Top 10 List From Young America's Foundation Includes Thomas Aquinas College
(January 8, 2008)
SANTA PAULA, Calif.-Young America's Foundation (YAF) has again
included Thomas Aquinas College on its list of "Top Ten Conservative
Colleges" in the United States that offer "a holistic
conservative educational experience for students." Not only
did Thomas Aquinas College make the list, it was the only college
in the western U.S. to do so.
According to YAF, the 10 institutions chosen "proclaim, through their mission and programs, a dedication
to discovering, maintaining and strengthening the conservative values
of their students." Nine of the top ten colleges have a Christian
affiliation, and three, including Thomas Aquinas College, are Catholic.
Most of the institutions focus on studying the liberal arts, though
Thomas Aquinas College is the only one with a curriculum comprised
exclusively of the Great Books. Works read in the four-year, integrated
program include the founding documents of the U.S., some of the
original writings of the American founding fathers, and works on
ethics and political life by authors from ancient to modern times.
While the mission statements of several of the colleges on YAF's
"Top 10" list include explicitly political goals, Thomas
Aquinas College's does not. Instead, its founding document describes
an essentially Catholic institution devoted to the pursuit of wisdom,
both human and divine. Graduates, nevertheless, tend to espouse
conservative principles and go on to pursue a wide variety of careers
and professions including education, law, religious life, business,
journalism and medicine. Moreover, many work in public policy or
are actively engaged in government and military service.
Founded in 1971, Thomas Aquinas College has built a solid national
reputation for its rigorous academic program, and it is widely recognized
for helping to cultivate intellectual and moral virtue in its students.
It has consistently ranked among the top colleges and universities
in the nation for the past 18 years. This year it was ranked as
the #5 "Best Value" in the country by The Princeton Review.
It was also ranked in the top tier of national liberal arts institutions
by U.S. News & World Report in its 2008 America's Best Colleges.
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 textbooks, 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
professions as law, medicine, business, theology and education.
They have distinguished themselves in these fields serving as headmasters,
business owners, lawyers, priests, doctors, military service men
and women, educators and college presidents.
About Young America's Foundation:
Young America's Foundation is a principal outreach organization of the conservative movement with offices in
Herndon, Virginia, and at the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara, California. The mission of Young America's
Foundation is to ensure that American youths understand and are inspired by the ideas of individual freedom,
a strong national defense, free enterprise and traditional values. The Foundation provides conferences,
seminars, educational materials, internships and speakers to young people across the country.
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