Thomas Aquinas College

Catholic liberal arts college in California, U.S.

For other schools named after St. Thomas Aquinas, see Institutions named after Thomas Aquinas.

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Thomas Aquinas College

Motto| Fides Quarens Intellectum (Latin)

Motto in English

| "Faith Seeking Understanding"
Type| Private liberal arts college
Established| 1971
Accreditation| WASC

Religious affiliation

| Catholic
President| Paul J. O'Reilly

Academic staff

| 46[1]
Undergraduates| 439[1]
Location|

Santa Paula

California

United States

34°25′48″N 119°05′13″W﻿ / ﻿34.430°N 119.087°W﻿ / 34.430; -119.087
Campus| Rural, 845 acres (3.42 km2)
Other campuses|

* Northfield, MA

Colors|  Maroon & black
Website| www.thomasaquinas.edu

Thomas Aquinas College is a private, conservative,[2][3] Catholic liberal arts college in Santa Paula, California. It was established in 1971.

## Academics

[edit]

The Chapel

To ensure institutional autonomy, the college does not accept funding from either the federal government or the Catholic Church. Rather, the college relies upon private donations to provide its need-based scholarships.[4][dead link] The college does not provide merit-based scholarships.

### Curriculum

[edit]

Thomas Aquinas College offers one degree, a Bachelor of Arts in liberal arts.[5] This is an integrated liberal arts curriculum made up primarily of the Great Books, with the order of learning emphasized in the structure of the curriculum.

The college replaces textbooks with the original sources, which are the seminal works of each discipline.[6] Thomas Aquinas College acknowledges that not all of the texts in its program are of equal weight: some are viewed as masterworks while others are studied as sources of opinions that "either lead students to the truth or make the truth more evident by opposition to it."[7]

## Student life

[edit]

Three chaplain-priests reside on campus and provide the Sacraments as well as spiritual direction.[8]

Intramural sports are practiced throughout the year and include volleyball, soccer, football, basketball, ultimate frisbee, and baseball. The St. John Paul II athletic center is home to both male and female exercise rooms, a climbing wall, a lap swimming pool, outdoor tennis and basketball courts, and an indoor gymnasium. The athletic center is the newest building on the California campus, opening its doors in early 2022.[9]

The St. Genesius Players produce one play a year, commonly a selection from Shakespeare.[10] The College Choir presents an annual concert and a spring musical, often a production of Gilbert and Sullivan.[citation needed] The choir sings at Sunday Mass as well as special events. A second student choir, often joined by various instrumentalists and vocalists from the student body, performs at formal and informal events throughout the year.

Unmarried students are housed on campus in six dormitories. Married students may live off-campus. Men's and women's residence halls are off-limits to members of the opposite sex.[11]

The possession or use of alcohol or illegal drugs on campus or in the dormitories is prohibited and may entail expulsion from the college.[11]

## Chapel

[edit]

The Chapel

As the "crown jewel" of the Thomas Aquinas College campus, Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel was dedicated on March 7, 2009.[12] The design for this 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2), $23 million building employs Early Christian, Renaissance, and Spanish Mission styles.[13] Designed by the New Classical architect Duncan Stroik, it is cruciform in shape and features both a 135-foot (41 m) bell tower and an 89-foot (27 m) dome.[14] Pope John Paul II blessed the chapel's plans in 2003, and in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI blessed its cornerstone. Adoremus Bulletin has called Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel "A Triumph of Sacred Architecture".[15]

## Library

[edit]

The ceiling of the college's Saint Bernardine of Siena Library has a 17th-century Spanish monastery artesonado. The library has a collection of rarities including thousands-year-old Hittite seals and devotional and sacred objects of saints.[citation needed][16] The library is home to some 65,900 works.[1]

## Massachusetts Campus

[edit]

Beginning in the Fall 2019 semester, Thomas Aquinas College has operated on an additional campus in Northfield, Massachusetts. Both campuses are under the authority of the same board of governors and follow the same curriculum. The New England campus formerly belonged to Northfield Mount Hermon School, a preparatory school that moved to another campus in 2005 and was given to Thomas Aquinas College in 2017 by the National Christian Foundation.[17] The campus is located near the Connecticut River and includes 100 acres of land.

## Notable alumni

[edit]

* John Berg (1993), Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter
* Peter Kwasniewski (1994), traditionalist Catholic writer and composer of sacred music.
* Mary Neumayr (1986), chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality[18]
* Paul J. O'Reilly (1984), academic and current president of Thomas Aquinas College
* Pia de Solenni (1993), theologian who formerly served as the chancellor of the Diocese of Orange

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Fact Sheet | Thomas Aquinas College". Retrieved July 30, 2023.
2. ^ "CatholicVote Touts TAC as Having "Most Conservative Students"". Thomas Aquinas College. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
3. ^ "Young America's Foundation Names College a "Top Conservative College"". Thomas Aquinas College. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
4. ^ "Financial Aid". Thomas Aquinas College. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
5. ^ "Degree". Thomas Aquinas College. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
6. ^ "Great Books". Thomas Aquinas College. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
7. ^ "Curriculum". Thomas Aquinas College. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
8. ^ "Chaplains". Thomas Aquinas College. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
9. ^ "Athletics". Thomas Aquinas College. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
10. ^ "Theater". Thomas Aquinas College. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
11. ^ a b "Rules of Residence". Thomas Aquinas College. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
12. ^ "News". Ventura County Star. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
13. ^ "Chapel". Thomas Aquinas College. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
14. ^ "A Sign of Contradiction". Inside the Vatican. Archived from the original on June 14, 2010. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
15. ^ "Chapel". Adoremus Bulletin. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
16. ^ "St. Bernardine of Siena Library". Thomas Aquinas College. July 7, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
17. ^ "Thomas Aquinas College gets green light for New England campus". Ventura County Star. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
18. ^ "Mary Bridget Neumayr ('86) Confirmed to top White House Environmental Post". Thomas Aquinas College.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

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