Benefactors

At a dinner marking the end of the 2014 Summer Tutor Program, the Thomas Aquinas College faculty said goodbye Wednesday night to Head Chaplain Rev. Joseph Illo, who will be departing in July. Tutors, senior administrators, and their spouses met in the campus coffee shop for the celebratory occasion, marking not only the start of summer break for the teaching faculty, but also a last chance for many tutors to bid farewell to this good priest who has served the College faithfully for the last two years.

Twice in the last two weeks members of the Thomas Aquinas College faculty — tutors and senior administrators alike — have participated in seminars about a topic of utmost importance to their work: the mission of the College.

On Saturday members of the Ventura Chapter of the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL) gathered at Thomas Aquinas College to contemplate the words of Bl. John Henry Newman, the example of St. Monica, and the role of intellect and virtue in the life of the Christian. “It was a blessed day,” says Robert Bagdazian, the College’s director of development. “Some 16 members of CALL and their guests joined us in prayer, fellowship, and discussion. It was like a small retreat, a chance to be spiritually recharged and fortified in our lives and vocations.”

The slideshow below features images from Thomas Aquinas College President Michael F. McLean’s recent trip to Rome with Chairman of the Board of Governors R. Scott Turicchi, his family, and Board member Lloyd Noble II. During their stay in the Eternal City, the group visited several of the College’s friends and supporters in the Curia, nurturing longstanding relationships and forging new ones.

At its spring meeting the Thomas Aquinas College Board of Governors elected a new chairman, R. Scott Turicchi, president of j2 Global, Inc. in Hollywood, California. A member of the Board since 2007 and its vice chairman since 2011, Mr. Turicchi succeeds R. James Wensley, who served as chairman from 2009 until 2014, and who remains an active member of the Board.

This Saturday Thomas Aquinas College will host a seminar and gathering for the Ventura Chapter of the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL), a national organization that offers spiritual formation and education for Latino leaders, while also serving as a Catholic voice on issues of cultural, social, and political importance. The chapter will attend Mass in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, have lunch in St. Joseph Commons, and enjoy a tour of the campus.

By Laura Sherwood (’14)

Note: The following essay is adapted from comments made before the Thomas Aquinas College Board of Governors at its May 16, 2014, meeting.

Conference: “Philosophy as Handmaiden to Sacred Theology”
June 19-20

This summer a number of faculty members, graduates, and fellow scholars from across North America will participate in the annual West Coast meeting of the Society for Aristotelian-Thomistic Studies. An international organization founded in 1974 “for the purpose of promoting friendship in the pursuit of wisdom,” the Society examines current issues of scientific or philosophic significance.