Bishop Michael J. Sheridan of Colorado Springs to
Preside over Thomas Aquinas College Convocation
(August 4, 2006)
SANTA PAULA, Calif.—On Monday, August 21, 2006, the
Most Reverend Michael J. Sheridan of Colorado Springs will
preside over convocation ceremonies at Thomas Aquinas College.
The school anticipates 103 freshmen-the largest class to date-to
matriculate. Incoming students have an average SAT score of
1283 and hail from 35 states, Canada, Ireland, the United
Kingdom and South Africa. Eleven percent of the freshman class
has previous college experience.
The day will begin with a Mass of the Holy Spirit at which
Bishop Sheridan will be the principal celebrant and preach
the homily. Matriculation will follow, with faculty and members
of the college's governing board in academic regalia. During
the ceremony, longtime chaplain and newly-appointed Assistant
Dean for Religious Affairs, Rev. Wilfred Borden, O.M.I., will
administer the Oath of Fidelity to new members of the teaching
faculty and lead them in a profession of faith.
This year, the college will welcome three new tutors to its
teaching faculty. Jeffrey Lehman, a recent convert o Catholicism,
holds a PhD in philosophy from the University of Dallas (UD)
and comes from Biola University. John Finley ('99) is a PhD
candidate in philosophy also from UD; he will be following
in the footsteps of his late father, Norman DeSilva ('75),
who was a member of the Thomas Aquinas College teaching faculty
in the early 80's. Also returning to campus is Joseph Hattrup
('01), another graduate who has completed his coursework for
a PhD in philosophy at the University of Houston. All three
have completed an intensive interview process, demonstrating
facility with the Socratic discussion method used in all the
classes at the four-year school, and each displays substantial
intellectual competence across the broad spectrum of disciplines
in the rigorous curriculum.
Says President Thomas E. Dillon, "The faculty of the
college are the key to our success. With their intelligence,
their discipline, and their humility, they serve not only
as guides for our students in pursuit of truth, but also models
of the intellectual and moral virtues. When recruiting new
faculty members, these are the qualities we look for, and
I am delighted to have appointed three new members to this
impressive group."
About Bishop Michael J. Sheridan:
Bishop Michael Sheridan was born in St. Louis,
Missouri, on March 4, 1945. He was ordained as a diocesan
priest by Cardinal John J. Carberry on May 29, 1971. In the
course of the next 25 years, he served in various parishes
in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and as a professor of theology
at Kenrick Seminary; he also taught for a time at St. Thomas
Aquinas-Mercy High School. On September 3, 1997, Bishop Sheridan
was ordained as an auxiliary bishop of St. Louis by then-Archbishop
Rigali. On December 4, 2001, Bishop Sheridan was appointed
coadjutor bishop of Colorado Springs; he became the second
Bishop of Colorado Springs on January 30, 2003, following
the resignation of Bishop Richard C. Hanifen.
Bishop Sheridan holds several graduate degrees
in theology, including a Doctorate of Sacred Theology from
the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (The Angelicum)
in Rome. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the North
American College in Rome, a member of the Board of Directors
of Catholic Relief Services, and a member of the Committee
on Education of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
He is also a member of the International Dominican Foundation
and a member of Kenrick/Glennon Seminary Board of Trustees.
The Diocese of Colorado Springs was founded
in 1984 with 65,000 Catholics in 25 parishes and 10 missions.
Today, it has over 135,000 Catholics with 42 parishes and
missions throughout ten central and eastern counties of Colorado.
About Thomas Aquinas College:
Thomas Aquinas College is a four-year Catholic
liberal arts college exclusively devoted to the study of the
Great Books, using only the Socratic method of dialogue in
all of its classes. There are no text books, no lectures and
no electives. Instead, the College offers an entirely integrated
curriculum using only the original texts of the greatest thinkers
who have helped shape Western Civilization. These authors
include St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, Aristotle, Plato,
Shakespeare, Euclid, Dante, Galileo, Descartes, our American
Founding Fathers, Adam Smith, Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton
to name a few.
Thomas Aquinas College graduates consistently excel in the
many world-class institutions where they pursue graduate degrees
in such disciplines professions as law, medicine, business,
theology and education. They have distinguished themselves
in these fields serving as headmasters, business owners, lawyers,
priests, journalists, doctors, military service men and women,
educators and college presidents.
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