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CONVOCATION 2014
Archbishop Aquila, Thomas Aquinas College
Welcome Class of 2018
On Monday, August 25, some 102 students from across the country and abroad matriculated as freshmen at Thomas Aquinas College — the Class of 2018.
The morning began with a Mass of the Holy Spirit in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, with the Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila, Archbishop of Denver, serving as the principal celebrant and homilist. Following the Mass, students, faculty, and staff convened in St. Joseph Commons for the Matriculation Ceremony.
In addition to the new students, the College welcomed its newest tutor, Dr. Marco Emerson. Dr. Emerson made the Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity, as do all members of the College’s teaching faculty. Dr. McLean then formally welcomed the freshmen in his Matriculation remarks.
After Archbishop Aquila delivered his Matriculation Address to the members of the Class of 2018 — who hail from 6 countries and 30 states — he received a standing ovation. Dr. McLean then proclaimed the start of the new academic year. As in years past the students responded with a loud round of applause.
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Convocation 2014
Archbishop Aquila’s homily
President McLean’s remarks
 Archbishop Aquila’s address
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PRAISE FROM SECULAR AND CATHOLIC COLLEGE GUIDES
U.S. News and National Catholic Register give College Top Marks for Academics, Value,
and Catholic Identity
In the newly released 2015 edition of its “Best Colleges” guide, U.S. News & World Report places Thomas Aquinas College in the top third of the top tier of all American liberal arts colleges. It also praises the College’s financial aid program, listing the school as No. 26 among the Top 40 national liberal arts colleges on its “Best Values” list.
Meanwhile, the National Catholic Register has selected Thomas Aquinas College as one of only 38 “faithfully Catholic colleges and universities nationwide” included in its “Catholic Identity College Guide 2014.” The guide is based on the schools’ responses to 10 questions which, according to the Register, reflect “essential elements of the renewal of Catholic identity called for by Pope St. John Paul II’s 1990 apostolic constitution on higher education, Ex Corde Ecclesiae ... and other relevant Church documents.”
U.S. News & World Report ranking
National Catholic Register rating
Other college-guide reviews
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FAITH IN ACTION
Highlights from the College’s Alumni Blog
• “Classical Education Makes a Comeback,” reads the headline on a recent story in the National Catholic Register that features two graduates of the College: Dr. Andrew Seeley (’87) and Mr. Michael Van Hecke (’86). A tutor at the College, Dr. Seeley is also the executive director of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education, which promotes authentic Catholic education and assists classical schools across the country. Mr. Van Hecke is the headmaster of St. Augustine Academy, a K-12 classical school with 150 students in Ventura, California, and president of the Catholic Schools Textbook Project.
• On August 12 Br. Richard Berquist (’10) entered the novitiate for the Dominican Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. Two weeks later, on the Feast of St. Augustine (August 27), he was vested and received the Dominican habit during compline. Br. Richard is now undergoing the first year of Dominican formation at St. Dominic’s Church in San Francisco, where he assists the church’s pastor and fellow alumnus, Rev. Michael Hurley, O.P. (’99).
• Having completed his coursework, Aaron Lee (’07) will soon be declaring candidacy for a Ph.D. at the University of Maryland. Mr. Lee works with the university’s Joint Quantum Institute, conducting research in the areas of atomic physics, condensed matter, and quantum information. He is a contributing author to two large studies that the group published within the last year in the journals of Nature and Science. Meanwhile Mr. Lee and his wife, Ada (Doi ’07), have announced the arrival of their third child and first son, Andrew Joseph McArthur, born in June.
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Dr. Andrew Seeley (’87)
Mr. Michael Van Hecke (’86)
Br. Richard Berquist (’10) with his fellow novices
Aaron Lee (’07)
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HHS UPDATE
President McLean Expresses Doubts over Latest “Accommodation” to Federal Mandate
After consulting with attorneys, members of the Board of the Governors, and senior members of the faculty, Thomas Aquinas College President Michael F. McLean has expressed skepticism about the Obama Administration’s latest “accommodation” to the HHS Contraceptive Mandate. “The revised accommodation does not appear to address the College’s concerns about materially cooperating in the provision of coverage for morally objectionable procedures and medications,” says Dr. McLean.
The Administration announced the accommodation in response to the Supreme Court’s June 30 ruling in the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, as well as other legal challenges to the Mandate, which requires employers to provide contraceptive, abortifacient, and sterilization coverage to their employees. “Under the latest version of the accommodation, the College would notify the Department of Health and Human Services of its objections, and also provide the name and contact information of its plan administrator,” explains Dr. McLean. “The HHS, together with the Department of Labor, would arrange for the coverage with the administrator. The College’s notification would therefore still be the ‘trigger’ for the provision of the objectionable coverage.”
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Dr. McLean
Department of Health and Human Services |
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NEW CLASSROOM BUILDING
Archbishop Aquila Blesses St. Gladys Hall
With the start of the new academic year, students at Thomas Aquinas College are now, for the first time, attending classes in the College’s newest building, St. Gladys Hall.
On Convocation Day, just after the morning’s Mass of the Holy Spirit, the community gathered on the building’s southern plaza for a blessing ceremony. Presiding was this year’s Matriculation Speaker, the Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila, Archbishop of Denver, joined by the College’s four chaplains. Members of the Board of Governors and the faculty, as well as students and their families, prayed with His Excellency as he asked God to bless the building, the learning that will take place within it, and the students and tutors who will populate its classrooms.”
“Today we ask God’s blessing on St. Gladys Hall, this center of seeking, learning, and teaching what is true,” said Archbishop Aquila. “We ask that those entrusted with the education of young people at Thomas Aquinas College may teach their students to join the discoveries of human wisdom with the truth of the Gospel, so that they will be able to keep the true faith and to live up to it in their lives.”
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About St. Gladys Hall
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Archbishop Aquila and President McLean
St. Gladys Hall
Archbishop Aquila blesses the classrooms
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