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THE HON. WILLIAM P. CLARK, RIP
Statesman was Longtime Friend,
Champion of Thomas Aquinas College
In the early hours of August 10, 2013, California and the United States lost a distinguished statesman, and Thomas Aquinas College lost a dear friend. Following a protracted battle with Parkinson’s disease, the Hon. William P. Clark passed away at his beloved ranch in Shandon, Calif.
“The nation mourns the loss of Judge Clark and, in a particular way, so does Thomas Aquinas College,” says President Michael F. McLean. “His friendship with the College stretches back 40 years, almost to the time of our founding. Throughout the decades he was unfailingly generous with his time, with his advice, and with his financial support. We remember fondly his serving as our Commencement Speaker in 1997, when we presented him with the College’s highest honor, the Saint Thomas Aquinas Medallion. We keep him and his family in our prayers, and ask that friends of the College everywhere do the same.”
Full story & slideshow 
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“BEST VALUE & HAPPIEST STUDENTS”
Princeton Review Gives College Highest Ratings for Academics & Financial Aid
Thomas Aquinas College is one of the country’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company features the College in the 2014 edition of its annual guide, The Best 378 Colleges. Only about 15 percent of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges are profiled in the publication.
Among the ratings for Thomas Aquinas College are perfect scores of 99 for both academics and financial aid, and a score of 97 for quality of life. The guide lists the College as one of the “Best Western” colleges, one of only 75 on its Best Value Colleges list, and one of only 10 on its Financial Aid Honor Roll.
The Princeton Review additionally places the College on several “Top 20” lists, including: #6 for Best Classroom Experience, #2 for Most Religious Students, #11 for Happiest Students, #11 for Most Beautiful Campus, and #11 for Great Financial Aid.
Full story
Other college-guide reviews
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HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER PROGRAM
Record Class Comes for Two Weeks of Faith, Friends & Learning
A record number of rising high school seniors — 136 in all — descended upon campus in July for the annual Great Books Program for High School Students. This year’s students hailed from 32 states and four countries, traveling from as far as Belgium, Argentina, and Hawaii to get a taste of the life — academic, spiritual, and social — of a Thomas Aquinas College student. As participants in the two-week program, they studied various original texts drawn from the College’s classical curriculum, including authors such as Boethius, Euclid, Shakespeare, and St. Thomas Aquinas.
When not in class, this year’s group enjoyed a wide range of activities, including a hike in the neighboring Los Padres National Forest, basketball and volleyball tournaments, swing dancing, singing around a campfire, and dabbling with watercolors at the nearby painters’ shack. They also enjoyed field trips to the beach, the Hollywood Bowl, the Getty Museum, and Santa Barbara. For spiritual fortification, there were two Masses offered daily in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, as well as Eucharistic Adoration, evening Rosaries, and nightly consecrations back in the residence halls.
Details & photos
About the High School Program
Blog: a student’s reflections
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REMEMBERING ANDREW MOORE (’14)
Students Pray for Late Classmate,
Family Issues Special Prayer Request
To mark the one-year anniversary of the death of Andrew “Kent” Moore (’14), students of Thomas Aquinas College recently spent the afternoon the same way that Kent spent many of his afternoons — by praying for an end to abortion outside a local clinic.
Kent died one year ago while participating in the Crossroads Pro-Life Walk Across America. He was walking along the median of an Indiana highway when a passing motorist struck him at high speed. Kent died instantly.
To mark the anniversary of Kent’s death, his family attended a memorial Mass near the site of his death in Indiana. While there, the Moores had the chance to meet Bryan — the man who, through no fault of his own, struck Kent with his car. According to Joseph Moore, Kent’s father, Bryan has suffered deeply, with little support, this past year. The Moore family asks that all please keep this young man in their prayers.
Story: Remembering “Kent” Moore (’14)
A Prayer Request from the Moore Family
Andrew “Kent” Moore (’14) Memorial Page
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YEAR OF FAITH: MARRIAGE & FAMILY
The 2013 Summer Seminar Weekends
Each July, Thomas Aquinas College invites members of the President’s Council — the backbone of the College’s financial-aid fund — to one of two Great Books Summer Seminar Weekends. At these weekends attendees participate in a series of classroom discussions about great books led by the College’s president, dean, and other senior members of the teaching faculty. Between seminars, attendees also enjoy delicious meals served both indoors and outdoors on the campus, as well as daily Mass and confession offered by the College’s chaplains.
In keeping with the Year of Faith, the readings and discussions for this year’s weekends focused on the theme of marriage and family in the life of faith. Participants read A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen; excerpts from What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense, by Sherif Girgis, Ryan T. Anderson, and Robert P. George; and selections from Bl. John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (1981). Additionally, President Michael F. McLean presented a talk about the readings, and College Chaplain Rev. Joseph Illo delivered a lecture entitled, “What is Marriage?”
Story & Photos: Weekend #1
Story & Photos: Weekend #2
Dr. McLean: Marriage, Faith & Reason
Fr. Illo: “What is Marriage?”
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Summer Seminar #1
Summer Seminar #2
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