence that the human mind is capable
of knowing the truth about reality, that living according to the truth is
necessary for happiness, and that truth is best comprehended through the
harmonious work of faith and reason. We understand the intellectual virtues to be essential
to the life of reason, and we consider the cultivation of those virtues to be the primary work of
student and teacher.

The College offers a single academic program: an integrated, non-elective curriculum rooted
in the Western, Catholic intellectual tradition. The greatest books in that tradition, both ancient
and modern, replace textbooks; careful inquiry in small tutorials, seminars, and laboratories re-
places lectures. The curriculum challenges students and faculty alike to disciplined scholarship
in the arts and sciences — indispensable for critical judgment and genuine wisdom.

Thomas Aquinas College also provides a strong Catholic liturgical and sacramental envi-
ronment conducive to spiritual growth while its rules of residence support the good moral order
appropriate for those engaged in the pursuit of truth.

Sincerely yours,

Peter L. DeLuca, Acting President

The Newman Guide 215

Thomas Aquinas College

These tutors guide students in the first ry texts very different.”

year through the Bible. In the sophomore As with Mass attendance, weekday meals
year, works by St. Augustine, St. Athanasius, and formal events, there is a dress code for
St. Anselm, St. John Damascene and Gaunilo classes. This means slacks, collared shirts and
are included in the theology works read and closed shoes for men and dresses or skirts
discussed. One staff and tops for women.
member says, “Stu- Modesty is empha-
dents are often pow- sized. The prefects,
erfully affected by or student resident
reading Augustine’s assistants and univer-
Confessions and his City sity staff reinforce the
of God.” During the dress code.
freshman, junior and According to
senior years, Thomas one tutor, “This un-
Aquinas is read. In the derscores the con-
senior year, four land- cept that we present
mark papal encyclicals ourselves in a more
of St. Pius X, Leo XII, classy and formal way
Pius XI and Pius XII when we are engaged
are studied. in a higher activity.
While sometimes The students usually
the circumscribed cur- come to enjoy this
riculum forces, say, practice, and it fosters
pre-medical students a healthy way of liv-
to take additional ing they appreciate.”
coursework before attending medical school, To help give prospective students a pre-
those interested in a broad educational focus view of academic life at TAC, the college runs
can thrive in this Great Books oasis. In fact, an annual two-week summer program for
about five percent of the students already rising high school seniors. They are exposed
come with bachelor’s degrees. Of those, some to tutors in small seminars where they study
are professionals in their 20s who want the Sophocles, Plato, Kierkegaard, Shakespeare,
undergraduate education they might have Euclid, Pascal and Boethius. They also par-
missed earlier. There have been some middle- ticipate in the college’s spiritual life. About
aged students. 45 to 50 percent of the attendees subsequently
And yet, students at TAC are diverse as enroll as undergraduates.
well as motivated. One administrator said, The environment, although stimulat-
“The criteria important for admission are an ing, is not intimidating. “At TAC,” one tutor
ability to do the work and a desire for this said, “people can talk to each other. Students
education. Many of our students are self-se- can talk with each other at lunch about what
lecting. You have to want to learn.” they are talking about in class. The majority
She added, “In the freshman year, many of the tutors—and chaplains—eat lunch with
students are learning how to learn. If you students. It is a congenial setting. It is intel-
went through high school memorizing infor- lectual but not only intellectual. It is relaxed
mation for a test and did little else, you will and personal, too.”
find the Socratic method and reading prima-

216 The Newman Guide


Spiritual Life
Father Paul Raftery, O.P., one of the chaplains,
says that the college’s strong Catholic identity
is shown by “a full embracing of the Catholic
faith, fidelity to the Magisterium, a concern
for orthodoxy and reverence in liturgy.”
There are four Masses daily offered by
three non-teaching chaplains who are of the
Dominican, Jesuit and Norbertine orders.
These Masses are at 7 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 5 p.m.
and 10 p.m.; there also are two on Saturdays
and three on Sundays. They have been de-
scribed as “reverent, prayerful and sincere.”
Tutors participate in the weekly Masses,
which take place at the Chapel at St. Joseph
Commons. There also is a small Our Lady
of Guadalupe Chapel. There is a Mass dress
code.
The biggest recent development on cam-
pus, by far, was the construction of the $23
million Chapel of Our Lady of the Most Holy
Trinity, which
was dedicated in
March 2009. Cel-
ebrated architect
Duncan Stroik
designed the
chapel, which is
in the Roman-
esque style and
includes a 135-
foot bell tower. It
also has an eight-
foot statue of
Our Lady as the
Woman of the
Apocalypse on
top and a lime-
stone cornerstone blessed by Pope Benedict
XVI at St. Peter’s Square in September 2008.
This new structure enhances an already
vibrant spiritual program. In addition to the
25 or more weekly Masses, the students also
participate in an evening Rosary and Eucha-
The Newman Guide
Thomas Aquinas College
ristic Adoration and frequent opportunities
for confession. There is a Legion of Mary
group.
About 11 percent of TAC alumni have
entered religious life. In a 2007 Vatican pub-
lication, Dr. Dillon attributed this success to
Catholic faithfulness, the academic program,
campus chaplains, the overall college com-
munity, the lay witness at the college and a
supportive “like-minded” student body.
Student Activities
Despite its small size, Thomas Aquinas has
a number of student activities. They include
the student journal Demiurgus; study groups
for four languages; three dramatic groups,
including one known as St. Genesius Players,
which presents a couple of productions per
year; various choral and instrumental groups;
the Bushwhackers hiking club; and intramu-
ral sports. There are dances, Schubertiades
recitals, intramural sports (largely basketball
and soccer) and
other informal ac-
tivities.
The Masses
are enhanced by
student participa-
tion in a choir—
which also pres-
ents concerts—as
well as by the
Gregorian chant
ensemble, Schola.
There is an active
pro-life group,
TACers for Life.
The director of
admissions, Jonathan Daly, offered us a mov-
ing story of how this group began.
“It started in 1997 with a student from
Washington state named Angela Baird,” he
said. “She had prayed and counseled outside
of abortion clinics since the age of 14. When
217
Thomas Aquinas College

she was a sophomore at TAC, she and a small ing, which houses the cafeteria, or anywhere
group of her classmates went hiking, a popu- else on campus.
lar pastime for TAC students. Two of the men’s halls have chaplains in
“In a tragic accident, she slipped and fell residence, and one of the women’s halls has
off a cliff when she turned around to speak a female resident assistant. Student prefects
with one of her friends monitor the dorms. There
walking behind her. She is a curfew on week-
landed 60 feet below onto nights and a later one
a rock. Two students [in- on weekends. Chastity
cluding Daly] found her is encouraged. Although
while others went for one interviewee reported
emergency help. that some drinking takes
“As she was waiting place off campus, there
for the helicopter rescue, does not appear to be a
they prayed together. drinking or drug prob-
Her final request was for lem at TAC.
prayers for aborted babies. For routine medical
She died later that night. attention, the college has
Ever since her death, a part-time nurse and a
TAC students have made medical health special-
regular trips to abortion ist. Ten minutes from
clinics. On the seventh campus in town is Santa
anniversary of Angela’s Paula Hospital, a 49-bed
death, students arrived facility. Although small,
at a particular abortion this facility has an emer-
clinic and were surprised gency room and a helio-
to find moving vans dis- port. There also are three
mantling the clinic. It was medical centers within a
closing permanently.” 15-to-20-minute drive in
The pro-life effort continues at the col- the cities of Camarillo, Oxnard and Ventura.
lege. In January 2009, for example, about two-
thirds of the student body attended the Walk
for Life West Coast in San Francisco, about
The Community
400 miles away.
The college is located six miles from Santa
Paula, which has about 29,500 people, five
Residential Life times its 1970 population. About 71 percent of
the city is of Hispanic origin, and that heri-
All TAC students are housed in six residence tage reflects some of the town’s stores, restau-
halls, three for men and three for women. rants and activities.
They are named for Blessed Junipero Serra, A one-time get-away spot for Hollywood
the 18th-century Franciscan missionary, and actors, the region relies on agriculture, and
five saints. Each room accommodates two Santa Paula is known as the “Citrus Capital
students. There is no visitation at any time at of the World.” One of the features of Santa
opposite-sex residences. Men and women can Paula is a series of eight outdoor murals that
get together at the St. Joseph Commons build- chronicle the city’s history.

218 The Newman Guide


The Pacific Ocean is a half-hour away,
and students go to the beach. The two mil-
lion-acre Los Padres National Forest abuts
the campus and offers outdoor opportunities.
There are many cultural and entertainment
opportunities in Los Angeles and Santa Bar-
bara as well.
The weather is the pleasant type that can
be expected in southern California. The local
crime rate recently was only about 60 percent
of the national crime index.
Out-of-state students who attend Thom-
as Aquinas are likely to arrive at Los Angeles
International Airport (LAX), the busiest U.S.
passenger airport west of Chicago and one of
the key world airports. United, American and
Southwest airlines make up about half of the
passenger traffic, but many carriers are rep-
resented.
Most students who arrive at the airport
take a short trip on a commuter bus, the Ven-
tura County Airporter, that runs between
LAX and the Oxnard airport, where the col-
lege’s staff meet students and bring them di-
rectly to the college.
The Newman Guide
Thomas Aquinas College
The Bottom Line
In some ways, Thomas Aquinas College
stands by itself among Catholic colleges. It is
the only Catholic college that exclusively fo-
cuses on the Great Books. There is an impres-
sive intellectual rigor at TAC that is matched
by a commitment to orthodox Catholicism.
This combination has attracted a wide
following around the country, and TAC’s rep-
utation has become international. More than
90 percent of the student body is Catholic,
and alumni tend to make up a large percent-
age of tutors . There is a certain sense of ongo-
ing immersion in a special adventure at TAC
that can last a lifetime—and beyond.
The intensity here, although conducted
in a collegial way, is likely to appeal to a par-
ticular type of student. The TAC summer high
school program offers prospective students a
very practical test drive.
219
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