From the Desk of the President
President Thomas E. Dillon
(Winter/Spring 2004 Newsletter)
[Index
of Past Articles by President Dillon]
As the academic year draws to a close, I find myself reflecting
on how far the College has come in its short existence. It
began nearly 33 years ago with only 33 students and a handful
of faculty. But there was also great hope that this unique
endeavor of providing genuine Catholic liberal education would
endure and eventually thrive. As we work now to permanently
establish Thomas Aquinas College for future generations of
young people, there are many signs that the College is indeed
thriving.
- As so often happens at the Easter Vigil, this year
three of our students were received into the Church.
- With the freshman class for the coming academic year already
full, and a waiting list longer than ever before, we expect
to reach our planned maximum enrollment at the start of the
coming year.
- Registration is at its highest point ever for our High
School Summer Program.
- Graduates like those featured in this issue of the newsletter
continue to take on positions of leadership in the Church,
where they are having a profound influence for good.
- The College received an especially warm reception at an
event in New York City earlier in the spring, with spontaneous
testimonials arising from benefactors, parents and friends.
- Construction of our final residence hall is proceeding
on schedule, and generous benefactors have come forward to
fund the project.
- As the stories below reveal, the College is more and more
frequently recognized both in the wider Christian community
and the secular world for its solid national reputation for
academic excellence and sound moral and spiritual development.
Perhaps the greatest sign, though, that the College is thriving
is that once again, this spring, there are three more young
men from among our graduates who will be ordained to the priesthood
- one in New York, another in Chicago, and still a third in
New Jersey. Their ordinations will bring the number of Thomas
Aquinas College alumni priests to 37; and even now there are
31 young men preparing for Holy Orders in seminaries across
the country.
When I reflect on these signs of good health at the College,
I am reminded that the work of the College is truly God's
work. Its fruits are far greater than mere human efforts could
yield. With His grace, and with the continued generosity of
our benefactors, the work of the College will go on, and our
graduates will continue to serve as a leaven in our society
and a great source of strength for the Church.
But there is much yet to be done. Featured in these pages
are updates about our Chapel project, for which we must seek
funding. We are also in the final planning stages for a faculty
office building to accommodate in one building the faculty
and administration of the College. And, as we look towards
a new academic year, there will be, as there are every year,
many financial aid scholarships to fund.
So I ask you to please keep the College in your prayers.
I ask you, also, when you make your gifts to the College,
to be as generous as you can. Though much of the funding we
seek is for the construction of buildings, the real project
at Thomas Aquinas College is to help build souls for Christ.
The College's friends and benefactors are our partners in
this noble endeavor. Mindful that God will never be outdone
in generosity, we remember you in our prayers and at all of
our daily Masses on campus.
-- Qtrly Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2004
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