New Members of the College Board of Governors
Howard J. Walsh, Frances O'C. Hardart, John Q. Masteller,
Ronald J. Richard
(Spring 2002 Newsletter)
The Thomas Aquinas College Board of Governors recently added
four members to its ranks: Howard Walsh, a retired businessman
from Pennsylvania, Frances Hardart, an active Catholic laywoman
from New York, Ronald Richard, a long-time tutor of Thomas
Aquinas College, and John Masteller, Vice President for Development
and General Counsel of Thomas Aquinas College.
Howard J. Walsh
Howard J. Walsh was the founder and CEO of Accurate Screw
Machine Products Company, a manufacturer and distributer of
precision component hardware headquartered in North Wales,
Pennsylvania. He retired in 1998, after spending 30 years
with the company, to devote himself full-time to Catholic
causes. He holds a Degree in Science from Brooklyn College.
Among his many interests, Mr. Walsh is Director of Keep the
Faith, Inc., a Catholic apostolate engaged for more than 20
years in the world-wide distribution of millions of Catholic
tapes and books, including the sermons, talks, and retreats
of the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. He is also President
of Keep the Faith Foundation and Publisher of Latin Mass
Magazine. In addition, he serves as a board member for
several Catholic organizations, including the lay advisory
board of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, and the boards
of the American Catholic Lawyers Association, Coalition in
Support of Ecclesia Dei, Catholic Views Broadcasts,
and the National Coalition of Clergy and Laity.
He and his wife of 36 years, Eleanor, reside in Saddle River,
New Jersey. They have five children and twenty-four grandchildren.
Their daughter, Tara (nee Walsh) Hamilton, graduated
from the College in 1992.
"Thomas Aquinas College makes an irreplaceable contribution
to the desperately needed restoration of authentic Roman Catholicism
in North America,' said Walsh. "My own pastor,
Fr. Robert Fromageot (class of '94), is a product of
the College. Fr. Van Vliet, another Thomas Aquinas product
(class of '91), is overseeing the construction of the
Priestly Fraternity's North American seminary. These
fine priests are only two of innumerable examples of the College's
contribution to the formation of Catholic men and women who
will help rebuild the Church in this time of crisis.'
Frances O'C. Hardart
Frances Hardart is a longtime resident of Bronxville, New
York, where she and her husband Frank raised 6 children. Frank
passed away in the spring of 2000 after more than ten years
with Lou Gehrig's disease. He had a very successful
practice as an obstetrician and gynecologist at St. Vincent's
Medical Center in Manhattan.
The Hardarts had been supporters of the College for many
years, and recently, when Dr. Dillon asked Frances for special
help with the construction of St. Therse of Lisieux
Women's Residence, she immediately responded with great
generosity.
Frances has a keen understanding of the problems in Catholic
higher education and therefore, a deep appreciation for how
Thomas Aquinas College is an antidote to those problems. "I
was first attracted to Thomas Aquinas College because it is
about the life of the mind and at the same time is unabashedly
loyal to authentic Catholic teaching. As I became more familiar
with the College, I was convinced that the unique program
it offers is vitally necessary for our Church and our country
today.'
Frances has been a Dame of the Order of Malta since 1987
and has served on its Board of Councillors. She has also served
on the Board of Directors of the St. Vincent's Hospital and
Medical Center Auxiliary since 1963. In addition, she has
been a Lady of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre
of Jerusalem from 1979 to the present. Frances is also a member
of the Board of Directors of Mohawk Paper Mills, Inc. She
is now serving as Hospitaller of the American Association
of the Order of Malta.
John Q. Masteller
John Q. Masteller is Vice President for Development, General
Counsel and Secretary to the Board of Governors. [See separate
story.]
Ronald J. Richard
Ronald J. Richard, Ph.D., is a Senior Tutor at the College,
where he has taught for more than 25 years, indeed, in all
but six classes in the curriculum. He has been a member of
the College's Library, Admissions, Lecture, and Instruction
Committees, and its Administrative Council, and for three
years was the Director of Computer Systems. He served on committees
to select candidates for President and for Dean.
He received his B.S. in Physics from Worcester Polytechnic
Institute in 1960 and then an M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics
from the University of Michigan in 1962. At the same time,
Richard did exensive graduate work in physics. For several
years he served as a research engineer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory
where he was involved in the preliminary design of trajectories
for spacecraft sent to the moon, Venus, Mars, and the outer
planets, and then, later, in the design of space trajectory
computer programs.
While at JPL, Richard received a NASA traineeship and once
again took up his graduate work in physics, receiving a Ph.D.
in 1975. While at UCLA, he served as a teaching assistant
and developed what would become a life-long love for teaching.
He thereafter became an assistant professor in the Physics
Department of Benedictine College in Atkinson, Kansas, where
he taught courses in physics and astronomy for six years.
There, he learned of the founding of Thomas Aquinas College,
and in 1973, during the College's second year, traveled
to the College to present a Friday Night Lecture. He joined
the faculty in 1976.
Dr. Richard is a member of Sigma Xi, an international science
and engineering honor society, and Sigma Pi Sigma, the national
physics honor society. He and his wife, Caroline, a successful
first grade teacher, live in Ojai and have three grown children.
Upon his election to the Board, Dr. Richard said, "I
am honored to be a member of the Board of Governors. I know
that the College could not do the good work it does without
the Board's active involvement.'
-- Qtrly Newsletter, Spring 2002
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