Complementing its high rankings in the latest editions of various college guides, Thomas Aquinas College has earned a spot among the nation’s Best Colleges and Universities, according to Washington Monthly. The magazine, which rates schools “based on what they are doing for the country,” has named just 239 institutions (out of a possible 1,863) to its newly published 2016 list. Among those, Thomas Aquinas College ranks in the top 100, at no 56.

LendEDU, an online marketplace for student loans and loan refinancing, has compiled a list of the four-year colleges and universities with the lowest student-debt loads in the United States. Thomas Aquinas College ranks near the top of that list, number 42 out of some 1,300 schools, and number 25 among private institutions.

Members of the Class of 2020 began arriving on campus on last Thursday morning for the start of the 2016-17 academic year. That evening the College hosted a barbeque for freshmen and their families followed by an ice-cream social for the new students and their siblings:

“This Great Unfolding of Truth Under the Guidance of the Holy Spirit”

by the Most Rev. Robert Barron
Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles
Homily from the Mass of the Holy Spirit (transcript)
Convocation 2016
 

Once again, a very pleasant good morning to everybody, and thank you, President McLean, and to the whole faculty and to all the Board of Governors, for inviting me to this wonderful occasion. Thank you for having me.

This morning some 102 students,  hailing from 5 countries and 30 states,  matriculated as freshmen at Thomas Aquinas College — the Class of 2020.

audio:

“Clothe Yourselves in Regal Gowns”

by the Most Rev. Robert E. Barron
Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles
August 19, 2016

Thank you all very much, and thank you, Dr. McLean, for that very kind introduction, that very gracious introduction, which I fear will be longer than my speech! Thank you for that. It is always a joy to come here.

According to the Los Angeles Times, State Senator Ricardo Lara, sponsor of Senate Bill 1146, has reportedly agreed to strip his controversial legislation of key provisions that threatened the religious liberty of California’s religious colleges and universities.

Across the country, educational and religious leaders of all faiths and denominations are speaking out about the threat that California Senate Bill 1146 poses to religious freedom.