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After graduating with a masters of science degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in 1958, Jim Wensley went to work for the Hughes Aircraft Company, where he participated in the birth and initial development of the United States space program. Selected as one of the first 100 engineers to begin an organization within the Hughes Aircraft Company, Jim spent the early part of his career designing various aspects of the Surveyor spacecraft, the first unmanned vehicle to land on the moon. He was also part of the team that developed the first communications satellites to be launched into synchronous orbit. In addition, he has worked on several other scientific spacecraft built by Hughes Aircraft for NASA. In 1993, Jim became the President and CEO of Capstone Turbine Corporation. Under his direction, Capstone would go on to develop, build, and market a small turbine-powered, environmentally-friendly electric generator with an application for hybrid electrical vehicles. Retired since 2000, Jim and his wife of 47 years, Germaine, have six adult children and nine grandchildren. The Wensleys first learned of the concept of a Great Books curriculum from their own son, Dr. Roy Wensley, a physics professor at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California, who also tutors in St. Mary’s Great Books seminars. Intrigued by the thought of using primary sources in his own studies, Jim further learned from his son that Thomas Aquinas College was the only Catholic institution of higher education in the country with a curriculum comprised exclusively of the Great Books. Not long after his initial exposure to the Great Books concept, Jim joined Legatus, a national organization for Catholic business leaders, and met Thomas Aquinas College president Dr. Tom Dillon at a local chapter event. Since then, Jim and Germaine have attended many events on the Thomas Aquinas College campus and have especially enjoyed the one-day seminars that Dr. Dillon conducts annually for members of his local Legatus chapter. In May of 2005, Jim was elected to the Thomas Aquinas College Board of Governors, and this past October, he attended his first Board meeting. The evening before the meeting, at a formal dinner on campus, he addressed the students and faculty of the College saying, “I am very honored to be a newly-elected member of the Board of Governors of this marvelous institution. You are very fortunate to be able to study with the light of the Catholic faith in a school like this—a beacon of the true Faith. When Dr. Dillon asked me to become a member of the Board,” he added, “I saw it as a great opportunity to become more involved with the school—and the chapel project, in particular.” The Wensleys have indeed become more involved with the chapel project, and have contributed generously to the fund for this crown jewel of the campus. They hope to celebrate 50 years of marriage with an anniversary Mass in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel in 2008.
-- Qtrly Newsletter, Winter 2006 |
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