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A VISIT TO TAC, NEW ENGLAND
“What Thomas Aquinas College Offers,
Few Colleges Promise or Fulfill”
By Thomas Carroll
Superintendent of Boston Catholic Schools
The Boston Pilot
The newest Catholic college campus in America is one of the best I’ve seen.
In August 2019, Thomas Aquinas College began its classes amidst the rolling hills of Northfield, Massachusetts, about 90 miles west of Boston. This college is the New England campus of the famed Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California.
I recently spent a Friday sitting in on classes at Thomas Aquinas College, talking with faculty and students, and touring the grounds — all amidst the splendor of the rich and varied colors of a New England autumn.
The experience was the opposite of my own college experience at a large public university in New York, where many of my classes were held in large anonymous lecture halls holding 400-500 students.
Importantly, all the students at Thomas Aquinas College want to be here. They aren’t simply punching a clock on the way to an eventual job.
Every single student is devoutly Catholic and among the smartest I’ve seen on any campus.
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Thomas Carroll
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VIEWING THE HEAVENS
Local Astronomy Enthusiast’s Gift Allows Students to Witness Transit of Mercury
The planet of Mercury glided across the face of the sun Monday morning, providing a spectacular view for students on Thomas Aquinas College’s California campus. From a balcony in St. Thomas Hall, dozens watched through a telescope, outfitted with a solar filter, that was the gift of a new friend and benefactor of the College, Mr. Paul Dougherty.
When he retired in 1995, this former Department of Defense technician began to pursue an interest in astronomy that dated back to his childhood. He set upon constructing a Newtonian telescope, building nearly all of the parts himself, save for the 16-inch professional-grade parabola. This labor of love would consume most of his time — “usually more than eight hours a day, and usually seven days a week” — for the next 12 years. Its appraised value is $18,000, but Mr. Dougherty estimates that he spent twice that amount on materials, often for parts that took several attempts to perfect, to say nothing of the value of his labor.
For the last 10 years, Mr. Dougherty made good use of the telescope, which resided on a patio in his backyard, making numerous improvements here and there. But as he entered his 90s, and operating the device became more difficult, he began searching for a suitable new home for it. Around that time he saw an article in the local newspaper about the College’s purchase of some 700 acres of ranch property surrounding the California campus; the article referenced plans to acquire a telescope. “I read the article and thought, ‘You know, that’s a good place for my telescope,’” he says. “At the College, it might get used often by a lot of people.”
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Paul Dougherty |
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Another Saint in the curriculum!
College Celebrates Canonization of
St. John Henry Newman
There was much joy and excitement on both campuses of Thomas Aquinas College on October 13, when His Holiness Pope Francis canonized St. John Henry Newman — making the 19th century British theologian, cardinal, and convert the newest canonized saint in the College’s classical curriculum.
“John Henry Newman was a great leader in the Church, a great Catholic thinker and apologist, and a great Catholic preacher and teacher,” says President Michael F. McLean. “His magnificent Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine has long been read in our program in the Senior Seminar. It is a landmark work of Catholic theology which provides an account of authentic doctrinal development, making it an important work for Catholic undergraduates to study.”
Among the more than 50,000 members of the faithful who traveled to Rome for the canonization were several alumni who graciously allowed some of their photos to be shared on the College’s Instagram account.
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St. John Henry Newman |
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FAITH IN ACTION
Highlights from the College’s Alumni Blog
• Major Tulsi L. Rogers (’98) recently participated in a mock trial in the famed Courtroom 600 at the Justizpalast in Nuremberg, Germany — marking the first time that members of the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps have practiced there since the famous war-criminal prosecutions that followed World War II. The mock trial was part of an exhibition designed to demonstrate the differences between the German and American legal systems. Major Rogers, who has previously served in Korea and Iraq, is the Officer in Charge at the Army’s 7th Army Training Command in Vilseck. He lives in Bavaria with his wife and classmate, Audrey (Keeler ’98), and their four children.
• “We need ethical therapists, and this is why I have come to talk to you today,” Marietta Grumbine (’14) told a group of Thomas Aquinas College, California, students at a recent career talk about psychology and counseling. “I have been where you are, and I know the formation that you have had. We need you.” In the last year of a three-year Marriage and Family Therapy master’s program at Fuller Theological Seminary, Miss Grumbine is a counseling intern at the Phoenix Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter and addiction-recovery center where, she reports, she is blessed to perform daily three Spiritual Works of Mercy — “counseling the doubtful, comforting the afflicted or the sorrowful, and instructing the ignorant.”
• Two months after he graduated from Thomas Aquinas College, Thomas O’Hara (’18) married classmate Misha (Johnston ’18), and the couple departed for Prague, where he is now studying computer science at the Czech Technical University. He also works for Stratosphere Labs, which conducts research for, among others, Avast Software, one of the world’s largest cybersecurity, machine learning, and AI firms. In October, Google sponsored him to attend Virus Bulletin, an international cybersecurity conference in London, and he also participated in the Cyber Sec & AI conference in Prague. On top of his busy academic and professional life, Mr. O’Hara is a new father to six-month-old twins.
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 Major Tulsi L. Rogers (’98)
Marietta Grumbine ('14)
Thomas O’Hara (’18) |
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Our Mother of Perpetual Help
Friends, Alumni Step Up to Furnish
New England Chapel
“It has been very heartening to see how many people have been willing to sacrifice for the good of Thomas Aquinas College, for our students, and for the spiritual life of our new campus,” says Rev. Greg Markey. “We are grateful to God, to all who have given, and to all are still giving.”
On All Saints Day, Fr. Markey sent an email to the College’s alumni, friends, and benefactors, asking for their help to make the century-old chapel on the New England campus a fitting home for Catholic worship. Although an anonymous benefactor has paid for the major renovations of the building — including installation of an altar and confessionals — Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel still lacks many basic liturgical items. Fr. Markey’s letter included a link to a registry of sacred items still needed for the chapel. Within minutes, gifts started coming in from across the United States — gifts of communion patens, Stations of the Cross, ciboria, and more. The total value of the items purchased so far exceeds $80,000.
Despite the outpouring of generosity, several items on Fr. Markey’s wish list — such as vestments, holy water fonts, Nativity figurines, and altar veils — still remain. “We are hopeful that, by God’s grace and through the continued generosity of many, the registry will be empty by the end of the month, and that the Chapel will be furnished for generations to come,” says Fr. Markey.
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Rev. Greg Markey
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