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CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION & MERCY
His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke Visits Thomas Aquinas College
As part of the newly proclaimed Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke visited the campus of Thomas Aquinas College on January 16, offering words of encouragement to “all who are committed to the educational mission of the College, and thus to the transformation of our culture.”
The Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, His Eminence arrived on campus in the morning to offer a day of recollection for members of the Order’s Los Angeles location and leaders of its Western Association. He then remained well into the evening, during which he spoke at an All College Dinner, held in his honor, on the subject, “Genuine Catholic Education and its Power to Transform Our Culture.”
“Throughout his 40 years of service to the Church and the faithful, Cardinal Burke has been a valiant champion of the truth,” said Thomas Aquinas College President Michael F. McLean. “We were delighted by his visit, and pleased by this opportunity to show him our gratitude and appreciation.”
Full story and photos 
Cardinal Burke’s homily
Cardinal Burke’s address
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His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke ...
... with members of the Order of Malta ...
... and President Michael F. McLean
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COMMITMENT TO AFFORDABILITY
College Freezes Tuition Again;
Ventura Star Notes Top Value Ranking
To help ease the financial burden on students and their parents in a weak economy, the Thomas Aquinas College Board of Governors voted at its recent annual corporate retreat to freeze the cost of tuition and room & board for the 2016-2017 academic year. This is the fourth year in a row that the College’s governors have kept the cost of the school’s classical liberal education level.
Tuition will remain at $24,500, and room & board at $7,950, bringing the total cost of attendance — including books and all fees — to $32,450. That amount is well below the average of $37,948 for private institutions in the Western United States, according to The College Board’s Annual Survey of Colleges (2013-2014).
The Ventura County Star reported on the latest tuition freeze, noting that the College has also recently been named to USA Today’s top 10 list of “Best Colleges for the Money.”
Full story: Tuition freeze
Ventura County Star report
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HHS MANDATE UPDATE
Supreme Court Sets Date for Hearing in College’s HHS Mandate Case
Attorneys from the Jones Day law firm, which is representing Thomas Aquinas College in its legal challenge of the HHS contraceptive mandate, report that the U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for the case on March 23.
Last November the Court announced that it would hear seven cases filed by religious organizations in opposition to the mandate, which compels them to facilitate free contraceptive, abortifacient, and sterilization coverage for their employees. The College’s case is among those seven, which the Court has consolidated into a single case, Zubik v. Burwell. In January the College’s attorneys submitted a legal brief, outlining their arguments, to the Court.
At the March 23 hearing, the Court’s nine justices will question attorneys representing the College, other plaintiffs, and the government about the case. That date falls just before the start of the Easter Triduum, as the faithful reflect on the passion, death, and Resurrection of Our Lord. Please continue to keep the College and its case in your prayers, especially during the Lenten season.
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Alumni and members of the Washington, D.C., Board of Regents gather in front of the U.S. Supreme Court at the March for Life
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FAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING
College Honors Founder and Tutor
Dr. John W. Neumayr
At a reception and formal dinner on January 28, the faculty and students of Thomas Aquinas College celebrated one of the College’s founders, its first dean, and a senior tutor, Dr. John W. Neumayr. “The Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas,” explained Dean Brian T. Kelly, “seemed like an eminently appropriate day to honor a man who dedicated so much of his life to promoting the method and doctrine of St. Thomas Aquinas.” After more than 40 years of service to the College, Dr. Neumayr retired at the start of this academic year.
In a lighthearted festivity, complete with much joking and celebration, senior members of the faculty thanked Dr. Neumayr for more than four decades of service to the College. Fellow founder Peter L. DeLuca, the College’s vice president for finance and administration, described the central role that Dr. Neumayr played in founding the College and forging its academic program. Dr. Thomas Kaiser (’75), a senior tutor at the College and a member of its first graduating class, reflected on Dr. Neumayr as both his onetime tutor and his longtime colleague.
Yet when he took to the lectern, it was Dr. Neumayr who expressed gratitude, thanking God, the College’s faculty and staff, its chaplains, its benefactors, its governors, and the students and their families. He then discussed the circumstances and thinking that led to the College’s creation and its flourishing over the last 45 years.
Full story & photos
Audio of Mr. DeLuca’s Remarks
Audio of Dr. Kaiser’s Remarks
Audio of Dr. Neumayr’s Remarks
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CULTURE OF LIFE
Students Lead the Way at West Coast Walk for Life 2016
After the close of classes on Friday, January 22, more than 200 Thomas Aquinas College students departed for San Francisco and the 12th annual Walk for Life West Coast. They arrived late in the night at North Beach’s Saints Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco, where the Salesian fathers graciously offered them places to sleep. The next morning, they attended Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral offered by the Most Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco, before heading over to the Civic Center Plaza for the Walk.
At the request of the Walk’s organizers, the College’s students once again took on volunteer positions, directing traffic and crowds, as they helped lead the way through the streets of San Francisco. Clad in their blue sweatshirts — in honor of the Blessed Mother — they prayed, sang, and peacefully called for an end to abortion alongside more than 50,000 fellow walkers.
Full story & slideshow
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