Saluting the Past, Looking to the Future
Campus Celebration Is a Night to Remember
(35th Anniversary 2007 Newsletter)
Students at Thomas Aquinas College look forward to the three or
four “formal dinners” held on campus throughout the year.
A nice break from the normal routine, a formal dinner offers them
an opportunity to dress up and linger over a special meal. But not
all the students are able to be so relaxed: many are needed to help
in the kitchen, wait on tables, move furniture, and so on.
On the evening of September 16, 2006, however, students were treated
to a party that required none of their manpower. Instead, kitchen
and maintenance workers were hired from off campus for the day,
leaving all the students free to join in the celebration of the
College’s 35th anniversary. Said Dr. Dillon, “This is
a milestone for the College, and I wanted to ensure that the students
could simply enjoy the party.”
In the late afternoon, His Excellency Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz
of Lincoln, Nebraska, offered a Mass of Thanksgiving in St. Bernardine
of Siena Library. A reception and dinner followed in St. Joseph’s
Square. With faculty members and their spouses also in attendance,
the group seated under the softly-lit canopy numbered more than
450. Though a forest fire raged in the mountains just miles away,
the celebration went on unabated.
Dr. Dillon served as Master of Ceremonies throughout the evening,
and introduced Bishop Bruskewitz saying, “He is a true shepherd
of souls who has courageously defended the Faith, in season and
out of season.” In his Keynote Address (see page 5 for text),
Bishop Bruskewitz commented in some detail on the powerful lecture
concerning reason and will that Pope Benedict XVI had given just
days before at Regensburg, and noted the many ways it applied to
Thomas Aquinas College.
Later in the evening, four of the College’s founders shared
some humorous stories from the early years, as well as some solemn
thoughts about the nature and purpose of genuine Catholic liberal
education. Throughout the audience, there was a palpable sense of
gratitude and respect for these courageous men who brought Thomas
Aquinas College to life and have helped sustain it through the years.
Following dinner, students and faculty alike spent the remainder
of the evening dancing to the strains of a Dixieland band led by
Mr. Tom Sullivan, who has served on the College’s Board of
Governors for the past 34 years, and as its chairman from 1975 -
1985.
-- 35th Anniversary 2007
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