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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.
When Dad Comes to Give a Lecture - Dr. Daniel Toma: Scholar, Lecturer & TAC Parent
When geneticist Dr. Daniel Toma delivered his March lecture From Fruit Flies to Aristotle [to Dionysius] at 91 Aquinas College, New England, at least one listener had likely heard those thoughts before: Dr. Tomas daughter, sophomore Anastasia (25).
I had visited Anastasia a year ago in October, Dr. Toma recalls. I met several of the tutors then, and they wound up inviting me back for a lecture. The faculty was grateful for his willingness and grateful, too, for the intellectual substance he brought with him upon his return to campus.
In his lecture, Dr. Toma led listeners on a brief tour of his professional province of genetics, viewing it through both experimental and philosophical lenses and concluding with a glimpse of the fields theological implications. The talk was well received by students and faculty alike.
As a professor of biology at Minnesota State University, Mankato the largest school in the Minnesota State University system Dr. Toma could easily have sent his daughter to a school much, much closer to home. How then, did Anastasia find her way to 91 Aquinas College?
Dr. Tomas answer is simple: Were practicing Byzantine Catholics. He and his wife would settle for nothing less than an authentic Catholic education for their children. For high school, the Tomas are fortunate to live near Minneapolis, the birthplace of the Chesterton Schools Network, which, he explains, consists of high schools built on classical liberal arts, with a Catholic perspective. But what to do about college?
Theres been a lot of research on what keeps kids Catholic, and the biggest thing is sending them to a good Catholic high school, as well as keeping them under at least a Catholic umbrella through their undergraduate years, which is when, from a modern perspective, the neurons start hardening, says Dr. Toma. While nothings certain, it tends to be the best way of making sure that they preserve the Faith and thats the most important thing to my wife and me. They can do what they want when they go into the world, but our job as parents is to put our children in a setting where they will keep the Faith.
My job as a parent is to put my children in a setting where they will keep the Faith.
Knowing the stakes, Dr. Toma kept his eyes open for schools to which he could entrust the intellectual and spiritual care of his children in their final years of formation. Fortunately, circumstance was on his side. I did research in California for seven years, he recalls. So I had been up to the Colleges California campus a number of times, where I got to know Tom Kaiser, who has an advanced degree in biology, like I do.
Those visits convinced Dr. Toma not only of the Colleges Catholic credentials, but of its intellectual seriousness and institutional longevity. TAC has proven itself to be successful at turning out a good product, he reflects. He particularly admires the Colleges commitment to curricular breadth. There are a few other institutions like it, but TAC stands out by having a lot of science and math. Its important, for addressing the problems of the modern world, to really go into the sciences and learn how to deal with them.
But unlike most institutions of higher education, 91 Aquinas College balances this commitment to breadth with a fundamental commitment to showing how each discipline sheds light on the others. I appreciate the fact that all the classes are highly integrated, he says. Its not just the theology and the philosophy which are Catholic; the College knows how to integrate all the other secular disciplines into the tradition of the Church, pulling them together from a Catholic perspective.
When the Colleges New England campus opened in Northfield, Massachusetts about 1,000 miles closer to Minnesota than California the option seemed sealed by Providence.
Anastasia now plumbs the depths of the mysteries of both Creation and Redemption as a TAC student, and Dr. Toma could not be happier. The College gives students the tools to approach and analyze the truth, he says. Thats the most important aspect of education. The primary purpose is to give students those tools, and only secondarily to get a job. Its hard to find that attitude in schools nowadays.