AMU Magazine Fall 2012

Ave Maria u n i v e r s i t y M a g a z i n e

Green and Growing

inside

Vocations at AMU Honors Program Initiated Campus Ministry

FALL 2012

from the president

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President Jim Towey talks with junior Anna Maria Mercurio and senior Anabelen Carvajal.

here is a saying that “when you’re green, you’re growing, and when you’re ripe, you rot.” This is true with the tomato plants that surround Ave Maria. But I also think it holds true in academia. So many of the established institutions of higher education in America have campus environments that are downright rotten — hook-up and binge-drinking cultures, political correctness run amok, and biases that celebrate scientific truth and attack the very existence of theological truth. Some colleges and universities that once were faith-based have strayed from their founding, and not even their huge endowments and legions of alumni can save them.

At Ave Maria University, by the grace of God, I am happy to report that we are both green and growing. This issue of the magazine shares with you a wealth of good news: we have 375 new students, our largest entering class ever, and a total of 872 full-time undergraduates. We enjoy a burgeoning national reputation—recently Newsweek magazine rated Ave Maria the most conservative college in America—and our student body hails from 46 states and 18 countries (including twins from New Zealand!). Our entering class was comprised of 27% minority students, over 325 men and women compete in intercollegiate sports, and Campus Ministry programs are thriving.

When you pause for a moment to look at Ave Maria’s campus that is only five years old and see that the residence halls now house 770 students, you have to marvel at how much has been done so quickly.

And when you consider the distinguished members of our faculty who could be anywhere but chose to teach, research, and publish on this campus (don’t miss the profiles on two of our professors in this issue, or the segments that showcase their influence and accomplishments), you appreciate even more the audacity of Tom Monaghan and his courage in establishing this University (happy 50th anniversary, Tom and Marge!).

The challenge before me as I begin my second year as president is to work with my colleagues to keep Ave Maria evergreen and always growing. With the help of the Mother of Jesus Christ, our patroness, and with the generous support of those who have “adopted” us as their second alma mater, I am confident in our future. The only thing worse than a rotten tomato is a rotten Catholic University!

Contents Save the Date

ave MARIA university fall 2012 Volume 2, Issue 1

2 Green and Growing 1st Annual Record enrollment Maria Ave highlights newUniversity year

President H. James Towey

Scholarship Dinner

The ave maria university magazine is produced by The Office of Enrollment and Marketing layout/design Apollo Design Group Inc. George Fetkovich Art Director

7 Wednesday, William Kirk February 1, 2012 Meet theCarlton new VPBeach for Ritz student affairs www.avemaria.edu

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To benefit Ave Maria Students

8 Milestone Recap of the Monaghan’s lifelong love affair

printing Panther Printing contributing writers Andrea Allphin Colin Brown Joseph Donovan Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J.

10 Vocations at AMU Fulfilling the founder’s dreams

photographs courtesy of Public Relations Office Sports Information Office Office of Alumni Relations Gareth Rockliffe

12 Commencement 2012 New graduating class sets off to make their mark

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Ave Maria u n i v e r s i t y M a g a z i n e

Ave Maria University Magazine is published by Ave Maria University, Ave Maria, Florida for alumni, parents and friends. Third class postage paid at Ave Maria, Florida. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Alumni Office, Ave Maria University, 5050 Ave Maria Blvd., Ave Maria, FL 34142.

Ave Maria University subscribes to a policy of equal opportunity and does not discriminate against any individual on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status or disability in any of its programs, admission or employment decisions.

Green and Growing

FALL 2012

16 Honors Program Pursuing a tradition of excellence 20 Future of Catholic Universities 26 Campus Ministry 28 Sports Roundup

inside

Vocations at AMU Honors Program Initiated Campus Ministry

ON THE COVER: Clockwise from top, sophomore Paige Pilarski, senior Zach Crockett, freshman Kristen Liffrig, and junior Miquel Gonzalez

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Ave Maria University:

Green and Growing 2

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n August 23rd, the first day of the 2012 New Student Orientation Weekend, nearly 380 young men and women arrived on campus to begin their first year as students at Ave Maria University. This record-sized incoming class was joined a few days later by the University’s returning upperclassmen, bringing the campus student population up from 627 at the end of the 2012 spring semester to nearly 900 students—an impressive 19% increase over last fall’s enrollment.

This encouraging growth was made possible by the combined efforts of the faculty and staff to recruit high-quality students and improve retention.

What is making Ave Maria University so appealing to a record number of young men and women? There are many answers. The University added nine new majors and four new minors, including several popular modern areas of study, like Biochemistry, Global Affairs & International Business, and Education. These programs expand upon the University’s highly-acclaimed Liberal Arts core: theology, philosophy, literature, language studies, the arts and many other essential components of Ave Maria’s distinctive education.

In addition to the new programs of study, the University also introduced an Honors Program this academic year. The Honors Program allows exceptional students to take more challenging versions of the core classes, participate in periodic Honors Colloquia to discuss key topics across the curriculum, and live and study in community with other members of the program to encourage each other in their academic pursuits. Dr. Michael Dauphinais, Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs, who helped initiate the program, explains, “As the university has grown, a one-sizefits-all approach no longer fits the broad range of students admitted each fall semester. Some students have excellent academic preparations and have achieved high levels of academic success.

The honors program was adopted as a means to attract such students and to provide them with a few focused experiences.” In its inaugural year, the Honors Program has already drawn a great deal of interest, including 68 members of the Class of 2016.

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The Honors Program allows exceptional students to take more challenging versions of the core classes, participate in periodic Honors Colloquia to discuss key topics across the curriculum, and live and study in community with other members of the program to encourage each other in their academic pursuits.

The Division of Student Affairs has also been working to ensure that Ave Maria is welcoming to prospective students and enjoyable for those already here. The Student Life department oversees nearly 40 student-led clubs across a broad spectrum of interests, ranging from the extremely popular Students for Life chapter and the AMU Film Society, to the Genuine.Feminine Club, which organizes an annual conference to discuss the identity and concerns of the modern woman.

The Department of Housing and Residence Life and the school’s cafeteria staff have faced exciting challenges in the wake of the school’s rapid growth. The residence halls currently being used for undergraduate housing are nearly filled to capacity. Food Services, Inc., the company responsible for Ave Maria’s cafeteria, completely restructured the layout of the cafeteria over the summer months to facilitate larger crowds without longer lines.

Athletic Director Kevin Joyce proudly oversees 15 different intercollegiate sports activities, and this year nearly 340 students are participating on one or more of these teams. This gives Ave Maria University one of the highest student-athlete ratios in the country. “Participating in athletics has been a great experience for me,” says Michael Coyle, who enters his fourth year on the men’s basketball team this season, “It has helped me with many different aspects of my life both on and off the court.”

The University has been increasingly active on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about Ave Maria.

Updates about campus events, the beautiful campus, and information about our students and faculty, are shared with current students, prospective students, alumni, and friends of Ave Maria across the globe. “I’ve been so impressed with the University’s efforts to increase our presence in social media,” said junior David Bathon, “AMU’s Facebook and Twitter pages have become an essential way to get word out about upcoming events and opportunities on campus, and the YouTube channel helped me convince my sister to transfer here since she could see from afar the great things about our programs, professors, and the life at AMU.” The University is also proud of the moral climate on campus as it promotes the values

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parents instill in their children instead of attacking them. “[At other schools] parents are paying a fortune for higher education and young people are incurring huge debt, only to be morally-impoverished and spiritually-deprived,” explained President Jim Towey in his Orientation address, “The Faculty and staff at Ave Maria want our students to set their minds on higher things.”

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In an announcement to the University community sent out after the record enrollment numbers for the Fall were official, Towey said, “Many times I have asked myself what explains this new energy and success at Ave Maria. Is it our vibrant Catholic identity? Excellent professors? Small class sizes?

State-of-the-art facilities? Safe and friendly campus? Wonderful intercollegiate sports opportunities? Hard-working staff ?

Growing national reputation? My answer: all of the above and more!”

It is an exciting time at Ave Maria University as the school approaches its 10th anniversary. Most importantly, throughout the period of dramatic growth, Ave Maria University has maintained its focus on excellence, affordability, and faithfulness to the Catholic tradition. No wonder so many students are making Ave Maria their academic home! amu

LEFT: Student backpacks line Oratory entrance at weekday noon Mass. BELOW: The redesigned cafeteria allows for shorter lines while facilitating larger crowds.

new hire

william w. kirk AMU’s New Vice President for Student Affairs and General Counsel

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ver the summer, Ave Maria University announced a new Vice President for Student Affairs and General Counsel, Mr. William W. Kirk.

Kirk comes to Ave Maria after having worked in Residence Life at Notre Dame for almost twenty-two years.

Kirk’s work at Notre Dame included the oversight of the University’s 28 undergraduate residence halls and two graduate apartment complexes. He also

supervised the Notre Dame Security Police Department, all of the University’s judicial processes, and the management of all crisis and emergency responses. While working full-time in these capacities, Kirk also found time to teach courses in Business Law and Accountancy for 17 years at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.

At Ave Maria, Kirk will be responsible for the Division of Student Affairs, including Student Life, Residence

Life, and other aspects of the students’ social and residential lives. Additionally, he will oversee campus security and the University’s emergency and crisis management. In his role as University General Counsel, Kirk will provide legal expertise to the University to help reduce reliance on outside law firms.

Since his arrival in August, Kirk has been impressed by Ave Maria’s students and what he termed, their “commitment to the faith” and “unabashed desire to be truthful.” In his role as Vice President for Student Affairs, he plans to work directly with students as much as possible. He promises to encourage unity in the lives of students at AMU so that all of the aspects of their lives—academic, social, and spiritual—come together seamlessly.

Kirk moved to the Ave Maria community in August with his wife, Elizabeth, and their three children, William (4), Benedict (3), and Alice (2). The Kirk family is not entirely new to the Ave Maria community. Elizabeth Kirk taught as a professor at the Ave Maria School of Law when it was still in Michigan before she joined her husband at Notre Dame. At Notre Dame, Elizabeth served as the Associate Director for the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture, as the faculty advisor for both the Students for Life club and the Edith Stein Project, and as a member of the executive board of the Notre Dame Fund to Protect Human Life.

“We are extremely fortunate that Bill Kirk was willing to make this move and be part of the leadership at Ave Maria,” said Jim Towey, the University’s president and Kirk’s new boss. “Having Elizabeth and their beautiful family here as part of our community makes this even sweeter.” amu

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Tom Monaghan gets a mouthful from his new bride Marge at their wedding reception.

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n August 25, 1962 Tom Mona g han and Marge Zybach were married in Ann Arbor, MI. They met on a chance (or more aptly put, a providential) pizza delivery. One day when Tom was running his second pizza store in Mount Pleasant, MI, he decided to get out of the store to make a delivery himself to one of the dorms at Central Michigan University. He was captivated by the switchboard operator (Marge) who had to ring the room for the resident who had ordered the pizza.

After getting back to the store, Tom called Marge to ask her on a date—to which she agreed. On the third date, he showed up with an engagement ring; she didn’t say yes on the spot, but a week later, with Tom using every bit of persuasive power he could muster, she finally agreed.

Fifty years later, on Saturday, August 25, 2012, Tom and Marge celebrated their Golden Anniversary at their residence in Ann Arbor. They gathered with approximately 65 family members and close friends for a relaxed outdoor dinner followed by some special entertainment. They received many cards, messages of prayers and Masses offered in thanksgiving for this occasion—as well as a bouquet of flowers from the Ave Maria University community. They were grateful and humbled by these gestures. It was a fitting celebration and a truly golden anniversary. amu

milestone

Tom & Marge Monaghan’s 50th Wedding Anniversary

Marge and Tom Monaghan enjoy a light moment during a recent event.

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Fr. Matthew Grady (’08) was ordained by His Excellency Frank Dewane, bishop of the Diocese of Venice, at Epiphany Cathedral July 14, 2012.

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vocations

fulfilling the founder’s dream: vocations at amu

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any times since Ave Maria University’s founding, Tom Monaghan has said that one of his goals for the school was for it to be a place where young men and women can find their vocations. His dream for the University was that it prepare its students to be good husbands and wives and mothers and fathers, active lay members of the Church, faithful religious brothers and sisters, and holy priests. He saw that Ave Maria would impact the world through the faithful lives of its graduates throughout the 21st century and beyond.

In only nine years since Ave Maria was founded, Monaghan’s vision is beginning to see great fruits. To date, there are nearly 80 couples who met as students at Ave Maria before their marriage, and several more couples who are engaged to marry in the near future. Ave Maria is also proud to have once been home to more than 30 men and women who have entered religious orders, several men who are currently

versity as a place where Catholicism can be renewed and strengthened in the hearts of young people so that they can go into the world and transform it. These priests, married couples and faithful religious who are proud alumni of Ave Maria are just a few rays of the great light the University will shine on the world. amu

studying for the priesthood in seminaries, and a growing number of ordained priests. This is remarkable considering that the University only has 806 alums!

Monaghan has dedicated vast amounts of money, energy, and prayer to the establishment of Ave Maria Uni-

FROM TOP: Casey (Balok) (’10) & Jeremy Gay (’10) with their firstborn, Clinton. Erin (Sedlacek) (’08) & Pete Van de Voorde (’10). Lillian (Bouchey) (’09) and Dan Bielinski (’09).

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t was a typically beautiful May morning in southwest Florida as 168 men and women in black caps and gowns walked with pride into Golisano Field House as the honored graduates of 2012.

The gymnasium was filled to capacity with parents, family, and friends of Ave Maria University’s 8th graduating class, and the ceremony was a fitting conclusion to commencement weekend.

Jeb Bush, Bill Class of 2012 at 12

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Simon Inspire t Commencement

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“You are in an ongoing procession of men and women seeking intellectual, moral, and religious excellence.”

As has been the tradition at Ave Maria since its founding, Commencement weekend began with a Baccalaureate Mass celebrated in the Ave Maria Oratory on the evening before Commencement. Fr. Matthew Lamb, Professor of Theology and Chair of the Patrick F. Taylor Graduate Theology program at Ave Maria, delivered the homily and encouraged the graduates to appreciate the “rare opportunity” and “immense responsibility” of having the privilege of a liberal arts education at Ave Maria. “Founded in fidelity to the teachings of the Church, your Alma Mater, Ave Maria, joins the labors of other universities committed to build up an architectonic wisdom integrating all true advances in the sciences, scholarly disciplines, humanities, and arts,” said Fr. Lamb. “You are in an ongoing procession of men and women seeking intellectual, moral, and religious excellence.” Fr. Lamb was recognized publicly at the conclusion of Mass for his 50th ordination anniversary.

Following the Baccalaureate Mass, the seniors and their families were invited to the President’s Dinner held in their honor. At the dinner, President Jim Towey awarded the firstever President’s Award: an award given to the graduating senior who best exemplifies academic excellence and service to the University and the community. Five finalists, nominated by their professors and peers, were recognized at the dinner—Andrea Allphin, Shirley Anghel, Duy Nguyen, Alexander Pince, and Monica Waldstein. The President’s Award of 2012 was presented to Andrea Allphin in recognition of her consistent academic achievements throughout her four years at AMU, her service to the school as an active member of the community, including three years as a resident assistant and

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TOP: Bill Simon (left) and Jeb Bush received honorary degrees.

ABOVE: Fr. Lamb was recognized for his 50th ordination anniversary.

LEFT: President’s Award recipient Andrea Allphin.

founding member of AMU’s glee club, and her dedication to the faith as evidenced by her public advocacy in opposition to the government’s health care mandate on contraception.

At the end of the dinner, the 2012 Faculty Address was delivered by Dr. Travis Curtright, Associate Professor of Literature, who was nominated by the graduates. Dr. Curtright used the example of St. Thomas More, one of the Church’s most beloved lay saints, to encourage the Class of 2012 to move fearlessly into their futures, committing themselves always to the pursuit of truth and the honor of God. In addition to the brand new Ave Maria alumni who were given their degrees at Commencement on Saturday morning, two national Catholic leaders were awarded honorary doctorate degrees.

The first honoree was William E. Simon, Jr., co-chairman of William E. Simon & Sons, LLC, a global merchant bank headquartered in Los Angeles, California. In addition to showing his dedication to higher education by serving on several educational governing boards, Mr. Simon ran as a pro-life candidate for governor of California in 2002 and lost by a narrow margin. With his wife, he established a foundation dedicated to the support of needy children in urban areas. In his brief remarks of gratitude for the honorary degree, Mr. Simon

encouraged the graduates to take advantage of every opportunity to give of themselves for the Church and the needs of the world.

The second honoree was former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who delivered the Commencement keynote address.

Governor Bush was honored by the University for his noteworthy leadership as governor and his continued dedication to the improvement of the state’s educational system. In his address, Governor Bush congratulated the Class of 2012 on their achievement as graduates, and he challenged the graduates to “work hard, and love work” as they moved into their lives after college. He explained that it is through people who work hard and dedicate themselves to doing the best work possible that positive change is made in the world.

During the program President Towey announced the creation of the Patrick F. Taylor Graduate Theology Program, thanks to a generous gift in Mr. Taylor’s memory by his loving wife, Phyllis Taylor, a longtime supporter of Ave Maria.

The programs of this department will assist priests, religious, and lay people in their graduate studies and allow the University to continue to provide a first-rate Masters and Doctorate program.

The Class of 2012 enjoyed all of the two-hour commencement, and the highlight was the conferral of degrees and awarding of diplomas. One hundred thirty graduates earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, 6 received a Master of Arts in Theology degree, and 30 reecived a Master of Theological Studies degree. Two Doctor of Theology degrees also were awarded to candidates from the University’s graduate program.

Among the undergraduates, one earned summa cum laude honors, 12 earned magna cum laude honors, and 7 earned cum laude recognition. The 2012 Valedictorian, Monica Waldstein, was given the opportunity to address her fellow graduates at the close of the Commencement Ceremony, and her remarks were at once witty and thought-provoking. After the closing Benediction given by Fr. Eamon McManus, S.T.D, Ave Maria University sent another group of alumni out into the world to transform the culture and give glory to God. Judging from the excitement of Commencement 2012, Ave Maria’s newly-minted graduates are raring to go! amu

Valedictorian Monica Waldstein addresses the graduates.

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Students take notes in Dr. Bill Riordan’s Honors Sacred Doctrine class.

academics

furthering the pursuit of excellence Ave Maria University’s New Honors Program

By Colin M. Brown, AMU Class of 2012 16

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ve Maria University has instituted a new Honors Program for students highly motivated for academic success. The primary courses offered were selected from the Core Curriculum, in which all students participate. What distinguishes the Honors courses, however, is a focus on a more enriching and accelerated academic experience, allowing the professors to engage the materials even more deeply than in the regular courses.

Several professors who teach in the honors program have expressed their excitement for the new initiative. “The unique Ave Maria University Honors Program offers the possibility of integrating studies at the sort of high level that many students look for, but which is very difficult to find,” states Dr. Michael Pakaluk, Professor of Philosophy

and Chair of the Philosophy department. Dr. Seana Sugrue, an Associate Professor of Politics and the Director of the Pre-law Program adds, “It is tailored to serve those seeking intensive engagement with their professors.”

The Honors Program seeks to foster an environment where conversations on subjects introduced in the classroom, laboratory, or seminar, flow easily to the dining hall, dormitory, or other social areas. To aid in this goal, students participating in the Honors Program have the option of taking advantage of special living spaces in the Residence Halls and a lounge in the library restricted for Honors students’ use.

The encouragement to pursue questions outside of class are furthered by the Honors Integrated Colloquia, which are held throughout the academic year. According to Dr. Bradley Ritter, Assistant Professor of Classics and Early Christian Literature and Chair of the Core Curriculum Council, “The Honors Integrated Colloquia will be at the heart of their experience, bringing together students and faculty from different disciplines for a deeper inquiry into the issues which unify our Core Curriculum and our intellectual tradition.” Through the Colloquia, students come to see that the questions and topics studied in each discipline are not entirely isolated and exclusive to that study, but are in fact interrelated throughout the Curriculum—a web of inquiry and knowledge that links history to literature to philosophy to math to classics studies to politics to theology to biology, and guided by the harmonious spirit of Faith and Reason.

The Honors Program is open to incoming students as well as those current students and transfers who still have half of the Core Curriculum remaining.

Although priority consideration will be given to students who have high school GPAs of 3.6 or higher, an SAT score of 1860 or above, or an ACT score of 27 or above, any student who has a dis-

tinguished record of academic achievement will be considered for invitation to the Honors Program.

Incoming Honors students must fulfill four requirements in order to maintain their participation in the Program: • Complete at least six (6) Honors level courses from the Core Curriculum.

• Take Latin as their foreign language requirement.

• Attend the Honors Integrated Colloquia.

• Maintain an overall GPA of at least 3.4.

Students fulfilling all four requirements before graduation will receive recognition of their participation in the Program on their transcripts as well as graduate with honors in the Core Curriculum. Students also have the option of graduating with honors in their chosen major(s), if they should satisfy the Honors senior thesis/project requirement.

The advent of the Honors Program marks a new era at Ave Maria, one characterized by a heightened pursuit of academic, intellectual, and personal excellence, illuminated by Christian truth and charity—a quest becoming rarer and rarer in higher education. amu

Sophomore Peter Atkinson and freshman Alexis Stypa study at the Bean of Ave Maria.

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daniel davy

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his Fall, Ave Maria welcomes Daniel Davy as the first alumni member of the AMU faculty. Davy joins the staff as Adjunct Professor of History and will teach several sections of the first core history class, Western Civilizations I, this semester.

Davy graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in History from AMU in 2006, a member of the school’s second graduating class. As an undergraduate student, he was Vice President of the Student Government Association and a founding member of one of the University’s most popular and enduring men’s households, Totus Tuus.

“The whole campus has moved since I was here, so that’s a big change. It’s also a bit weird being on the other side of a classroom and a colleague with professors who used to be my teachers,” Davy said, “But it’s great to be back at Ave.” Beginning with his work as an undergraduate history major at AMU, Davy’s area of research interest has focused on colonialism in Australia during the 19th century.

Immediately after graduating from AMU, Davy moved to Scotland to do graduate work at the University of Edinburgh to continue his study of the relationship between the United Kingdom and Australia during the colonial period.

After completing his master’s degree, Davy moved back to the US and got a job in Washington, D.C. while applying to Ph.D. programs. During his time in D.C., he met his future wife, Julie. After only a few months of dating, Davy proposed, and one month later, was accepted on a generous scholarship to his first choice of Ph.D. programs: University of Otago on the South Island of New Zealand. With the support of his new bride-to-be, Davy accepted the offer, and the couple moved to New Zealand three months after their marriage.

Davy explains that his desire to pursue graduate work in history and teach at the college level has many roots, but particularly recalls one of his AMU classes on Modern History of the United Kingdom, taught by Dr. Colin Barr, as an impetus to continue his studies. “I’ve found that history is an invaluable, if often overlooked, part of the liberal arts education, which I profited from immensely while at Ave,” Davy said explaining his continued passion for history. “By delving into the minds and hearts of individuals living at a different time and in a different society, history pushes us to move out of our own preconceptions to understand the world from another person’s point of view.”

Davy moved his family, which has grown to include two sons, Joseph and Simeon, to Ave Maria in July. He will teach at AMU this year while he finishes work on his dissertation, which concentrates on a series of gold rushes in the South Island of New Zealand during the 19th century and their place within the broader networks across the Pacific Ocean.

Travis Curtright

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n campus and among students, Dr. Travis Curtright is known for a lively, engaging classroom and for teaching and directing Shakespeare’s plays. He founded Shakespeare in Performance, an acting troupe of Ave Maria students and recent graduates who produce plays according to original practices of rhetoric and theatre space. By way of distinction from other productions, Curtright directs the plays and edits the scripts so as to engage audiences in surprising ways—he includes music and dance numbers, for example, that turn Shakespeare’s comedies into festive community events.

In fact, after a performance of As You Like It, Michael Timmis, Chairman of the AMU Board of Trustees, commented, “I realized the power of Shakespeare in a new way. I also recognize its power to bring the campus together.”

In the same vein, another Board member, Michael Novak, praised the use of music, which “was developed by the students in their own idiom and their marvelous talents for flirtation with the audience.”

“The music was one of the most important aspects of the play in that it brought the audience together and incorporated them into the loving community of the play’s forest setting,” remarked Philip Barrows, who helped coordinate the music for the show. “Every time people hear these songs, they will remember the people, love, and dance that came from Shakespeare’s Forest of Arden.”

Audiences loved last spring’s performance of As You Like It so much that the play’s run was extended to ten shows and plans are currently underway for a spring 2013 production of another Shakespearean play.

Curtright’s interests in acting were encouraged by his research into another important Renaissance author, Thomas More. Early biographies of More reveal how the saint would spontaneously join performances already underway, creating a part for himself on the spot! Curtright’s new book, The One Thomas More, questions: How did More play so many parts in life—scholar, lawyer, politician, polemicist, poet, philosopher—yet retain the principles that mattered most to him? Already, advance reviews of the book are promising. Daniel Mahoney, Augustine Chair in Distinguished Scholarship at Assumption College, writes: “In this lucid and well-written work, Curtright restores the unity of More’s life and . . . succeeds in integrating More’s writings and public actions, showing that his humanist writings were informed by a Christian humanism that is perfectly consistent with his later deeds and affirmations.” And Richard Harp, editor of the Ben Jonson Journal, proclaims: “Travis Curtright has produced one of the most carefully nuanced and balanced portraits of Thomas More yet published.” The One Thomas More was published by the Catholic University of America Press in October.

Curtright’s scholarship on More and Renaissance humanism made him a good choice to direct a creative program of interdisciplinary studies. The new major in Humanities allows students to design their own overall schedule of courses with an advisor and emphasizes innovative inquiry. In addition, the Humanities program is home to the prestigious Fortin Lecture Series and features a spring 2013 “Homerathon,” which is a 24-hour reading and celebration of Homer’s epic poem, the Iliad. This event will include an Honors colloquium and a translator of the poem, Dr. Stanley Lombardo, who will perform a reading of the last book.

Curtright’s interests and talents are many and varied, and his dedication to teaching has a lasting effect on students’ lives. “The nature of his classes is such that I feel I am learning wisdom for life along with the academic material,” said senior Veronica Lyter. “He has a way of drawing timeless lessons about human nature from the texts, and I always leave his classes feeling like I’ve changed and grown as a person.” amu

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’d like to thank the moderator, Steven Moore from the Murdock Charitable Trust, and my colleagues in academia, President Sybrowsky and my friend, Kenneth Starr of Baylor, for their excellent presentations this morning. At this conference, I feel at home among so many friends (Arthur Brooks and Robert Wilken, Trustees; Bill Simon Jr., honorary alum).

I know that I would not be on this program were it not for my longtime friendship and working relationship with a modern day saint. Mother Teresa? No. George W. Bush!

Ok, the saint part is a bit of a stretch, isn’t it? But as his former faith-based director I developed a deep respect for the different religious traditions throughout America, and the enormous contributions of people of different faiths, working in faith-based organizations across America. I will address this morning’s topic from my perspective as president of a Catholic university, Ave Maria University, on the other side of the Sunshine state.

Come visit when you are in Naples.

First, secularist trends and threats in higher education are nothing new to Catholic universities. Catholics have been in the university business for 900 years, around the globe, and that is testimony to the timeless, limitless resilience of people of faith, those intent on leading young men and women in the pursuit of truth—Veritas—not just scientific truth but also theological truth.

Catholic universities have roots stretching back to the medieval universities of the 12th century, like the University of Paris, where Pope Innocent III, elevated to the Papacy at the young age of 37, graduated around 1182.

During those times, under the governance of the Catholic Church, students at the medieval universities wore

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robes and shaved the tops of their heads in a tonsure in order to signify that they were under the protection of the Church. The young men and women attending classes operated according to the rules and laws of the Church, not government, and thus were not subject to the king’s laws or courts.

Ah, the good ol’ days! And by the way, I still have my tonsure! But, unfortunately, I have none of its protection.

Now we have the “king” telling Catholic universities that we must provide contraceptive services and abortifacient

the future of religious universities Address by Jim Towey Philanthropy Roundtable Annual Meeting Program on the Future of Religious Universities O cto b e r 1 1 , 20 1 2

drugs in our employer health plan, or face fines amounting to $2,000 per employee, per year. So our University and many others, including Notre Dame and Wheaton, have sued the Federal government, over our right to remain faithful to our religious beliefs without government interference.

What this modern development tells me is that in every age, within diverse cultures and beneath the gaze of leaders benevolent or tyrannical, religious institutions in higher education have demonstrated an incredible track record of durability.

Why? The reason I feel that the fu-

ture of the religious university is strong in America is because at the heart of the religious liberty debate—both with those attacking, and those defending— is the question of truth. The Catholic intellectual tradition has always emphasized that truth can be known both through faith and natural reason.

Developments in natural science, the social sciences, and the humanities, far from posing a threat to religious institutions, actually fuel their growth. An emphasis on faith and reason resonates with the natural law, or more specifically, the nature of men and women.

And of course, between theology and the other disciplines is the mediating discipline of philosophy. All are essential fields of inquiry for the inquiring mind and heart.

These studies appeal to the whole person, and answer questions such as: Who am I? What is the meaning of life? What is my purpose in life? Why is their suffering? Is there more to life than what can be perceived by the senses?

These questions are timeless and are posed to students at religious and non-religious institutions alike. Thomas Aquinas, a student at the secular University of Naples in the 13th century, was one of its first graduates. He did not need to attend a religious institution to pursue truth, but many faith-based institutions of higher education were founded to provide a shelter for inquiries like his, grounded in faith and reason, recognizing the complementary relationship between theology and the sciences, resisting the secular orthodoxy that says faith or reason.

Albert Einstein once said that in the laws of nature, “there is revealed such a superior Reason, that everything significant which has arisen out of human thought and arrangement is, in comparison with it, the merest empty reflection.” Tell that to the folks at

Harvard who long ago renounced their faith-based roots! I saw this morning in the Drudge Report that Harvard’s venerable Kirkland Hall is advertising an “incest-fest,” described as a “hook up dance.” How’s that for Veritas! And these are the brightest minds in America?

In contrast, religious institutions intuitively know what Einstein said and devote scholarship and study to his basic point. And these colleges and universities are needed today in a society which questions the existence of objective truth and challenges those who base their beliefs and live their lives within a faith tradition.

It is difficult to come to a gathering of philanthropists and proponents of charitable endeavor like today’s meeting of the Philanthropy Roundtable and not think of John Henry Newman, the great 19th century English convert to Catholicism who began the Catholic University of Ireland in 1852.

His famous book, The Idea of the University, was based on a series of talks he gave in Dublin to the philanthropists of his day, arguing for the need to support a Catholic university in the face of secular alternatives. His influence on Catholic higher education in America cannot be overstated.

In our own country, many of our existing Catholic colleges and universities were founded during that same time, in the second half of the 1800’s, when Catholics were a significant minority within the Protestant establishment of higher education. Many who founded these Catholic institutions were missionaries seeking to live in a country that respected religious liberty.

I had the privilege once to converse with Pope Benedict XVI who was proud that from his Bavaria came Boniface Wimmer and 17 other brave German missionaries who by ship and by foot ventured through the bitter cold to the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylva-

nia, and established a Catholic university of the Benedictine order, the first in America, in 1846.

This Pope, a child of academia, and his predecessor, a philosopher, Pope John Paul II, who understood the power of religious institutions to transform the societies in which they exist, have taught the world a great deal about why religious institutions are vital to the progress and betterment of mankind.

This has been the story of Catholic higher education in America: People of deep faith, some from religious orders, others who were wealthy philanthropists, establishing institutions of higher learning to protect the right to pursue the fullness of the truth, rather than the government-approved version of the truth.

Perhaps you know Ave Maria’s founder, Tom Monaghan, who sold his company, Domino’s Pizza, and in 2003, directed hundreds of millions of dollars of his own personal wealth to support the transformation of a large tomato field in Immokalee, Florida, into a place where truth is pursued without restraint. This is the difference that philanthropists make.

Unfortunately, we gather at a time where the U.S. government has decided that it will determine whether an institution is religious or not. A small office in the massive HHS bureaucracy now has this responsibility. Kafka could not have scripted this better. That is why Ave Maria is suing HHS. The challenge facing Catholic and other faith-based institutions is not simply because of a president who is overreaching or a political movement that is seeking to coerce a change of heart, or actually, a radical transformation of venerable institutions like marriage and family, and even institutions like the Catholic Church. It is because faith itself is on trial.

That is how you get a situation that seems Orwellian. Today “preventive

health” now means entitlement to free contraception, all by government fiat.

I’m Catholic and have five children so what do I know about contraception!

But I do know something about the importance of having autonomous institutions of higher education, including those grounded in faith, and the danger that is presented when the government defines religious dogma and tells you where rights of conscience begin and end.

Catholic universities bear some of the blame for the current dilemma before us. Many have failed to assert their distinctive identities within an oftenhostile culture that believes hooking up is preferable to getting hitched, and where authoritative teaching from the Magisterium of the Catholic Church is ignored. Many bear religious names but have no recognizable religious imperative.

But times change. The new Catholic universities like Ave Maria are aware of this danger and are taking steps to protect their religious identity at all costs.

For example, all faculty hired at Ave Maria must submit a statement on their teaching philosophy as it relates to the Catholic mission of the University and the Catholic intellectual tradition. We do not have tenure. There is a shared sense within our community of scholars that the Catholic identity of the school comes before the interests of individuals or departments, and certainly before the interests of government.

Let me close by saying that despite the challenges before Ave Maria and other Catholic and faith-based universities today, I am optimistic about the future of the religious university. The truth always prevails.

This truth is engraved in the hearts, minds and souls of our students, and it is our responsibility to facilitate this discovery, and also to protect it from the centuries-old interference of tyrants and kings. Thank you. amu

avemaria.edu | fall 2012 |

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student abroad

my presentation at the international coleridge summer conference

By Joseph Donovan

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he English Romantic Samuel Taylor Coleridge (right)is perhaps best known as a poet, with his masterful poems “Kubla Khan,” “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” and “Frost at Midnight” which add to his reknown. Yet he may be one of the most prolific and important philosophers of the nineteenth century. His extensive writings on metaphysics, theology, aesthetics, epistemology and political science demonstrate an eager and ingenious mind at the crossroads of British empiricism and German idealism, a mind uniquely and personally devoted to the discovery of an ultimate, unifying Truth in a period of Western philosophy that was so strongly polarized.

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Under the direction of Ave Maria Literature Department chair and resident Coleridge scholar Dr. Michael Raiger, I had the great honor and privilege this summer to be the first undergraduate to present a paper at the International Coleridge Summer Conference in Cannington, Somerset, England, where I discussed the role of music in Coleridge’s aesthetic theories.

This study of the relationship between Coleridge’s philosophy and his exposure to art has been a new area of interest in Coleridge scholarship. Dr. Raiger has recently made the argument that Coleridge’s conversion to Trinitarian theology, and his subsequent exposure to Catholic renaissance art

during his time in Malta and Rome in 1804-1805, were instrumental in the development of his influential theory of symbol in The Statesman’s Manual, as well as his theories of aesthetics and art advanced in The Principles of Genial Criticism.

In my paper, I was able to follow up on that connection by demonstrating Coleridge’s love for Catholic Renaissance sacred music, which he heard during his time in Rome. I argued that his exposure to music at this time in his life inspired him to consider music one of the greatest of arts. In an entry from his notebooks a year before he died, Coleridge says this of music: “Yet I sometimes think, that a great Composer, a Mozart, a Beethoven

must have been in a state of Spirit much more akin, more analogous, to mine own when I am at once waiting for, watching, and organically constructing and inwardly constructed by, the Ideas, the living Truths, that may be re-excited but cannot be expressed by Words, the Transcendents that give the Objectivity to all Objects, the Form to all Images, yet are themselves untranslatable into any Image, unrepresentable by any particular Object.” The concept of music not as a plastic, static art, but an art that is temporal, and that can express an actual progression of feelings and thoughts, is something of which Coleridge was distinctly aware, even though he lacked any sort of formal education in music.

The lack of a symbolic intermediary, such as words on a page, between the art itself and its audience, is another aspect of music that Coleridge found superior, even to poetry. He writes in an 1804 notebook entry, “O that I had the Language of Music, the power of infinitely varying the expression, and individualizing it even as it is. My heart plays an incessant music for which I need an outward Interpreter- words halt over and over again!”

Coleridge’s acute awareness of these nuanced aspects of music in relation to the other arts is what made him of particular interest to me personally, as I am currently pursuing a double major in music and literature. I found in Coleridge a similarly passionate curiosity about the close relationship between musical expression and all of the liberal arts, and how it remains as one of the most foundational human artistic endeavors.

It was a true joy and thrill to have been given this privilege, and I would like to sincerely thank all the members of both the Ave Maria University Literature Department and Music Department for giving me the knowledge and experience that allowed me to seize such an amazing opportunity, especially as a mere undergraduate! amu

Joe enjoyed a concert in Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford during his trip.

avemaria.edu | fall 2012 |

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Student Summer Service F

or most students, the prospect of summer break evokes visions of long hours of leisure, time at the pool, the lake, or the beach, family vacations, and general enjoyment of a few months away from the busy life of books, papers, and activities of campus life. For some Ave Maria students, however, plans for the summer months included much more than relaxation. In many places throughout United States, and even in other countries, students from AMU dedicated their summer breaks to works of service.

Ben Houde: Nicaragua

After spending 9 weeks doing service work near the AMU Latin American Campus during the spring of 2011, Ben Houde had a pressing desire to return to work with the poor in Nicaragua. This summer, he spent several weeks there pursuing his interest in medical missionary work. He spent most of the summer with Hope Clinic International setting up and working in their clinics for needy children. On his own initiative, Ben took a survey of residents in various communities to get a deeper understanding of their need for medical care. Ben, who is majoring in Biology with a Pre-Medicine concentration, hopes his studies will help him continue and broaden his work with foreign medical missions.

“It gives me pause when I stop to complain about something miniscule here in the U.S., thinking of those who are content with so little, yet so much. Yes, they may not have computers, cars, cameras, or a grand variety of clothes, yet what they do have is so much more: their family, their community, and above all, their faith.”

–Ben Houde John Robert Griswold and Katherine Towery: Haiti

Two AMU students spent ten days in Haiti on a missionary trip organized

by FOCUS: Fellowship of Christian University Students. The two of them spent time helping members of a local Catholic Church dig an irrigation system, making house visits, and working with orphaned children.

“It was wonderful to see all the work that the Catholic Church is doing in Haiti, from the sisters living right outside the slums to the Fathers digging ditches or baptizing fifty some children on a normal Sunday. The Church is hard at work in Haiti. Missionaries are busy not only preaching the Good News, but really living it out.”

–Katherine Towery 24

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Megan Miller, David Neira, Sarah Rider, and Alex Wilson: Totus Tuus in Chicago and Charlotte

For three months this summer, four Ave Maria students served as missionaries with the organization Totus Tuus. The summer-long program trains missionaries to teach Catechism classes and help with Church youth group activities in dioceses across America. The missionaries are sent out in teams of four to teach classes, mentor young people, and organize retreats in parishes throughout their assigned diocese. This summer, Megan Miller, who graduated in May, was sent to the Archdiocese of Chicago. David Neira, Sarah Rider, and Alex Wilson were all in the Diocese of Charlotte, NC. “By far, though the summer was hard, the joys of the summer outweighed all suffering; and to be cliché, though undoubtedly the kids learn a ton about the faith, it always happened that just at the moment when I thought I was teaching them, they would blow me away by a question or a comment and I realized that they were really teaching me so much.”

–Megan Miller Peter Atkinson, Grace Farley, Matthew Rochefort, Jessica Plate, Caleb Glaser, David Bathon: Walking across America with Crossroads

Several AMU students spent the summer helping to establish the Culture of Life by joining the annual Crossroads Pro-Life Walks Across America. While making the sacrifice of walking day and night over 3,000 miles for three months, members of the walks spoke at parishes to encourage pro-life activism and stop at abortion clinics along the route to pray and peacefully protest.

David Bathon was on the team who oversaw the national walks, and AMU was also represented on three of the four walks. Peter Atkinson and Grace Farley were both on the Northern Walk; Caleb Glaser, a member of the Class of 2012, was the Walk Leader of the Central Walk; and Matthew Rochefort, another Walk Leader and 2012 graduate, was on the Southern Walk with Jessica Plate.

“We spend day and night walking for those who will never get the change to walk. We see thousands of people and we hope and pray that our message of the “Gospel of Life” is reaching them all.”

–Jessica Plate Emily Huber: Biking 4,300 miles for MS

Emily Huber was another AMU student who journeyed across the United States for a good cause this summer. Emily gathered donation money from sponsors and trained for weeks to prepare for the Bike the US for MS Summer 2012 trip. The cyclists raise money then bike together on routes across America to deliver a check for the total money they raised as a team. Emily was a cyclist on the Northern Tier, the longest route, a 4,295 mile trip over the course of 68 days, about 70 miles per day! Emily and her teammates delivered a check for $50,000 to help fund an MS specific clinic in Seattle.

“The bike ride this summer was at once the hardest and most wonderful experience of my life. There were many challenges biking so many miles and for so long, but every second was worth it for a cause that is so important to me.”

–Emily Huber

avemaria.edu | fall 2012 |

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spotlight

Interim Director of Campus Ministry

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here’s an old proverb: “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”

In May, I told God my plans for the summer. He laughed.

I planned to finish a book and to rest.

God laughed. Now I am the Interim Director of Campus Ministry. I begin my work in Campus Ministry with high hopes and—dare I say it—lots of plans.

Years ago, riding on a train in England, I found a bag of potato chips labeled, “NEW AND IMPROVED ORIGINAL FLAVOR!” I wondered how that was possible. Now, I think I know. Campus Ministry will still be serving, leading and teaching from the heart of the Church. We are guided by our new motto: “Christus mundo—mundus Christo” (Bringing Christ to the world and the world to Christ.) That motto reflects our commitment to help all disciples of Christ here at AMU in their calling to make Christ known and loved throughout the world. Our goal is to shine the light of Christ upon the spiritual, moral, intellectual and social lives of the AMU community and to form a community of effective witnesses for Christ.

As a Jesuit, I have worked at universities almost continuously for twenty years. As a priest and professor, I know the graces and challenges that Catholic university life offers.

AMU can form, inform and transform generations of generous, energetic and talented young people. I know that the cultural environment in which our students live is very different from what my colleagues and I grew up in. We strive to meet the students where they are at, and to understand their worldview. At AMU Campus Ministry, we follow the axiom of the Jesuit missionaries: “Enter through their door, but lead them through yours.” We work hard to be both understanding and understood in our work with our students. We are also mindful of our obligation to accompany them to full Christian maturity. We want to teach our students how to be alert to the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and we want them to be grateful heirs and wise stewards of the gifts of the Catholic Church.

Towards that end, we at Campus Ministry will be reading some books together throughout the academic year, so that we can be aware of current research regarding the faith lives of university students, and evaluate what others are describing as “best practices” in the service of young adults. We will start with: “You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church . . . and Rethinking Faith” by David Kinnaman.

To be a student at AMU is to be an heir to a legacy of faith and culture worth handing on. Consequently, Campus

Over 60 students attend a retreat in February.

Ministry will still offer what students at AMU have always enjoyed—Eucharistic Adoration, retreats, the nightly Rosary Walk, the ringing of the Angelus, spiritual direction, the promotion of the Culture of Life, and above all, the sacraments.

Campus Ministry will continue to offer monthly informal conversations with priests and students called, “Fireside with Father.” This year our conversations will address a different “hot topic” each month.

We will also start new ventures. Here I will mention just a few. In September, we will be offering an outdoor survival retreat, teaching young men how to survive in the wilderness while teaching them to thrive in the face of spiritual struggle. In October we will offer a day of reflection on God’s plan for women called, “Back to the Garden,” based upon selections from the Book of Genesis and the writings of Pope John Paul II, and will end with a guided tour of a local wildlife sanctuary. In November we will offer an on-campus mission called “Hearts on Fire” based on the wisdom of Saint Ignatius Loyola. We’re starting a new program called, “Why Do Catholics Do That?” We have programs to help students discern their vocation, to learn how to serve those in need, and to learn how apologetics. There will be a day for men called, “Christian Samurai: Servant-Warriors for Christ.” We’re offering a retreat promoting strong Christian friendships between men and women.

I believe firmly that the kind of Campus Ministry our com-

ABOVE: Students work the line during the Meals of Hope Project.

munity needs and deserves is more than just a matter of great programs. While at AMU, students need spiritually mature companions and guides who tell them: “Because of Who God is, because of who you are to God, you are worth my time.” We at Campus Ministry will offer Christ in Word and Sacrament, trying to love and serve as Christ does. My staff and I ask for your prayers and support as we begin this new academic year, full of high hopes and expectations. Please pray for all of Ave Maria University as we strive to live our faithfully. amu

avemaria.edu | spring 2012 |

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2012 Fall

Sports Roundup

Volleyball

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ead coach John Leonard enters his second season at the helm of the Ave Maria volleyball program. Coach Leonard brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team, having one year of Sun Conference play under his belt, as well as coaching at the high school and club levels for over two decades. The Lady Gyrenes also enjoy the benefit of their players’ experience, as nine women return from last season, including three seniors: setter Megan Arago, and middle hitters Cecilia Eckard and Christianne Ludwick. Outside hitters Hayley Wonka, Lilla Lukacs, Raquel Laing, and Julia Brkich return to give the team a formidable offensive attack, while liberos Marian deTar and Mary Eckard balance the veteran lineup. Family ties bind the volleyball program this season, with freshmen Colleen Arago (Kissimmee, FL) and Ashley Welley (Coral Springs, FL) joining the squad. Colleen joined her older sister, Megan, as a Lady Gyrene, and Ashley Welley comes to Ave Maria with her brother, Dylan, who plays on the football team. Incoming freshmen Amber Vines (Rotonda West, Fla.), Natalie McClain (Kissimmee, Fla.), and Ashley St. Hubin (Fort Myers, Fla.) add skill and depth to the Lady Gyrenes’ front line in 2012.

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Men’s and Women’s Soccer

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ast season, the 2011 Sun Conference Men’s Soccer Coach of the Year, Joseph Zakowicz, turned the Gyrene’s soccer program around in his first year with Ave Maria. This year Coach Zakowicz is taking on the head coaching duties of both the men’s and women’s teams. The Gyrene men look to improve on their 5-9-1 overall record from last season by bringing in 14 freshmen recruits. Two 2011 All-Conference players, sophomore goalie Andres Martin and junior midfielder Mario Black, hoped to lead the Gyrenes to success on the field this season.

The women’s soccer team looked to their returners to lead them to victory this year as well. The Lady Gyrenes bring in nine new recruits to join their eight returning players. The depth from last year’s team bodes well for the Lady Gyrenes in their new season.

AMU Football

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he AMU football program is in its second year, and with many changes during the off-season, the Gyrenes entered their new season with a fresh start.

New head coach Kevin Joyce brought in an almost entirely new coaching staff to lead the team in a renewed drive for success. Among the new coaches is Wide Receivers Coach

Jeff Jagodzinski. Coach Jag, as the players call him, brings impressive professional experience to the Gyrenes, having served two years as head coach at Boston College and many years as an assistant coach in the NFL. The team itself has many new faces, with over 60 new recruits bringing the roster to 100 players. With so many changes, the Gyrenes will be looking to their captains, wide receiver Chris Fahey, defensive back Gage Hayes, linebacker Kurt Joseph, and running back Laz Herrera, for leadership.

First Regular Season Win in School History

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n September 24th, the AMU football team honored their teammate Clay Burroughs who passed away this summer. Clay’s mother, Paige, joined President Jim Towey for the coin toss at center field before the game.

The Gyrenes received the kick-off, and on the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Matt Novak ran 54 yards for a touchdown: the beginning of what would be a charmed day for Paige, Clay’s friends, and AMU football.

When the final whistle blew, the Gyrenes had won 49-30: the first regular season win in AMU football history.

“I’m proud to be associated with such a fine group of young men. They worked so hard to earn the first win in school history,” said head coach Kevin Joyce. This first win for the Gyrenes comes two games into Joyce’s first season with the Gyrenes: a testament to the team’s encouraging progress under his leadership. “While they made history, the really impressive thing was immediately after winning the game, they wanted to kneel and give all thanks and glory to God,” Joyce explained.

“I’m confident these young men will continue to make positive history for Ave Maria University, both on and off the field.”

The team, indeed, knew going into the game that they would play for more than the score, as shown on the shirts worn by coaches and fans which read: “Play for God, Win for Clay.” “In that game, we were playing for so much more than ourselves, it was about so much more than football, and we demonstrated that in how well we played,” said wide receiver Chris Fahey, who was on the team with Clay last season. “Winning the first game in Ave Maria history was the best honor we could have given him. Our motto says it all: we played for God, won for Clay, and we did it as a team.”

avemaria.edu | fall 2012 |

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News Briefs Ernest L. Fortin Lecture Series on Philosophy, Theology, and Politics

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he Ernest L. Fortin Lecture series, funded by a grant from the New Science of Virtue Project at the University of Chicago awarded to AMU theology professor Dr. Marc Guerra, is an interdisciplinary speaker series which hosts lectures by well-known scholars on a range of topics.

The series, housed in the University’s new Humanities and Liberal Studies major, provides a unique opportunity for Ave Maria students to interact with renowned scholars and experience for themselves discussions that could lead to a deepened and broadened course of academic study.

The Fortin Lecture Series will bring several prestigious scholars to AMU this year. The October lecture was given by Harvey Mansfield, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government at Harvard University. In 2007, Mansfield was asked by the National Endowment for the Humanities to deliver the annual Jefferson Lecture, the highest honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual and public achievement in the humanities.

Mansfield’s lecture at AMU, titled

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“Science and Non-Science in Liberal Education,” defended the importance of universities like Ave Maria which are dedicated to continued study of the humanities.

Another well-known figure in both the academic and public spheres, the Honorable Mary Ann Glendon, will deliver a lecture for the Fortin Series in January. Glendon was the first female President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy See from 2008-2009. Currently, Glendon is the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She teaches and writes on bioethics, comparative constitutional law, property, and human rights in international law and is well-known for her public opposition to legalized abortion. Glendon, an original trustee of Ave Maria University, will give her Fortin Series lecture at Ave Maria on January 17th. Other speakers in the series are: Dr. John Alvis from the University of Dallas, Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. from Georgetown University, and Dr. Robert Miola from Loyola University.

Harvey Mansfield (top) delivered the first lecture in the series, with the Honorable Mary Ann Glendon scheduled for January.

a v e ma r i a ’ s

faculty publications • Dr. Michael Dauphinais, Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Theology, recently released another new book in partnership with former AMU faculty member Matthew Levering. Reading Romans with St. Thomas Aquinas, released in April, features essays which use Aquinas’s exegesis of Romans to address topics such as the Holy Spirit, the Church, and the relationship of Aquinas’s commentary on Romans to his Summa theologiae.

newal of Catholic Theology in 2010. The essays suggest a renewed dedication to intellectual and moral foundations as a solution to the tenuous relationship between Catholicism and modern American culture. The book includes an impressive line-up of authors, including Francis Cardinal George, OMI, Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM Cap., and several of AMU’s own theology professors.

• In September, Catholicsm and America: Challenges and Prospects edited

by Fr. Matthew Lamb, was released by Ave Maria University’s Sapientia Press.

The book is a collection of essays based on papers and discussions from the “Catholicism & America Conference” hosted by AMU’s Center for the Re-

• Dr. Michael Pakaluk, Professor and Chair of the Philosophy department, has been hard at work representing AMU in the scholarly community. Pakaluk was invited to speak as an authority on accounting ethics at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Roundtable discussion on the topic of Mandatory Audit Firm Rotation in Houston in October. Additionally, Pakaluk has authored several articles to be published in the coming months on topics including Aristotelian ethical theory, financial misconduct research, and the integration of psychology and philosophy.

• Former US Ambassador Michael Novak, who teaches various classes at AMU as an adjunct professor, authored a chapter in The 4% Solution: Unleashing the Economic Growth America Needs, recently released by The George W. Bush Foundation. Novak’s contribution, “The Moral Imperative of a Free Economy,” is featured as the closing word in the series of essays which presents a model for restoring economic stability and success in America.

avemaria.edu | spring 2012 |

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Online Education Debuts to Rave Reviews This summer, Dr. Gabriel Martinez taught his Principles of Macroeconomics course online.

After nearly ten years of teaching the course in a traditional classroom setting, he thought he knew all about the challenges of teaching macroeconomics.

Would teaching it online be different?

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irst, there was the question of how to communicate with the students. This was solved (thanks to Alex Chaparro of the IT department) with an inexpensive technology that allowed the professor and students to chat face-to-face. Students could ask questions, listen and watch the lecture—they could follow Dr. Martinez as he showed them videos and websites with economic information and analysis, much like they would have in a regular classroom [See the picture at top right].

“I don’t think the online class took away from the identity of the institution in its mission for academic excellence,” remarked Leo Duval, a senior who took the class. “All the course information was available at all times. I could post a question online, and it would almost certainly be answered either by a classmate or Dr. Martinez. It felt just like a normal course.”

The second challenge was finding a way to grade the students’ homework, administer exams, and collect papers. Fortunately, the textbook was integrated with a first-rate online course system that allowed Dr. Martinez to assign textbook questions and create new ones—even create questions that would be different for each student. The software also allowed students to receive prompt feedback on their work. According to Dr.

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Martinez, the technical aspects of the class were surprisingly smooth: students enjoyed and learned from the class as much as they would have in a classroom. “I was surprised how well this went,” said Martinez. “We still have some issues to work through and we’ll be doing that over the course of this year, but when you see how the students responded and got summer credits, you see all the effort is worth it.”

Dr. Martinez often is asked, “Why teach an online course, if the traditional face-to-face course worked well already?” He cites many answers. It allows students—who otherwise might have taken a class elsewhere or not at all—to take an Ave Maria University class while spending time with family and working a summer job. In their written evaluations of the class, students reported that they “ loved being able to take the class at home” and they “liked the ability to choose their own setting.”

Students from Miami, Weston, Bradenton, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, Tampa, St. Augustine, and elsewhere took Dr. Martinez’ class.

Students said that they appreciated the quick pace and the convenience being able to take the class at home.

Online classes are also a way in which Ave Maria University can show the world its greatest strength: its faculty

and their desire to pass on knowledge and enkindle a hunger for learning.

At the same time, their friends and family—and prospective students—were able to observe an AMU class and get a sense for why our students love Ave Maria.

Ave Maria has decided to expand its online offerings. “The Board of Trustees believes that Ave Maria University can modernize its academic offering without sacrificing quality or the professor-student relationship,” said Dr. Michael Dauphinais, interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean. The University has bought a license to the best-known course management system, Blackboard, and is currently setting up a taskforce of faculty and staff, with Dr. Martinez as Director of Online Education, to study and begin implementing the best practices for using the web.

For students like Elizabeth Cain, this change cannot come soon enough.

“I loved the fact that I had the liberty of taking my class wherever I needed to be this summer: the library, a coffee shop, in my room, or even while on a trip out of town,” said Cain. “The online course was a great opportunity to become accustomed to new ways of learning beyond the conventional classroom setting, and I would definitely do it again.” amu

in memoriam Clayton Burroughs May 16, 1990 - July 13, 2012

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layton Burroughs, a 22-year-old junior at the University, was killed in a car accident on July 13.

Clay was majoring in Business and played as a linebacker on the AMU football team.

To his many friends, Clay was fun-loving, kind, and generous. He was a talented and hardworking teammate on the field during the Gyrenes’ inaugural football season, and an interested learner in the classroom.

Clay’s joy and passion for life were admired by all those blessed to be close to him, and his friends know that the entire Ave Maria University community will miss his presence. May his soul rest in peace.

Ave Maria University 5050 Ave Maria Blvd.

Ave Maria, FL 34142