The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual cap ...

in Merrimack, New Hampshire. It emphasizes classical education in the Catholic intellectual tradition and is named after Saint

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lor ...

. It is accredited by the

New England Commission of Higher Education The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evaluation and accreditation of public and private universities and colleges in the United States and othe ...

. It is endorsed by The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College.

History

Founding

Thomas More College was founded in 1978, with political science professor Peter Sampo as its first president. Sampo had been a co-founder and president of both Cardinal Newman College in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...

and

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the st ...

, also in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the n ...

. The curriculum, designed by educators Donald and Louise Cowan, associated with the

University of Dallas The University of Dallas is a private Catholic university in Irving, Texas. Established in 1956, it is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The university comprises four academic units: the Braniff Graduate School ...

, centered on the direct reading of foundational works of Western culture.

Since 2009

In 2009, the curriculum was revised under president William Fahey to improve its chronological approach to topics and strengthen the presentation of Catholic themes. Distinct majors in literature, political science, and philosophy were phased out in favor of a unified liberal arts major, great books program. In the same year regional accrediting body the

New England Association of Schools and Colleges The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) is a United States' regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation. NEASC serves over 1500 public, independent schools, and technical/career institutions ...

placed the college on probation for two years on the ground that it was not meeting NEASC's standards for financial resources. The college improved its financial position, and the period of probation ended in 2011. In late 2013, the college bought a 1908 mansion in the Nashville Historic District of Nashua. College president William Fahey indicated plans to use the historic house, originally built by shoe manufacturer Frank Anderson and later the home of Mount Saint Mary Seminary, a girls' high school, as an educational site and eventually also a

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or universit ...

Presidents

# Peter V. Sampo, 1978–2006 # Jeffrey Nelson, 2006–2009 # William Fahey, 2009–present

Academics

Thomas More College of Liberal Arts offers one degree program:

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

. The college is accredited by the

. In 2010, the college started a program of teaching students practical skills in art and music, using the medieval

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

system as a model. For admissions, Thomas More College accepts the Classic Learning Test (CLT) as alternatives to the SAT and ACT. Since 2012, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni included Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in its '' What Will They Learn?'' study. The study assigns a letter grade to 1,070 universities based on how many of the following seven core subjects are required, according to its specific criteria: composition, literature, foreign language, American history, economics, mathematics, and science. Thomas More College was one of 21 schools to receive an "A" grade, a grade assigned to schools that include at least six of the seven subjects—Thomas More College includes all seven subjects.

Curriculum

Thomas More College offers one degree, B.A. degree in

without a major concentration. The

core curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

is a

Great Books A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the Cla ...

program, and the program of studies is shaped according the traditional order of learning. The first two years of the four-year program are dedicated to the Trivium (logic, rhetoric, and grammar) and the Quadrivium (geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, and music). Students read great works of Western literature, philosophy, and political science instead of textbooks. Not all texts are considered to be of equal importance as some are masterworks and others are opinion pieces—because of this students read some texts in their entirety and excerpts from others. Students are also required to study a semester in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

; this is done in the second semester of sophomore year. Natural science, philosophy, scripture, and theology are all required courses. Over the four years, a Thomas More student might write upward of sixty papers assigned in the various subject areas. In their third year, students must present a junior project in front of a panel of three faculty members; in their fourth year, students produce a senior thesis and defend it before faculty and student peers.

Rankings

* From 2012 to 2021, the college was awarded an "A" rating from the education reform organization American Council of Trustees and Alumni. * In 2021, the Young America's Foundation named Thomas More College one of the top

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...

schools in the United States. * Thomas More College is endorsed by the Cardinal Newman Society, publisher of The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College (2021).

The Center for the Restoration of Christian Culture

In 2017, Thomas More College of Liberal Arts launched the Center for the Restoration of Christian Culture. In order to restore Christian culture in New England, the center has hosted several lectures and online webinars. Dr. Robert Royal, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Faith and Reason Institute, said the center is "one of the most promising new initiatives in decades."

Publishing

The college has sponsored the Centre for Faith and Culture at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England, publisher of ''Second Spring'', a journal on faith and culture, since 2007. In April 2011, Thomas More College, together with Holy Spirit College in Atlanta, reached an agreement with the non-profit publisher Sophia Institute Press, which became the publishing division of the two colleges. The two colleges, in turn, appoint representatives to the board of directors of Sophia Institute. In 2016, the college began its own publishing initiative, called the Thomas More College Press. To date the Thomas More College Press publishes the major works of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

, as translated by Hippocrates Apostle, as well as books by Romano Guardini, John Senior, and Heinrich Rommen.

Notable faculty

Current notable faculty *

Joseph Pearce Joseph Pearce (born February 12, 1961), is an English-born American writer, and Director of the Center for Faith and Culture at Aquinas College in Nashville, Tennessee, before which he held positions at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts i ...

, St. John Henry Newman Visiting Chair in Catholic Studies

Former faculty

* Louise Cowan (1916–2015), professor of English * Anthony Esolen, professor of English Renaissance and classical literature, translator of Dante * Robert Royal, Catholic author and the president of the Faith & Reason Institute * Peter V. Sampo (1931–2020), political science professor and first president of the college

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas More College Of Liberal Arts Liberal arts colleges in New Hampshire Educational institutions established in 1978 Universities and colleges in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Catholic universities and colleges in New Hampshire Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester Merrimack, New Hampshire