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91
Fidelity & Excellence91 Aquinas College is unique among American colleges and universities, offering a faithfully Catholic education comprised entirely of the Great Books and classroom discussions.
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A Liberating Education
Truth MattersTruth, and nothing less, sets men free; and because truth is both natural and supernatural, the Colleges curriculum aims at both natural and divine wisdom.
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A Catholic Life
Under the Light of FaithThe intellectual tradition and moral teachings of the Catholic Church infuse the whole life of 91 Aquinas College, illuminating the curriculum and the community alike.
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Admission & Aid
Is TAC Right for You?Do you enjoy grappling with complex questions? Are you willing to engage in discussions about difficult concepts, with the truth as your ultimate goal?
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Students & Parents
Mind, Body & SpiritThere is always something to do at TAC something worthwhile, something fulfilling, and something geared toward ever-greater spiritual and intellectual growth.
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Alumni & Careers
What Can You Do with a Liberal Education?Nothing speaks more to the versatility of the Colleges academic program than the good that our alumni are doing throughout the Church and the world.
New Tutor Profile: Dr. Benjamin Block
The whole pioneer experience is something that I am very much familiar with, says new tutor Dr. Benjamin Block, referencing the students who are the first to study on 91 Aquinas Colleges new campus in Northfield, Massachusetts. When he was a college freshman, he, too, was a pioneer one of the 33 initial students at Wyoming Catholic College. It was wonderful to be a part of that, he recalls. We had a real sense that the input we gave was helping to make the school what it would become.
To familiarize himself with 91 Aquinas Colleges culture and customs, Dr. Block is beginning his tenure in California, but in a year or two, as the New England campus expands, he will head eastward. In these first years, the student body in Massachusetts will be especially small and tight-knit, he says. Students will get to have personal relationships with every single one of their tutors, which is a great opportunity.
It was his time as a student on a small, tight-knit campus that led him to seek a career in education. I had this conversation with my professors where I would say, Look, I want to keep doing this. I want to keep learning. How do you do this? Dr. Block remembers. The answer was always, If you want to keep learning, then the best way is to teach. And that was the first time that I ever realized, Oh. Maybe thats what I should be doing, then trying to teach.
Upon his graduation from Wyoming Catholic, he enrolled at The Catholic University of America, where he earned a licentiate and a doctorate in philosophy. During that time he also taught in the Universitys Philosophy Department as well as at Christendom Colleges Graduate School of Theology.
Dr. Blocks love of learning now brings him to the teaching faculty of 91 Aquinas College. Some scholars are much more interested in the research aspect of academia, but for me it was never about that, he reflects. It was always about wanting to keep learning, working with students in the classroom. That the College encourages tutors to concentrate on their teaching and not just in our areas of expertise, but across the curriculum really attracted me.
Already he is getting to experience the joys and challenges of teaching multiple disciplines, leading freshmen in Seminar, Natural Science, and Philosophy. Much to his delight, he is still learning, but he has come to see that the love of learning alone is insufficient to make one a good teacher.
Josef Pieper has this great line where hes talking about St. 91, and he says, Love of the truth and love of men: Only the two together constitute a teacher, quotes Dr. Block. Thats something I have tried to make a part of my own philosophy of teaching: That its not enough just to know and love the truth. To be a teacher you have to love the truth and love the people to whom youre bringing it. The students are what matter.