Aquinas Updated
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Aquinas College Nashville, Tennessee www.aquinascollege.edu
Overview Nashville lives large in the American psyche as “Music City,” the long-time center of country and, more recently, Christian music. But this growing capital city in north central Tennessee harbors a number of other institutions that also impact the region, if not the nation. One such institution, a small and emerging gem in west Nashville five miles from downtown, is the 92-acre Aquinas College. Founded by the Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of Saint Cecilia, it is an oasis of Catholic liberal arts education in an area with a miniscule three percent Catholic population. Indeed, Nashville’s strong Protestant heritage has also earned it “The Buckle of the Bible Belt” title. The sisters, popularly known as the Nashville Dominicans, came to the city in 1860 at the invitation of Bishop James Whalen, who asked them to educate girls in the arts and music. St. Cecilia Academy grew into a teacher preparatory school with a relationship with The Catholic University of America in the early 20th century. By 1961 it became a junior college and then a four-year college 33 years later. The sisters also operate a coed elementary-middle school and a girls’ high school on the campus grounds, whose focal point is a large mansion, the White House, which houses administrative offices. The order, which has a special charism of education, operates 32 schools (with one more The Newman Guide
QUICK FACTS Founded: 1961 Type of institution: Small liberal arts college Setting: Urban Undergraduate enrollment: 796 (Spring 2007) Total tuition cost: $486 per credit hour (about $14,580 total tuition for 2007–08) Undergraduate majors: Six
FIVE KEY POINTS 1.
A faithful Catholic college run by religious sisters.
2. The president is committed to promoting and expanding the Catholic identity. 3. It is proudly “fighting the tide” in a city and region heavily non-Catholic. 4. The college is expanding its academic majors into more liberal arts fields. 5. The PRIMETIME program for working adults is an important college outreach.
157
Aquinas College
on the way) in 17 dioceses. Eight of these schools are in the Diocese of Nashville, where the Motherhouse is located. Aquinas College is the only college of the 147-year-old order. The sisters belong to one of the few orders of women religious enjoying phenomenal growth. Noted for their love of traditional religious life, their contemplative focus prepares them for this active education apostolate. They also are known for their Catholic faithfulness and commitment to the Magisterium. Under the presidential leadership of Sister Thomas Aquinas, O.P., who took her religious name from her alma mater of Thomas Aquinas College (California), Aquinas College has promoted its Catholic identity, strengthened its curriculum and expanded its academic program. The college is on the move: enrollment doubled between 2001 and 2006, and further expansion is anticipated when residential facilities are built. Currently, all students are commuters. What is particularly impressive is that only 20 percent of the student body is Catholic, but that has not deterred the president in pursuing her vision of making Ex corde Ecclesiae a touchstone for the college. In a 2002 Thomas Aquinas College newsletter she is quoted: “We want to do the right thing, rather than follow some path of least resistance.” Although Catholics are a minority among students and comprise only 50 percent of the faculty, one college official told us “there is no non-Catholic faculty member in the philosophy, literature, theology or department departments. All non-Catholic faculty are at least Christian.”
158
As a junior college, Aquinas provided training in criminal justice and dental hygiene through associate degree programs. The first bachelor’s programs were in teacher education and nursing. Today, the college is moving into liberal arts fields, adding theology and English majors in the fall of 2006. More are anticipated, and this comes at a time when many colleges are migrating from the liberal arts and into more career-oriented programs. In addition to these majors, the college for some time has also offered undergraduate degrees in business and interdisciplinary studies—as well as continuing its work in teacher preparation and nursing. Minors are available in English, history, philosophy, psychology and theology. Associate degree programs are offered in nursing and liberal arts. Aquinas also appeals to older, working students through its PRIMETIME program, which is available on its main Dominican campus and two smaller campuses devoted exclusively to this program. PRIMETIME degrees are available in business administration and management information systems. Nearly 80 percent of the student body is female, which makes it distinct from other colleges in this guide. Perhaps this figure reflects the historical commitment that the college has made to nursing and K–12 education, two careers long favored by women over men. Aquinas is fully accredited by its regional body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It received its initial accreditation in 1971.
The Newman Guide
Aquinas College
Governance The Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of Saint Cecilia owns and governs the college. Sister Thomas Aquinas has been president since 2002. In addition to being a supporter of Ex corde Ecclesiae, she is interested in strengthening the curriculum in the Catholic intellectual tradition. In August 2007, the college announced that Sister Thomas Aquinas would be on an academic sabbatical during 2007–08. In her absence, Sister Mary Peter Muehlenkamp, O.P., a lawyer who has taught in Catholic elementary schools, is serving as president pro tem.
Public Identity The various statements issued by the college emphasize its Catholic identity and, impressively, emphasize routes to salvation. In its mission statement, for example, it is noted: “Faculty and staff seek to make students aware that a relationship exists between human culture and the message of salvation. Thus, the mission of Aquinas College is to bring this message of salvation to bear on ethical, social, political, religious and cultural issues.” This theme is reinforced in discussing various programs and even the goals of the library, which provides “services that illuminate the importance of the message of salvation for moral development, intellectual achievement and personal growth.” Such explicit, across-the-board commentary on the link between education and salvation is rare and welcome. By all accounts, Sister Thomas Aquinas has revitalized the institution and its Catho-
The Newman Guide
lic mission. In addition to the academic developments, she was responsible for obtaining a full-time Catholic chaplain. Also, there is an active faculty development program where Catholic teachings are discussed monthly. We expect these initiatives to continue under Sister Mary Peter. She has said, “Many exciting changes have happened in recent years, and many more are in our plans.” The presence of the Dominican sisters underscores the college’s Catholic identity as does its modest speakers programs, which include a semi-annual Aquinas Lecture and a Dominican Campus Lecture series. There also is a campus Holy Spirit Mass in the fall and a St. Thomas Aquinas Mass in the spring. Among former students at Aquinas College is Bishop David Choby of the Diocese of Nashville. He attended the-then junior college in the mid-1960s before moving on to the seminary. He also has taught moral theology at the college and is a strong supporter of the congregation and the college.
Spiritual Life The 50-seat St. Jude’s Chapel is the center of the campus’ spiritual life. With the addition of a reported “top notch” full-time chaplain, more activities have resulted. There is now a daily Mass which is “traditional in every instance” and varies from vernacular Masses to some with Latin portions. The chapel is open 13-and-a-half-hours a day, allowing for a variety of spiritual programs, including twice weekly confessions and twice yearly penance services; weekly Rosary and an annual living Rosary; weekly Adoration; and Lenten Stations of the Cross. We were told that the sisters and faculty encourage students to visit the chapel. There are plans to build a larger chapel.
159
Aquinas College
The campus ministry is involved in various pro-life and social justice activities. Students pray at abortion clinics and a Cemetery of the Innocent, where crosses representing aborted children have been erected. Among the other student organizations is the Frassati Society, which promotes the Beatitudes; Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati was an early 20th-century Dominican tertiary who exemplified the Beatitudes. There also is a weekly student discussion group that is similar to the popular “Theology on Tap” programs around the country. In October 2006, the college hosted a “Teens with Christ” weekend retreat for eighth-through-10th graders. It was a project of the Dominican Sisters and the diocese; Bishop Choby celebrated both Masses of the retreat and participants heard talks on chastity, vocations and other topics.
Catholicism in the Classroom The Dominican Sisters state that their mission in Catholic education is “to provide students with the freedom of a liberal arts education so that with the development of skills and a strong academic foundation they may fulfill their God-given vocation.” The college tries to integrate the teachings of the Church into all of its programs. According to one administrator, “The school is working to do a better job emphasizing what theology and philosophy have to say about other disciplines.” In the business program, for example, support for a free-market economy is complemented by a desire for “Christian moral constraints.” Students in the popular nursing program are taught about the Church’s teach-
160
ings in this important area. As the director of the associate degree in nursing program told us, “We give students the tools to help their patients make the right moral decisions.” The nursing department has had guest speakers who reinforce the moral nature of the curriculum. Among these have been Brother Ignatius Perkins, O.P., a dean and nursing professor at Spalding University, and Sister Renee Mirkes, head of the moral and ethics department at Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska. All of the theology faculty, we are told, have received the mandatum—in fact, they all “jumped at the opportunity,” according to one college official. Moral theology courses are reported to be especially good. Eight sisters teach at Aquinas. They and their lay counterparts, Catholic and nonCatholic, “not only don’t contradict the Magisterium but students are led to see that the teachings of the Church touch on all parts of their lives,” according to one Aquinas administrator. While graduation requirements vary slightly from discipline to discipline, the Bachelor of Arts curriculum is indicative. Here students take slightly more than half of their total credit hours, 65, in a core that runs the gamut of the traditional liberal arts curriculum. Three specific philosophy courses are required and students can select from a range of theology courses to satisfy a two-course requirement. Two foreign language courses and one computer course also are mandated. The college makes an effort to ease the challenge of the first year for students through its Aquinas College Cares about Every Student’s Success (ACCESS) program. It is a required program of mentoring, tutoring and advising for them and for other new students.
The Newman Guide
Aquinas College
Student Activities There is a Student Activities Board that sponsors speakers and other events. There are about 10 organizations that include the Frassati Society, the Salvation Army Angel Tree program, groups for student nurses and prospective teachers, Aquinas Singers, a business fraternity and a classics club. Among campus events scheduled for fall 2007 is a dramatic presentation, Therese, the Story of a Soul: A One-Person Play on the Life of St. Therese of Lisieux, at the St. Cecilia Theatre. The college, which once successfully competed on an intercollegiate basis as part of the National Junior College Athletic Association, currently does not field athletic teams. One faculty member, strongly supportive of the college, told us that social interactions were limited. She said, “This is a commuter college with few opportunities for students to ‘hang out’ and develop friendships with each other.”
Residential Life Some of the dynamics of the college might change when residential facilities are built. It is our understanding that the building of the first residence hall by fall 2009 is at the top of the college’s strategic plan. According to Sister Thomas Aquinas, such expansion will allow the college to attract Catholics from other parts of the country.
The Community Nashville is one of the most vibrant cities of the upper South. Its population recently exceeded the 600,000 mark and is growing fast. In addition to historical ties to the country music industry, Nashville has a big health care sector, including serving as the home of the behemoth Hospital Corporation of America. The city offers many cultural, social and entertainment opportunities. There is, of course, the venerable Grand Ole Opry, with its Saturday night performances, but there also are National Football League (Tennessee Titans) and National Hockey League (Nashville Predators) teams to follow. Nashville is a transportation hub, which includes the Nashville International Airport, a hub for Southwest Airlines and host to other major carriers. Three major national highways, Interstates 24, 40 and 65, serve the city.
Students have access to St. Thomas Hospital, which is next to the college. The Daughters of Charity started the facility in 1898, and it is now a comprehensive, 541-bed hospital.
The Newman Guide
161
Aquinas College
The Bottom Line Aquinas College is a small college with a proud local tradition, particularly in areas such as nursing and teaching. With several promising initiatives underway, it is poised to expand its curriculum and attract students from beyond the Nashville area. The fact that the city and state are so overwhelmingly Protestant does not deter the college from living its Catholic identity.
162
Even with a student body of only 20 percent Catholics, Aquinas College embraces Ex corde Ecclesiae, making it a cause for celebration in a changing South. This is a college worth considering both for students in Tennessee and increasingly for those around the nation who are looking for the careful attention and dynamic spirit that the Dominican sisters provide to faithful education.
The Newman Guide
Overview Nashville lives large in the American psyche as “Music City,” the long-time center of country and, more recently, Christian music. But this growing capital city in north central Tennessee harbors a number of other institutions that also impact the region, if not the nation. One such institution, a small and emerging gem in west Nashville five miles from downtown, is the 92-acre Aquinas College. Founded by the Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of Saint Cecilia, it is an oasis of Catholic liberal arts education in an area with a miniscule three percent Catholic population. Indeed, Nashville’s strong Protestant heritage has also earned it “The Buckle of the Bible Belt” title. The sisters, popularly known as the Nashville Dominicans, came to the city in 1860 at the invitation of Bishop James Whalen, who asked them to educate girls in the arts and music. St. Cecilia Academy grew into a teacher preparatory school with a relationship with The Catholic University of America in the early 20th century. By 1961 it became a junior college and then a four-year college 33 years later. The sisters also operate a coed elementary-middle school and a girls’ high school on the campus grounds, whose focal point is a large mansion, the White House, which houses administrative offices. The order, which has a special charism of education, operates 32 schools (with one more The Newman Guide
QUICK FACTS Founded: 1961 Type of institution: Small liberal arts college Setting: Urban Undergraduate enrollment: 796 (Spring 2007) Total tuition cost: $486 per credit hour (about $14,580 total tuition for 2007–08) Undergraduate majors: Six
FIVE KEY POINTS 1.
A faithful Catholic college run by religious sisters.
2. The president is committed to promoting and expanding the Catholic identity. 3. It is proudly “fighting the tide” in a city and region heavily non-Catholic. 4. The college is expanding its academic majors into more liberal arts fields. 5. The PRIMETIME program for working adults is an important college outreach.
157
Aquinas College
on the way) in 17 dioceses. Eight of these schools are in the Diocese of Nashville, where the Motherhouse is located. Aquinas College is the only college of the 147-year-old order. The sisters belong to one of the few orders of women religious enjoying phenomenal growth. Noted for their love of traditional religious life, their contemplative focus prepares them for this active education apostolate. They also are known for their Catholic faithfulness and commitment to the Magisterium. Under the presidential leadership of Sister Thomas Aquinas, O.P., who took her religious name from her alma mater of Thomas Aquinas College (California), Aquinas College has promoted its Catholic identity, strengthened its curriculum and expanded its academic program. The college is on the move: enrollment doubled between 2001 and 2006, and further expansion is anticipated when residential facilities are built. Currently, all students are commuters. What is particularly impressive is that only 20 percent of the student body is Catholic, but that has not deterred the president in pursuing her vision of making Ex corde Ecclesiae a touchstone for the college. In a 2002 Thomas Aquinas College newsletter she is quoted: “We want to do the right thing, rather than follow some path of least resistance.” Although Catholics are a minority among students and comprise only 50 percent of the faculty, one college official told us “there is no non-Catholic faculty member in the philosophy, literature, theology or department departments. All non-Catholic faculty are at least Christian.”
158
As a junior college, Aquinas provided training in criminal justice and dental hygiene through associate degree programs. The first bachelor’s programs were in teacher education and nursing. Today, the college is moving into liberal arts fields, adding theology and English majors in the fall of 2006. More are anticipated, and this comes at a time when many colleges are migrating from the liberal arts and into more career-oriented programs. In addition to these majors, the college for some time has also offered undergraduate degrees in business and interdisciplinary studies—as well as continuing its work in teacher preparation and nursing. Minors are available in English, history, philosophy, psychology and theology. Associate degree programs are offered in nursing and liberal arts. Aquinas also appeals to older, working students through its PRIMETIME program, which is available on its main Dominican campus and two smaller campuses devoted exclusively to this program. PRIMETIME degrees are available in business administration and management information systems. Nearly 80 percent of the student body is female, which makes it distinct from other colleges in this guide. Perhaps this figure reflects the historical commitment that the college has made to nursing and K–12 education, two careers long favored by women over men. Aquinas is fully accredited by its regional body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It received its initial accreditation in 1971.
The Newman Guide
Aquinas College
Governance The Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of Saint Cecilia owns and governs the college. Sister Thomas Aquinas has been president since 2002. In addition to being a supporter of Ex corde Ecclesiae, she is interested in strengthening the curriculum in the Catholic intellectual tradition. In August 2007, the college announced that Sister Thomas Aquinas would be on an academic sabbatical during 2007–08. In her absence, Sister Mary Peter Muehlenkamp, O.P., a lawyer who has taught in Catholic elementary schools, is serving as president pro tem.
Public Identity The various statements issued by the college emphasize its Catholic identity and, impressively, emphasize routes to salvation. In its mission statement, for example, it is noted: “Faculty and staff seek to make students aware that a relationship exists between human culture and the message of salvation. Thus, the mission of Aquinas College is to bring this message of salvation to bear on ethical, social, political, religious and cultural issues.” This theme is reinforced in discussing various programs and even the goals of the library, which provides “services that illuminate the importance of the message of salvation for moral development, intellectual achievement and personal growth.” Such explicit, across-the-board commentary on the link between education and salvation is rare and welcome. By all accounts, Sister Thomas Aquinas has revitalized the institution and its Catho-
The Newman Guide
lic mission. In addition to the academic developments, she was responsible for obtaining a full-time Catholic chaplain. Also, there is an active faculty development program where Catholic teachings are discussed monthly. We expect these initiatives to continue under Sister Mary Peter. She has said, “Many exciting changes have happened in recent years, and many more are in our plans.” The presence of the Dominican sisters underscores the college’s Catholic identity as does its modest speakers programs, which include a semi-annual Aquinas Lecture and a Dominican Campus Lecture series. There also is a campus Holy Spirit Mass in the fall and a St. Thomas Aquinas Mass in the spring. Among former students at Aquinas College is Bishop David Choby of the Diocese of Nashville. He attended the-then junior college in the mid-1960s before moving on to the seminary. He also has taught moral theology at the college and is a strong supporter of the congregation and the college.
Spiritual Life The 50-seat St. Jude’s Chapel is the center of the campus’ spiritual life. With the addition of a reported “top notch” full-time chaplain, more activities have resulted. There is now a daily Mass which is “traditional in every instance” and varies from vernacular Masses to some with Latin portions. The chapel is open 13-and-a-half-hours a day, allowing for a variety of spiritual programs, including twice weekly confessions and twice yearly penance services; weekly Rosary and an annual living Rosary; weekly Adoration; and Lenten Stations of the Cross. We were told that the sisters and faculty encourage students to visit the chapel. There are plans to build a larger chapel.
159
Aquinas College
The campus ministry is involved in various pro-life and social justice activities. Students pray at abortion clinics and a Cemetery of the Innocent, where crosses representing aborted children have been erected. Among the other student organizations is the Frassati Society, which promotes the Beatitudes; Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati was an early 20th-century Dominican tertiary who exemplified the Beatitudes. There also is a weekly student discussion group that is similar to the popular “Theology on Tap” programs around the country. In October 2006, the college hosted a “Teens with Christ” weekend retreat for eighth-through-10th graders. It was a project of the Dominican Sisters and the diocese; Bishop Choby celebrated both Masses of the retreat and participants heard talks on chastity, vocations and other topics.
Catholicism in the Classroom The Dominican Sisters state that their mission in Catholic education is “to provide students with the freedom of a liberal arts education so that with the development of skills and a strong academic foundation they may fulfill their God-given vocation.” The college tries to integrate the teachings of the Church into all of its programs. According to one administrator, “The school is working to do a better job emphasizing what theology and philosophy have to say about other disciplines.” In the business program, for example, support for a free-market economy is complemented by a desire for “Christian moral constraints.” Students in the popular nursing program are taught about the Church’s teach-
160
ings in this important area. As the director of the associate degree in nursing program told us, “We give students the tools to help their patients make the right moral decisions.” The nursing department has had guest speakers who reinforce the moral nature of the curriculum. Among these have been Brother Ignatius Perkins, O.P., a dean and nursing professor at Spalding University, and Sister Renee Mirkes, head of the moral and ethics department at Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska. All of the theology faculty, we are told, have received the mandatum—in fact, they all “jumped at the opportunity,” according to one college official. Moral theology courses are reported to be especially good. Eight sisters teach at Aquinas. They and their lay counterparts, Catholic and nonCatholic, “not only don’t contradict the Magisterium but students are led to see that the teachings of the Church touch on all parts of their lives,” according to one Aquinas administrator. While graduation requirements vary slightly from discipline to discipline, the Bachelor of Arts curriculum is indicative. Here students take slightly more than half of their total credit hours, 65, in a core that runs the gamut of the traditional liberal arts curriculum. Three specific philosophy courses are required and students can select from a range of theology courses to satisfy a two-course requirement. Two foreign language courses and one computer course also are mandated. The college makes an effort to ease the challenge of the first year for students through its Aquinas College Cares about Every Student’s Success (ACCESS) program. It is a required program of mentoring, tutoring and advising for them and for other new students.
The Newman Guide
Aquinas College
Student Activities There is a Student Activities Board that sponsors speakers and other events. There are about 10 organizations that include the Frassati Society, the Salvation Army Angel Tree program, groups for student nurses and prospective teachers, Aquinas Singers, a business fraternity and a classics club. Among campus events scheduled for fall 2007 is a dramatic presentation, Therese, the Story of a Soul: A One-Person Play on the Life of St. Therese of Lisieux, at the St. Cecilia Theatre. The college, which once successfully competed on an intercollegiate basis as part of the National Junior College Athletic Association, currently does not field athletic teams. One faculty member, strongly supportive of the college, told us that social interactions were limited. She said, “This is a commuter college with few opportunities for students to ‘hang out’ and develop friendships with each other.”
Residential Life Some of the dynamics of the college might change when residential facilities are built. It is our understanding that the building of the first residence hall by fall 2009 is at the top of the college’s strategic plan. According to Sister Thomas Aquinas, such expansion will allow the college to attract Catholics from other parts of the country.
The Community Nashville is one of the most vibrant cities of the upper South. Its population recently exceeded the 600,000 mark and is growing fast. In addition to historical ties to the country music industry, Nashville has a big health care sector, including serving as the home of the behemoth Hospital Corporation of America. The city offers many cultural, social and entertainment opportunities. There is, of course, the venerable Grand Ole Opry, with its Saturday night performances, but there also are National Football League (Tennessee Titans) and National Hockey League (Nashville Predators) teams to follow. Nashville is a transportation hub, which includes the Nashville International Airport, a hub for Southwest Airlines and host to other major carriers. Three major national highways, Interstates 24, 40 and 65, serve the city.
Students have access to St. Thomas Hospital, which is next to the college. The Daughters of Charity started the facility in 1898, and it is now a comprehensive, 541-bed hospital.
The Newman Guide
161
Aquinas College
The Bottom Line Aquinas College is a small college with a proud local tradition, particularly in areas such as nursing and teaching. With several promising initiatives underway, it is poised to expand its curriculum and attract students from beyond the Nashville area. The fact that the city and state are so overwhelmingly Protestant does not deter the college from living its Catholic identity.
162
Even with a student body of only 20 percent Catholics, Aquinas College embraces Ex corde Ecclesiae, making it a cause for celebration in a changing South. This is a college worth considering both for students in Tennessee and increasingly for those around the nation who are looking for the careful attention and dynamic spirit that the Dominican sisters provide to faithful education.
The Newman Guide
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