&

Connecting
faith & knowledge
with all of life.
 All Things
IN CHRIST,
Life is not meant
to be a collection of
disconnected dots.
ALL THINGS
HOLD TOGETHER.

Your interests and pursuits; what you love and what you think;
your work and your beliefs—each is an integral part of you,
forming your character.

The mission of Anselm House is to help University of

Minnesota students and faculty—and the surrounding
Twin Cities community—connect the dots of study, life, faith,
and relationships to each other. We want to see the world and
approach our lives as God created them to be: whole.
THERE IS A
PROBLEM IN
OUR CULTURE
TODAY:

Nowhere is a divided life

more pronounced than at
the modern university.
Learning is now compartmentalized, too. Study has become
so departmentalized, so professionalized, that students
no longer see knowledge as part of a larger whole. Political
Compartmentalizing our lives has become normal. We either don’t know
correctness threatens to keep conversations about faith
how to—or don’t want to—connect what happens at home to our office to our
or virtue out of the classroom. Christian students are left
entertainment to the church pew. So we operate with different personas in
ill-equipped to connect their deeply held beliefs to their
different settings. This divided living leads to fragmented work and narrower ideas,
studies—and learning for all students is undermined as it’s
less-nuanced relationships and a less-robust faith. Our culture increasingly
divorced from a moral framework. Increasingly, a university
operates out of pre-packaged categories instead of acknowledging complexities—
is judged by whether it leads to a high-paying job rather than
and it’s stunting the development of character.
to learning and growth. University graduates are taught
that post-college jobs are something to “get” rather than a
context in which to serve and live with character.

Monica Youssef
4th Year Medical Student
“
I’ve always had a great passion for the
health sciences and really enjoy seeing,
learning, and understanding things
holistically. When I compartmentalize
my life, when my studies become devoid
of faith, that disconnect is demotivating
and exhausting. Learning about the body
from a microscopic to macroscopic
level, it becomes so clear to me how
perfectly our Creator orchestrated our
bodies. In this, I think medicine is a very
spiritual study—and at Anselm House I’ve
been able to delve into that belief with
greater understanding.”
For Christian students
and faculty, the university
can be lonely at best.
At worst, it can foster an irreparable divide that causes people to walk away from their faith forever.
Campus ministries create space for Bible studies and training in evangelism—and yet, even this
model usually keeps faith as extracurricular, separated from studies and the rest of life.
85%
The percentage of Christian
young people that go to secular Universities are more professional and
universities. glittering than ever, but in some ways there
is emptiness deep down. Students are taught
how to do things, but many are not forced to
The percentage of young people
70%
reflect on why they should do them or what we
between the ages of 18 and 22 that
are here for. They are given many career options, but they are
leave the church .
- LifeWay Research, 2007 on their own when it comes to developing criteria to determine
which vocation would lead to the fullest life.”
- DAVID BROOKS, the New York Times, October 6, 2015
The U of M is a driving force of this region . . .
6th largest employer in Minnesota
4th largest public university in the U.S.
Graduates hold top leadership positions as senators, CEOs, TV personalities, educators, culture-makers
but every year, roughly 12,000 U of M
graduates go out into the world,
BRINGING THE DIVIDED LIFE INTO THE CULTURE THEY MAKE.
In Christ, we have the
opportunity to live lives
of wholeness—at the university Whole faith
and beyond. where all aspects of life are
open and ordered to God’s calling
To work toward this wholeness, secular universities need communities equipped for the
intellectual and moral demands of following Christ. We need communities that integrate all
the parts of our lives­­—thinking, faith, daily life, relationships. In fact, integration is at the core of
the concept of university: the Latin word universitas means totality, entirety, the whole.
&
University.
Derived from the Latin word: Whole people
O UR VI S I O N
whose loves and desires,

uni ver si tas n.

thoughts and words,
studies and work are integrated
1. E NTI R E T Y
2. TOTAL I T Y

3.

&
WH O L E

Whole university
where knowledge is unified
in the pursuit of goodness,
truth, and beauty
 Fellows Program
Anselm House is a new kind
Each year, small cohorts of students participate in our Colin MacLaurin Fellows Program, an inten-
tional community living life at the intersection of faith and study. Through shared meals, staff-led

of campus community connecting

conversations, retreats, worship, and thoughtful Christian curriculum, the program equips students
to integrate their education and faith in ways that strengthen both moral and intellectual character.

faith & knowlege with all of life.

Each year, Anselm House builds relationships that challenge students, faculty, and community
members to ask life’s big questions—and live into the answers.
30 FELLOWS
10 FELLOWS LIVING TOGETHER IN
INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY 3 CURRICULAR
TRACKS

Public Events Study Center

Through events large and small, we annually convene more than 3,000 people to engage and Anselm House is not just a community but also a physical meeting place.
be challenged by wide-ranging ideas and perspectives. At our Study Center, located on the west side of the St. Paul campus, you will always find coffee

&
brewing and conversations underway. Students gather for weekly espresso hours, study in quiet
COMMUNITY ATTENDANCE: 1,300 SPEAKERS FROM:
corners, and host discussions with faculty over dinner. Our academically trained staff are on-hand
health & medicine
STUDENT ATTENDANCE: 1,500+ and our library is always open.
science & engineering,
FACULTY ATTENDANCE: 150+ education, law & public affairs
TOTAL ATTENDANCE: 3,000+ liberal arts, business, & more

PAST SPEAKERS HAVE INCLUDED:

ANDY JEAN BETHKE MAKOTO KAREN MARK JAMES K.A.

CROUCH ELSHTAIN FUJIMURA SWALLOW PRIOR NOLL SMITH

Community Discussions
Through semester-long reading groups and weekly community meals that gather people
from across denominations, we foster ongoing conversations and long-term relationships
where faith and knowledge can be integrated with life.
 Katie Hazlewood (right)
Class of 2017, Mechanical Engineering

“ I’ve held two internships where my coworkers

believed work is solely a way to make a living,
and enjoyment comes on weekends or
vacation. Anselm House has helped me to view
this completely differently. I can find fulfillment
in my work, because as a Christian, my work looks
forward to the new heavens and new earth that
will be present when Jesus returns. Anselm House
has helped me notice the signs of restoration and
human flourishing present in my work, and has
encouraged me to see my vocation in a new and
hopeful light.”

Dr. Naty Lopez

Assistant Dean, Dentistry

“ Part of my job as faculty and administrator at the university

is working with underrepresented groups—but I find it difficult
to keep a servant-leader mindset. It is so refreshing to have
a place and a community in this context that helps students
and faculty think and live as Christians. Whenever I go to
Anselm House, it is like receiving cooling waters.”

Chris Macosko
Professor, Chemical Engineering

“ Where can a chemical engineer

develop a friendship with a professor
Brad Gordon
PhD student, Water Resources Science
of higher education administration?
Anselm House. Their events provide
much-needed bridges across “ I research vegetation, water quality, eroding ravines, and
wetlands—and the Colin MacLaurin Fellows Program at
disciplinary divides. Their support keeps Anselm House has challenged me to be conscious of my
our Christian Faculty Network vibrant, faith in every aspect of this research. I have greater joy in
because they help connect our my research and in my encounters with people in other

academic minds with our faith—and that fields, because this community has shown me how every
subject, every field, and every form of work was created
is like a spring of “living water” to
for worshipping and glorifying God.”
Christian faculty here.”
When people are equipped to combat
the divided life and live integrated lives

THE UNIVERSITY Cecelia Cathcart

& ITS COMMUNITY

Class of 2015, Mechanical Engineering

“ Participating in the Colin MacLaurin Fellows Program

WILL FLOURISH.
with Anselm House gave me the opportunity to lay the
groundwork for a theology of technology and, more
broadly, of work. It gave me the space to explore and
consider different approaches to my field with input from
a close community. Ultimately, it helped me to distill what
a biblical approach to engineering might look like. I have
greater confidence now that I don’t have to leave my faith
at home working in the industry; as an engineer, I am part
of the Kingdom of God.”
 Looking ahead,
our mission will take on
even greater dimension.

The Anselm House Residential College

Christian students at secular universities need a setting in which they can be both full-time students and
full-time Christians. Anselm House envisions providing a Christian residential education right here at the
university that serves as an academic community committed to both intellectual and character formation.
Students will live together with tutors and faculty, eating, worshiping, and learning in community.

Life for Anselm House residents would include:

Connecting with a network of faculty,

pastors, alumni, & professionals

An original 4-year
curriculum comprised
Service toward the
of biblical study,
university and one
Christian fundamentals,
another, often in
vocational exploration,
partnership with local
and applied topics
churches across
denominations

Shared life, common meals, morning The Residential

and evening prayers, and outreach events College model
that both connect and commission would make
Christian higher
education a reality at
secular universities.
OUR
COMMUNITY
Connecting
faith & knowledge
with all of life.

WELCOMES

&
A LL
YOU. OF

LIFE
FA I T H KNOWLEDGE
Pray with Anselm House.

Learn with Anselm House.

Give to Anselm House.

Connect with Anselm House.

About our name:
anselmhouse.org
St. Anselm of Canterbury was an 11th century theologian and
Facebook.com/AnselmHouseUMN
philosopher famous for the concept of “faith seeking understanding.”
@AnselmHouseUMN He believed that our faith and our knowledge of the world are
@AnselmHouseUMN intertwined. His life of thoughtful faithfulness and critical yet loving
hello@anselmhouse.org engagement with secular learning provides a model for our presence
at the university.
1337 C L E VEL AND AVE N, ST PAUL , MN 5 5 1 0 8 | 6 1 2. 378.1 9 3 5 | A NS ELM H OUS E.OR G