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Why I Went to a Catholic College

I was seventeen when my father and I embarked on the long flight to Denver from Amsterdam, with a layover in London. He read George Eliot; I read Batman: The Long Halloween. It was dark by the time we checked into the hotel, and still dark the next morning when we set out in our rental car. We drove . . . . Continue Reading »

His Excellency

American Priest:  The Ambitious Life and Conflicted Legacy of Notre Dame’s Father Ted Hesburgh by wilson d. miscamble, c.s.c.  image, 464 pages, $28 In 2008, Father Theodore ­Hesburgh (1917–2015) gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal in which he said, “I . . . . Continue Reading »

Mother Church or Uncle Sam

Wyoming ­Catholic College, of which I serve as ­president, recently ­determined that it has a duty to abstain from federal student-loan and grant programs. As a new college that received the accreditation necessary for federal funding only this year, Wyoming Catholic faced a stark choice for or . . . . Continue Reading »

Residual Entities

In the 1880s, when the bishops of the United States founded The Catholic University of America and obtained a papal charter for it, they intended it to help fulfill their responsibility to teach and promote Catholic faith. The University was governed by a Board of Trustees consisting mainly of bishops and was managed by clerics chosen by that Board. Continue Reading »

Notre Dame's Core Curriculum Review

Much has already been written on the University of Notre Dame’s current core curriculum review—and on its toying with the idea of dropping the two undergraduate theology requirements. The question has been addressed from a number of angles: Margaret Blume, a doctoral student in theology at ND, . . . . Continue Reading »

Wyoming Catholic and the Federal Burden

Wyoming Catholic College has decided to opt out of Title IV—specifically, federal student aid and loan programs. (See the press release here).President Kevin Roberts’ video explanation is a simple and eloquent expression of the bind religious colleges face in today’s regulatory climate. . . . . Continue Reading »

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