The Thomas More College

of Liberal Arts
Merrimack, New Hampshire
www.thomasmorecollege.edu

Overview
When Thomas More College co-founder Dr.
Peter Sampo launched TMC in 1978, he had
already served as president of Magdalen Col-
lege for the previous four years. He had a
keen sense of what he wanted, both in terms
of religious identity and academic rigor.
More than three decades later, the suc-
cessful but little-known Thomas More College
of Liberal Arts is now reaching for national
recognition, with a new curriculum and a quick facts
new generation of intellectuals who share a Founded: 1978
passion for genuine liberal arts education. Type of institution: Very small liberal
TMC students don’t anguish over majors; arts college
every student graduates with a degree in the Setting: Small town
liberal arts, and all students take the same Undergraduate enrollment: 95 (2008–09
courses with some opportunity to specialize academic year)
in junior and senior tutorials and projects. Undergraduate cost: $23,600 (tuition, room
The new core curriculum, implemented in and board for 2009–10)
the fall of 2009, is adapted from the original Undergraduate majors: One
design by Donald and Louise Cowan, both of
Five Key Points
whom had long associations with the Univer-
sity of Dallas. 1. All students graduate with a degree in
Students gain a firm grounding in the liberal arts.
leading thinkers of Western civilization and 2. Four-year core curriculum emphasizes
the Catholic intellectual tradition, includ- Catholic intellectual tradition and
ing study of the Great Books as well as more Western Civilization.
recent writings. Four semesters of Latin or 3. All sophomores participate in a se-
Greek, plus courses in literature, art, music, mester abroad in Rome.
philosophy, Scripture, theology, natural sci- 4. Unique “Way of Beauty” courses study
ences and humanities set TMC apart from Christian art and music.
nearly every other American college.
5. Relatively low tuition for a private col-
The college prides itself on attracting an lege in New England
inquisitive, eclectic group of students from

The Newman Guide 221

The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts

across the U.S. and Canada. The 2008-09 en-

rollment was 95, all undergraduates. From the
According to the college, more than 60
Financial Aid Office
percent of alumni pursue graduate study. A
recent survey indicated that graduates have
“Thomas More College is committed to
gone on to study at 26 different law schools,
keeping our tuition costs low, and our
68 graduate schools and one medical school.
scholarship opportunities high—allow-
TMC is fully accredited by both the re-
ing students to receive an excellent edu-
gional agency, the New England Association
cation without the burden of a lifetime of
of Schools and Colleges, and the American
debt.
Academy for Liberal Education.
For the past 28 years, the college has been “The Presidential Award is awarded to
located in the town of Merrimack, which has incoming students based on high test
about 27,000 residents. It is in southern New scores, exceptional involvement in the
Hampshire near the border with Massachu- community and a commitment to learn-
setts; Boston is one hour away. ing.
At $23,600 for tuition, room and board,
the 2009-10 costs were well below average pri- “The St. Francis Fund is awarded to stu-
vate-college costs in pricey New Hampshire. dents who demonstrate financial need as
TMC is working to enhance scholarship pro- determined by the Student Aid Report
grams for students, including one established (SAR).
for inner-city youth by the late journalist Rob-
“The Faith and Reason Essay Contest: Stu-
ert Novak. Financial aid is generous, includ-
dents are judged by essays on Pope Bene-
ing opportunities for federal assistance.
dict’s words on faith and reason. First-
The college has also established two
place prize of $30,000 over four years; two
funds to support vocations. The Saint John
second-place prizes of $20,000 each, and
Vianney Fund for Future Priests and The
three third-place prizes of $10,000 each.
Saint Mother Katherine Drexel Fund for Fu-
ture Nuns absorb student loans accumulated “The John Vianney & Katherine Drexel
by graduates who are entering a seminary or Fund is offered to graduates who find
religious life. that they are called to enter religious life
or the priesthood. Thomas More College
Governance assumes the student’s debt when admit-
ted into a monastery or seminary.
The college is governed by a 10-member lay “The Robert D. Novak Scholarship is a
board, which includes retired Notre Dame comprehensive scholarship available to
law professor Charles Rice and pro-life leader minority students who have shown ex-
Paul Schenck, who has received an honorary ceptional intellectual curiosity and dem-
degree from the college. Cardinal Edward onstrate financial need.”
Egan, former Archbishop of New York, pre-
viously served on the board. The chairman
TMC from its founding until 2006. His suc-
of the board, Patrick Monaghan, is Special
cessor and a noted Edmund Burke Scholar,
Counsel for the American Center for Law and
Dr. Jeffrey Nelson, served until April 2009.
Justice.
The current president, Dr. William Fahey,
Dr. Sampo served as the president of

222 The Newman Guide


arrived at Thomas More College in 2007 from
Christendom College, where he was founding
chairman of the classical and early Christian
studies department. Before being appointed
president in 2009, he served TMC as provost,
vice president for academic affairs and pro-
fessor of humanities. He received his Ph.D.
from The Catholic University of America. Dr.
Fahey is a Benedictine Oblate (novice) with
the Monastery of Our Lady of the Annuncia-
tion in Clear Creek, Oklahoma, and has five
children with his wife Amy.
Public Identity
TMC’s motto, adopted in 2006, is Caritas Con-
gaudet Veritati (“Charity rejoices in the truth”),
from 1 Corinthians 13:6.
According to a 2004 alumna, “Thomas
More College affirms
the union of faith and
reason. It also up-
holds the understand-
ing of the Church as
Mot her—generous,
welcoming, unwav-
ering in its adherence
to the truth but lov-
ing in the way it of-
fers the truth.”
All faculty mem-
bers are Catholic and
most of its students
are, but the college emphasizes that non-
Catholics are welcome. Accordingly, the web-
site notes that the institution “is dedicated to
providing a Catholic education to students of
all faiths.”
The public identity is manifested in its
choice of campus speakers. The commence-
ment speakers from 2004 to 2008 were for-
mer U.S. ambassador to the Vatican Raymond
Flynn, Heritage Foundation president Edwin
Feulner, Jr., journalist Robert Novak, Catholic
novelist and apologist Ron Hansen and Father
The Newman Guide
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
James Schall, S.J., of Georgetown University.
The 2009 speaker was former Vatican official
Cardinal Francis Arinze.
Lecturers have included leading Catho-
lic intellectuals like Dr. Alice von Hildebrand,
Dr. Peter Kreeft and Father George Rutler. A
notable visitor to the campus in May 2009 was
Archbishop Jean Sleiman, O.C.D., of Baghdad,
Iraq.
According to one of our alumni inter-
viewees, “Usually our speakers were rather
heady but very interesting. They were great
choices. Most were not expecting to be grilled
so intensely by a well-informed student
body.”
The college sponsors the Vatican Forum,
a speaker series for journalists in Rome. Di-
rector and founder Andrea Kirk Assaf is a
daughter of the late Catholic conservative
Russell Kirk and wife
of Tony Assaf, direc-
tor of TMC’s Vatican
Studies Center.
As another ex-
ample of a growing
interest in expanding
its Catholic public
presence, the college
announced in March
2007 that it had be-
come co-publisher of
Second Spring: An In-
ternational Journal of
Faith and Culture. The
Christian humanist publication has included
among its writers then-Cardinal Joseph Ratz-
inger (now Benedict XVI) when he was the
Vatican’s Prefect of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith.
Spiritual Life
The spiritual life is faithful and traditional.
The college has a new full-time chaplain,
Father John Healy. In addition, five other lo-
223
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
cal priests visit the campus to celebrate daily
Mass (“reverent and peaceful,” according to
one alumnus) in a small chapel that is located
in a multipurpose 18th-century building.
The Ordinary Form of the Mass is cel-
ebrated in both English and Latin and oc-
casionally according to the Eastern Catholic
rites. The college is planning to offer mass in
the Extraordinary Form and Anglican-use
Catholic Rite in the near future.
There are regular confessions avail-
able before Mass and by appointment. There
also are Divine Mercy devotions, nightly
recitation of the Rosary and Adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament. There is a voluntary an-
nual retreat.
A recent graduate remarked, “Because of
the strong intellectual
bent on campus, it can
be easy for students to
think more than pray.”
But college officials
have made a concerted
effort to change this,
with the new full-time
chaplain and expand-
ed liturgical options.
Their stated goal is to
ensure that “the liturgi-
cal and spiritual inten-
sity match the college’s
intellectual prowess.”
Students also have access to two local
parishes in Merrimack. The cathedral of the
Diocese of Manchester, St. Joseph Cathedral,
is located 10 minutes away. Mass in the Ex-
traordinary Form is offered twice monthly in
nearby Nashua.
Academics
Thomas More College’s great strength is the
integrated curriculum, significantly revised
in 2009. The college cites Michael Aeschilman,
the noted Professor of Education at Boston
224
University, who has reviewed the curriculum
and calls it “an ideal paradigm” of integrated
studies. “Acknowledging and promoting the
interdependence of knowledge and virtue,
it is simultaneously Socratic and Christian,”
Aeschilman says.
The college strives for a real collegium, a
society of students and scholars joined in a
common life and common reading of texts.
The professors do not separate into special-
ized areas but are, to a large degree, commit-
ted to rotating through courses.
This requires a broad-minded faculty,
including such recent hires as naturalist and
humanities scholar Christopher Blum (for-
mer chairman of Christendom College’s his-
tory department) and theologian-cum-po-
litical scientist Walter
Thompson (co-found-
er of the International
Thelogical Institute in
Austria).
It also requires
that all faculty under-
stand Catholic teach-
ings and how to apply
them to the course-
work. Professors in all
disciplines take the
Oath of Fidelity each
year, and theologians
must have a manda-
tum as required by Canon Law.
All professors are reported to be excel-
lent. One alumna said, “Everyone has invest-
ed themselves in their teaching, not just their
reputation, ideas or careers.”
All students take the same courses in the
same order for most of the curriculum. Al-
though this has similarities to the prescribed
curriculum at Thomas Aquinas College, there
are differences: the emphasis on Great Books
is supplemented by secondary texts and more
recent writings, professors are encouraged
to employ a variety of teaching methods not
The Newman Guide
 The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts

necessarily restricted to Socratic dialogue in musical traditions. Students learn to chant

group discussions, and courses are still large-
ly defined by discipline instead of by author
or topic.
Unique to TMC is its “Way of Beauty”
program, a year-long freshman course in the
fundamentals of Western and Christian art. It
is taught by artist-in-residence David Clayton,
an Oxford-educated artist and iconographer
skilled in both Baroque and Byzantine styles
of painting, and guest lecturers on Western
the Psalms in the Liturgy of Hours, “write”
(i.e. paint) icons and apply the principles of
Euclidian geometry to artistic expressions of
order and harmony.
Also unusual today is TMC’s commit-
ment to Greek and Latin. Students strive to
master either language by speaking, writing
and reading original authors found elsewhere
in the curriculum like Homer, Plato, Saint
Paul and Saint Thomas More.

Message from the President

Dear Parents and Prospective Students:

So many colleges will offer you the same thing—a new experience,
something different, great friendships. Why do you think they never em-
phasize the education? Isn’t the education what college is all about?

Thomas More College gives you a comprehensive education that pro-

vides a solid understanding of Western civilization, its greatest thinkers and its most enduring
books. After four years, you will be able to quote Plato and Aristotle at will, compare mod-
ern economic conditions with ancient Greek tragedies, rattle off the great theological debates of
Christianity and quote the literary works of Faulkner and Homer.

We offer a Catholic environment with daily Mass and a vibrant community life. Our stu-
dents spend three full months studying in the heart of Rome, staying at a majestic villa and
taking private tours of the Eternal City. You can also travel to Oxford, England, to study in the
private library of G.K. Chesterton or take advantage of several internship opportunities at pres-
tigious locations like the U.N. in New York City and prominent think tanks in D.C.

If the cost of college is worrying to you, then our low tuition rates—which rival even in-state
tuition costs—might surprise you. We also offer several merit and need-based scholarships.

I invite you to find out more about Thomas More College and schedule a visit. Please do not
hesitate to contact me or our Director of Admissions.

In Christ & Mary,

Dr. William E. Fahey

The Newman Guide 225

The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts

Every sophomore travels to Rome (at no ity. According to one graduate, the college
additional charge) for a semester to take cours- “doesn’t mold people in a certain way, and
es at the college’s Vatican Studies Center. The that is a distinction between TMC and other
director, journalist Tony Assaf, is well-con- small schools—it authentically teaches a tra-
nected with Vatican officials and helps place dition, not a mold.”
students in internships with ZENIT news Former president Nelson launched a
agency, H20 News and the Pontifical Coun- number of initiatives to enhance the formal
cil of Social Communications, giving them an learning sponsored by the college. These in-
insider’s experience clude the Center
of what goes on in for New England
Rome. While stu- Politics and Culture
dents spend much of and the Center for
their time in the city, Faith and Culture
the residence is at a at Oxford, England.
beautiful monastery After review, TMC
in the nearby coun- expects to continue
tryside, allowing for most of these initia-
quiet study and re- tives, although they
flection in an ideal may be reshaped
setting. and more strictly
Writing tuto- anchored to the col-
rials are taught by lege’s core mission.
writer-in-residence In addition to
John Zmirak, a con- the Vatican intern-
servative columnist ships, TMC encour-
and well-published ages internships
Catholic apologist. with employers like
Zmirak combines lectures with one-on-one the World Development Coalition in New
mentoring to help students write well by imi- York and the Culture of Life Foundation in
tating great authors. Washington, D.C.
There is some opportunity for students A new freshman orientation program
to customize their curriculum in the junior brings students for a week to the White
and senior years. Junior tutorials allow small Mountains of New Hampshire. Hiking, out-
groups of students to focus on particular door Masses and readings from New England
disciplines or topics that were treated more authors like Hawthorne and Frost make for a
broadly in the core curriculum. Senior tutori- popular introduction to the core curriculum.
als allow students to prepare for careers with Prospective students can experience
emphasis on particular disciplines and skills. TMC life as part of the Collegiate Summer
Students also choose subjects and work inde- Program for High School Students. There are
pendently on a junior project (culminating in two two-week sessions that cover literature,
an oral examination before a faculty panel) philosophy, American politics and apologet-
and a senior thesis and examination. ics.
Despite the intellectual rigor, TMC stu-
dents study in a relaxed and friendly envi-
ronment and exhibit a degree of individual-

226 The Newman Guide


Student Activities
Campus organizations are minimal. There
is a St. Cecilia’s choir and a schola cantorum.
There is a Theatre Guild, which included
Much Ado About Nothing among its recent per-
formances. Students have access to the Mer-
rimack YMCA, which is next to the college.
There are no groups
that are in oppo-
sition to Church
teaching.
A winter high-
light is the annual
celebration of Thom-
as More’s birthday,
February 6, with a
medieval banquet.
There is a Friday
night speaker and
film series, which
is now an institu-
tion. So, too, is the
annual November
Mudbowl football
game between the
“Saints” and “Sinners.” And students enjoy
the Christmas dinner dance.
There is, of course, time for informal re-
laxation. The Student Social Council meets
every week to help direct social functions. So-
cial events include excursions to outdoor lo-
cales and to cities such as nearby Nashua and
Manchester as well as Boston. Athletic activi-
ties are limited to occasional Frisbee games
and personal exercise, but the college says it
is considering club sports including fencing
(once popular at TMC).
All students perform service on campus,
including working in the dining hall, partici-
pating in snow removal and assisting with
security. This is all part of an effort to create a
community spirit and keep tuition low.
The Newman Guide
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
Residential Life
TMC’s campus is primarily residential. There
are two residence halls, Kopka Hall for men
and Stillman House for women. Students are
not allowed into the residences for the oppo-
site sex. Chastity is encouraged by teaching of
the Theology of the Body, talks about chastity
and peer moni-
toring. There is a
curfew and stu-
dents may not go
off campus with-
out permission.
Drinking is
not allowed on
campus, but prob-
lems do occur pe-
riodically, more
so in the men’s
residence hall. A
bigger issue, how-
ever, is off-campus
drinking. Despite
discouragement
from faculty, we
are informed that there is a longstanding tra-
dition of drinking in the nearby woods.
The Community
Merrimack is a small New England town,
with easy access to the state’s two largest cit-
ies. Manchester, with a population of 110,000,
is nine miles northeast of Merrimack, and
Nashua, with a population of 87,000, is two
miles south of Merrimack. New England’s
largest city, Boston, is about 50 miles away.
Students have access to three regional
hospitals, each about 10 minutes away: Elliot
Hospital in Manchester and Southern Medi-
cal Center and St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua.
Also nearby is the Manchester-Boston
Regional Airport, an efficient and rapidly
227
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
growing airport. And, of course, Boston Lo-
gan International Airport is an option for air
travelers.
The winters, although long and cold,
provide opportunities for skiing. There also
are many hiking options in the mountainous
state.
Crime in Merrimack is about as low as
it gets in the United States. The crime index
rate was only about 12 percent of the national
crime figure in 2007.
228
The Bottom Line
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts pro-
vides a rigorous, classical education ground-
ed in truth and fidelity to the Magisterium of
the Church. Alumni have told us that the col-
lege offered a liberating experience that was
refreshing and sometimes surprising.
Thomas More College has long empha-
sized its intellectual offerings and has recent-
ly strengthened its already notable Catholic
identity. For students seeking an intense in-
tellectual and spiritual experience without
the distractions of significant extracurricular
activities or pre-professional studies, this is
an attractive institution.
The Newman Guide