One Saturday each semester, Thomas Aquinas College students venture off-campus for a relaxing evening of dining and conversation at the home of one of their tutors. These evenings are a longstanding and beloved campus tradition — the section dinner.

Dr. Ronald Richard Retires after 35 Years on Teaching Faculty

With the retirement of Dr. Ronald Richard at the close of the last academic year, Thomas Aquinas College bade farewell to one of its longest-serving, most-respected tutors — and more.

Following a profound spiritual conversion around the time of his confirmation, Jared Kuebler sensed he had a calling to the priesthood. He visited monasteries, both in his native Southern California and in Europe, but opted to attend college first. At the urging of some wise priests, he decided to visit, apply, and ultimately enroll at Thomas Aquinas College.

When Elizabeth Reyes visited Thomas Aquinas College as a high school senior, she had little intention of enrolling. Her heart was set on a college with a study-abroad program. While on campus, however, something changed her mind: the faculty.

“I was intrigued and impressed with the humility of the tutors,” she recalls. “They ate lunch with the students, and they genuinely seemed interested in what the students had to say. It was clear that the students were the focus of the faculty.”

On Saturday, October 29, the students of Thomas Aquinas College hosted their 2011 Halloween Dance in St. Joseph Commons. The event had a Star Wars theme, complete with a replica X-Wing Fighter, Jabba the Hutt and Millennium Falcon backdrops, and a Jedi-inspired play. Students also came dressed as favorite characters from other stories and films. See photos below:

November is the month in which we remember those who have come before us in faith, beginning with All Saints Day, on which we honor all the members of the Church Triumphant. In keeping with this ancient tradition, Thomas Aquinas College is marking the month by displaying some of its most sacred treasures — 14 framed letters from great saints throughout the last 500 years.

“We are very, very happy to have these letters on display,” says Viltis Jatulis, the College’s head librarian. “The students love to see them, and so do our visitors.”

Why We Study Dante Alighieri

By Dr. Brian T. Kelly (’88)

Note: The following remarks are adapted from Dean Brian T. Kelly’s report to the Board of Governors at its May 13 meeting. They are part of an ongoing series of talks in which Dr. Kelly explains why the College includes certain authors in its curriculum.

On the afternoon of Sunday, October 23, 2011, Thomas Aquinas College students performed at the semi-annual Schubertiade in St. Bernardine of Siena Library:

On October 19, 2011, students at Thomas Aquinas College tested their talents before a friendly audience in the campus coffee shop at Open Mic Night:

On the weekend of October 23-24, student prefect Jon Dickman (’13), Admissions Director Jon Daly, Director of Alumni Relations Mark Kretschmer, and Chaplain Rev. Paul Raftery, O.P., led a men’s campout/retreat of some 40 Thomas Aquinas College students.