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THOMAS AQUINAS COLLEGE E-LETTER
OCTOBER 2020
 
 
 
 
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CAMPUS LIFE 
MULTIMEDIA
 
   
Dr. Dinan lectures Dr. Andrew C. Dinan: In Defense of the Aeneid  
     
Thumbnail for Tittmann video Raymond Tittmann (’94) Defends Judge Barrett  
     
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  UPCOMING EVENTS  
   
Don Rags
October 20-22
 
   
Anniversary of the Death of College Founder Marcus R. Berquist
November 2
 
   
Thanksgiving Recess
November 25-30
 
   
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
December 8
 
   
First Semester Examinations
December 12-18
 
   
Christmas Vacation
December 18 - January 10
 
   
Residence Halls Close
December 19
 
   
 IMEMORIAM  
   
Billie John Ellis
September 17
Benefactor

David Ziegert
October 11
Father of Amelia (’07)

 
   
Legacy Society ad  
 
“#1 HIDDEN GEM
College Guides Place TAC Atop Latest Rankings

• In addition to earning, once more, a coveted spot in the Top 50 of U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of national liberal arts colleges, Thomas Aquinas College has this year claimed a new distinction: No. 3 in the United States for social mobility, or advancing the financial prospects of economically disadvantaged students. Only 216 of the country’s colleges are included on the social-mobility list, and TAC is the only Catholic institution to crack the top 50. The College is, likewise, one of only two Catholic schools in the top 50 of U.S. News’ annual list of the best American liberal arts colleges (No. 40). It has also received high marks for its financial aid program, ranking No. 86 on the magazine’s comprehensive list of academic “Best Values.”

• The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has released its annual report on the curricular strength of American institutions of higher learning and, once again, Thomas Aquinas College is at the very top of the list. For the twelfth time in as many years, ACTA has given Thomas Aquinas College a grade of “A” and a perfect rating. By earning an “A,” the College rates among the top 2 percent of American colleges and universities, 22 schools in all, named to ACTA’s coveted “A List.” Moreover, TAC is one of only seven schools, or the top 0.5 percent nationwide, to earn a perfect score for the strength of its curriculum.

• “If you prefer space and a more relaxed atmosphere to the hustle and bustle of a big city,” or you are looking for schools that “have a strong sense of community among their students,” then the editors of College Raptor have a list of 25 “hidden gems” you may want to consider. And the top school on that list is none other than Thomas Aquinas College. The online guide has named the College as No. 1 on its list of the “Top 25 Best Rural Hidden Gem Colleges.” To qualify for the list, schools must receive fewer than 5,000 applications per year, maintain an undergraduate population of no more than 7,000, and accept at least 10 percent of their applicants.

 
 

The Princeton Review

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College Raptor Hidden Gem Rural Colleges
 
 

SETTING THE TONE
Stephen Grimm (’75) Brings Family’s Musical Tradition to TAC, New England

Whether he is raising the thundering peals of the organ during Sunday Mass, rehearsing the student choir to perfection, or giving quality musical instruction to any that ask, Stephen Grimm (’75) is bringing first-rate music to Thomas Aquinas College, New England — just as he did as a member of the College’s first class in California nearly 50 years ago.

“I already consider New England to be home,” says Mr. Grimm, who, along with his wife, Laura, moved to Northfield, Massachusetts, last fall to become the first choir director on the newly opened East Coast campus. In taking on this position, Mr. Grimm continues his family’s storied musical history at the College, while serving as a counterpart to his brother Dan (’76), who directs the choir in California.

In addition to teaching music and leading various school choirs, Mr. Grimm was a member of the L.A. Master Chorale for over 30 years, the artistic director for Pasadena Pro Musica, and a former participant in the L.A. Opera. He has soloed in performances of Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, Vaughn William’s Mass in G Minor, and Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb; and he has sung in many movies, including Air Force One, Frozen, and Dracula.

Yet when he learned about the growing possibility of Thomas Aquinas College opening a second campus on the East Coast, Mr. Grimm offered to quit his longtime home in California so that the Grimm family could give TAC East what it first gave to TAC West nearly a half-century before.

► Full story   

 

Laura and Stephen Grimm
Laura and Stephen Grimm (’75)
 
 

ALPHA & OMEGA
New Altar-Rail Gate Unites New England and California Campuses

As part of the ongoing transformation of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel at Thomas Aquinas College, New England, workers have recently completed the installation of a double gate in the altar rail. Rich in symbolism, the gate speaks to both God’s everlasting nature and the unity of the College’s two campuses.

Embedded in bronze within the two sides of the gate are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and omega — a symbol which Christians have employed since at least the 4th century to represent God’s eternal nature. The carving recalls the prophecy of St. John: “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, the Almighty’” (Rev. 1:8). It also bears homage to the gate’s counterpart in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel on the College’s California campus, which, while differing in style from its New England counterpart, likewise features the same Greek letters.

The gate is the handiwork of alumnus woodworker George Krestyn (’03), who also took part in constructing the New England Chapel’s confessionals and altar rail, as well as reconfiguring its pews and floor to create a center aisle. Mr. Krestyn has been carefully hand-carving the gate for the last several months.

► Full story   

 

California Communion rail gate
The altar-rail gate in California ...

New England gate
... and in New England
 

FAITH IN ACTION
Highlights from the College's Alumni Blog

• Twenty years ago Br. John Winkowitsch, O.P. (’04), received the Sacrament of Baptism during his freshman year at Thomas Aquinas College. Last month, he received the Sacrament of Holy Orders as he was ordained to the transitional diaconate at the Priory of Saint Albert the Great in Oakland. Br. John was the fourth of five alumni to be ordained this year. On October 10, he was followed by Rev. Mr. Michael Masteller (’13), whom the Most Rev. Alejandro D. Aclan, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, ordained to the transitional diaconate at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angeles. Please keep these aspiring priests in your prayers!

• Alumnus attorney Raymond Tittmann (’94) was a law-school classmate of Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. When a group of alumni from Judge Barrett’s undergraduate college — few, if any, of whom had attended the college at the same time as the nominee, let alone knew her personally — signed a petition against her nomination, Mr. Tittmann and some friends began soliciting signatures on her behalf from fellow members of the Notre Dame Law School Class of 1997. “We should be issuing that letter within the next couple of days,” Mr. Tittmann recently said on the Dana Loesch Show. “As far as we can tell, [it will have] more signatures from the class of a Supreme Court nominee” than any other in the history of the United States.

• If  you are looking for words of wisdom from one of Thomas Aquinas College’s most beloved tutors, you are in luck:  Alumnus Dr. John Francis Nieto (’89), a member of the California teaching faculty, has launched a blog, Half-Baked Books, which, as its name suggests, serves as a repository of Dr. Nieto’s musings, essays, and other literary endeavors. “In this blog,” writes Dr. Nieto’s colleague and fellow alumnus Dr. Andrew Seeley (’87), “I think you will encounter the thought of a wise man.” The blog covers a range of topics as broad as its creator’s varied interests, including, metaphysics, quantitative abstraction, poetry, Dante, and much more.


► Faith in Action blog
 
 

Br. John Winkowitsch, O.P. (’04)
Br. John Winkowitsch, O.P. (’04)

Rev. Mr. Michael Masteller (’13)
Rev. Mr. Michael Masteller (’13)

Raymond Tittmann (’94)
Raymond Tittman (’94)

Dr. John Francis Nieto (’89)
Dr. John Francis Nieto (’89)
 
 

ST. THÉRÈSE LEGACY MONTH
College Places Legacy Society Under Patronage of St. Thérèse of Lisieux

“If you ask members of our early graduating classes, especially the women, you will find that there has always been a lively devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux at Thomas Aquinas College,” says President Michael F. McLean. “She is the namesake of one of our residence halls; her statue stands in a prayer garden named in her honor; students place flowers at the statue’s base and offer novenas for her intercession.”

On October 1, the Feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Thomas Aquinas College announced that it was placing its Legacy Society under her patronage. “The St. Thérèse of Lisieux Legacy Society is a growing group of alumni, parents, and friends who support TAC through planned giving, most often by including the College in their estate plans,” explains Paul Blewett, the College’s director of gift planning. “The assets that we leave behind can be converted into the building blocks of an eternal legacy, making possible the education and formation of future generations of TAC students and alumni.”

In honor of the Little Flower, the College has dubbed this month — through November 2, All Souls Day — “St. Thérèse Legacy Month,” so as to raise awareness about the Society and encourage those who love the College to consider joining its ranks. During this time, friends of the College are invited to fill out this quick form, expressing an interest in learning more about the St. Thérèse of Lisieux Legacy Society. In gratitude, the College will send respondents a free copy of Stations of the Cross with Our Sister Saint Thérèse, by alumna author Suzie Andres (’87).

► Full story
► Learn more about the St. Thérèse Society

 

St. Therese de Lisieux
St. Thérèse of Lisieux





 

 
 
 
 
 
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