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Overview
uinas
Thomas Aquinas College was the first of the Aq
s
C
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.
vate colleges in California. Tuition, room and “I’ve been a customer as well as a pro-
board cost students $29,800 in 2009-10. Gener- ducer,” DeLuca has said. “I have all the same
ous financial aid packages may include fed- good feelings that other parents have because
eral Pell Grants and Stafford Loans. 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
Governance been able to strike a blow in favor of Western
Civilization after all.”
Thomas Aquinas was founded by lay Catho-
lics and continues to be led by a lay board of
governors. The 30-member board includes Public Identity
prominent Catholic business leaders. There
are no priests or religious on the board. The The founding document of Thomas Aquinas
college receives no financial support from College, “A Proposal for the Fulfillment of
the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, although it Catholic Liberal Education,” begins with not-
has received praise and official sanction from ing the contemporary “crisis in the Catholic
Cardinal Roger Mahony, who presided at the college”—which was as much a prediction
college’s new chapel as an acknowledg-
Mass of Dedication ment in 1969. The
in March 2009. document contin-
Among gover- ues: “The first and
nors emeriti are Dr. most pressing duty,
Ralph McInerny, therefore, if there
the distinguished is to be Catholic
Thomist philosopher education, calls for
and emeritus profes- reestablishing in
sor at the University our minds the cen-
of Notre Dame, and tral role the teach-
former U.S. ambas- ing Church should
sador to the Vatican play in the intellec-
William Wilson. tual life of Catholic
William Bentley teachers and stu-
Ball, a Catholic con- dents.”
stitutional attorney, Dr. Dillon told
and industrialist J. Peter Grace are listed as us two years ago that the college has remained
some of the prominent deceased governors of faithful to that promise. “Thomas Aquinas
the college. College,” he said, “was the first of the new
President DeLuca is a TAC co-founder Catholic colleges to set out for orthodoxy.
and has served as an officer of TAC for most of We’ve kept to the founding principles that are
its history, most recently as vice president for contained in our founding document.”
finance and administration before taking the Tutors explain that classical works such
reins after Dr. Dillon’s tragic death. DeLuca is as St. Augustine’s Confessions reflect the
a graduate of St. Mary’s College of California Catholic intellectual tradition. Dr. Dillon
and was an early director of the Intercolle- said, “There is a dedication to theology as the
giate Studies Institute in the 1960s. Four of highest science, and our curriculum focuses
his six children graduated from TAC. on the ‘highest things.’”
leading wholesome lives that the students ac- ence. Four years are required in both subjects,
tually have an opportunity to see because of which is very unusual in any standard ‘lib-
our small community and the tutors’ involve- eral arts’ program. This is why we tend not
ment in the life of the college.” to describe ourselves as a ‘liberal arts’ school,
Further, the tutors have formed a col- but rather one that offers a ‘liberal education’
legial faculty environment. One said, “Since or a ‘classical education.’”
there are no departments, you do not find fac- One tutor tells us, “In the case of the the-
ulty who think they can only talk to others in ology courses, the depth and attention given
their field.” The curriculum and the faculty’s these classical works shows TAC’s commit-
wide familiarity with it promote a degree of ment to theology as queen of the sciences.” Al-
commonality. though it is the goal at the college for each tu-
The intellectual environment is rigorous tor to be able to teach every great book, those
across the curriculum. One administrator who specifically concentrate on theology are
noted, “Yet another hallmark of our program practicing Catholics, are carefully chosen and
is its rigor in mathematics and laboratory sci- take an Oath of Fidelity to the Magisterium.
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,
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.