Aquinas College

Nashville, Tennessee
www.aquinascollege.edu

Overview
Nashville lives large in the American psyche
as “Music City,” the long-time center of coun-
try and, more recently, Christian music. But
this growing capital city in north central Ten-
nessee harbors a number of other institutions
that also impact the region, if not the nation.
One such institution, a small and emerg-
ing gem in west Nashville five miles from
downtown, is the 92-acre Aquinas College.
Founded by the Dominican Sisters of the
Congregation of Saint Cecilia, it is an oasis QUICK FACTS
of Catholic liberal arts education in an area
Founded: 1961
with a miniscule three percent Catholic pop-
Type of institution: Small liberal arts college
ulation. Indeed, Nashville’s strong Protestant Setting: Urban
heritage has also earned it “The Buckle of the Undergraduate enrollment: 796 (Spring 2007)
Bible Belt” title. Total tuition cost: $486 per credit hour
(about $14,580 total tuition for
The sisters, popularly known as the Nash-
2007–08)
ville Dominicans, came to the city in 1860
Undergraduate majors: Six
at the invitation of Bishop James Whalen,
who asked them to educate girls in the arts FIVE KEY POINTS
and music. St. Cecilia Academy grew into a
teacher preparatory school with a relation- 1. A faithful Catholic college run by
ship with The Catholic University of America religious sisters.
in the early 20th century. 2. The president is committed to
promoting and expanding the
By 1961 it became a junior college and Catholic identity.
then a four-year college 33 years later. The
3. It is proudly “fighting the tide” in a city
sisters also operate a coed elementary-middle
and region heavily non-Catholic.
school and a girls’ high school on the campus
4. The college is expanding its academic
grounds, whose focal point is a large man-
majors into more liberal arts fields.
sion, the White House, which houses admin-
istrative offices. 5. The PRIMETIME program for working
adults is an important college
The order, which has a special charism of outreach.
education, operates 32 schools (with one more

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Aquinas College

on the way) in 17 dioceses. Eight of these As a junior college, Aquinas provided

schools are in the Diocese of Nashville, where training in criminal justice and dental hy-
the Motherhouse is located. Aquinas College giene through associate degree programs.
is the only college of the 147-year-old order. The first bachelor’s programs were in teacher
education and nursing. Today, the college is
The sisters belong to one of the few orders
moving into liberal arts fields, adding theol-
of women religious enjoying phenomenal
ogy and English majors in the fall of 2006.
growth. Noted for their love of traditional
More are anticipated, and this comes at a
religious life, their contemplative focus pre-
time when many colleges are migrating from
pares them for this active education aposto-
the liberal arts and into more career-oriented
late. They also are known for their Catholic
programs.
faithfulness and commitment to the Magiste-
rium. In addition to these majors, the college for
some time has also offered undergraduate de-
Under the presidential leadership of Sister
grees in business and interdisciplinary stud-
Thomas Aquinas, O.P., who took her religious
ies—as well as continuing its work in teacher
name from her alma mater of Thomas Aqui-
preparation and nursing. Minors are avail-
nas College (California), Aquinas College has
able in English, history, philosophy, psychol-
promoted its Catholic identity, strengthened
ogy and theology. Associate degree programs
its curriculum and expanded its academic
are offered in nursing and liberal arts.
program.
Aquinas also appeals to older, working
The college is on the move: enrollment
students through its PRIMETIME program,
doubled between 2001 and 2006, and further
which is available on its main Dominican
expansion is anticipated when residential fa-
campus and two smaller campuses devoted
cilities are built. Currently, all students are
exclusively to this program. PRIMETIME de-
commuters.
grees are available in business administration
What is particularly impressive is that only and management information systems.
20 percent of the student body is Catholic, but
Nearly 80 percent of the student body is fe-
that has not deterred the president in pursu-
male, which makes it distinct from other col-
ing her vision of making Ex corde Ecclesiae a
leges in this guide. Perhaps this figure reflects
touchstone for the college. In a 2002 Thomas
the historical commitment that the college
Aquinas College newsletter she is quoted:
has made to nursing and K–12 education, two
“We want to do the right thing, rather than
careers long favored by women over men.
follow some path of least resistance.”
Aquinas is fully accredited by its regional
Although Catholics are a minority among
body, the Southern Association of Colleges
students and comprise only 50 percent of the
and Schools. It received its initial accredita-
faculty, one college official told us “there is
tion in 1971.
no non-Catholic faculty member in the phi-
losophy, literature, theology or department
departments. All non-Catholic faculty are at
least Christian.”

158 The Newman Guide


Governance
The Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of
Saint Cecilia owns and governs the college.
Sister Thomas Aquinas has been president
since 2002. In addition to being a supporter of
Ex corde Ecclesiae, she is interested in strength-
ening the curriculum in the Catholic intellec-
tual tradition.
In August 2007, the college announced
that Sister Thomas Aquinas would be on an
academic sabbatical during 2007–08. In her
absence, Sister Mary Peter Muehlenkamp,
O.P., a lawyer who has taught in Catholic el-
ementary schools, is serving as president pro
tem.
Public Identity
The various statements issued by the college
emphasize its Catholic identity and, impres-
sively, emphasize routes to salvation.
In its mission statement, for example, it
is noted: “Faculty and staff seek to make
students aware that a relationship exists be-
tween human culture and the message of sal-
vation. Thus, the mission of Aquinas College
is to bring this message of salvation to bear on
ethical, social, political, religious and cultural
issues.”
This theme is reinforced in discussing
various programs and even the goals of the
library, which provides “services that illu-
minate the importance of the message of sal-
vation for moral development, intellectual
achievement and personal growth.” Such
explicit, across-the-board commentary on the
link between education and salvation is rare
and welcome.
By all accounts, Sister Thomas Aquinas
has revitalized the institution and its Catho-
The Newman Guide
Aquinas College
lic mission. In addition to the academic devel-
opments, she was responsible for obtaining a
full-time Catholic chaplain. Also, there is an
active faculty development program where
Catholic teachings are discussed monthly.
We expect these initiatives to continue un-
der Sister Mary Peter. She has said, “Many ex-
citing changes have happened in recent years,
and many more are in our plans.”
The presence of the Dominican sisters un-
derscores the college’s Catholic identity as
does its modest speakers programs, which
include a semi-annual Aquinas Lecture and a
Dominican Campus Lecture series. There also
is a campus Holy Spirit Mass in the fall and a
St. Thomas Aquinas Mass in the spring.
Among former students at Aquinas Col-
lege is Bishop David Choby of the Diocese of
Nashville. He attended the-then junior col-
lege in the mid-1960s before moving on to the
seminary. He also has taught moral theology
at the college and is a strong supporter of the
congregation and the college.
Spiritual Life
The 50-seat St. Jude’s Chapel is the center of
the campus’ spiritual life. With the addition
of a reported “top notch” full-time chaplain,
more activities have resulted. There is now a
daily Mass which is “traditional in every in-
stance” and varies from vernacular Masses to
some with Latin portions.
The chapel is open 13-and-a-half-hours a
day, allowing for a variety of spiritual pro-
grams, including twice weekly confessions
and twice yearly penance services; weekly
Rosary and an annual living Rosary; weekly
Adoration; and Lenten Stations of the Cross.
We were told that the sisters and faculty en-
courage students to visit the chapel. There are
plans to build a larger chapel.
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Aquinas College
The campus ministry is involved in vari-
ous pro-life and social justice activities. Stu-
dents pray at abortion clinics and a Cemetery
of the Innocent, where crosses representing
aborted children have been erected.
Among the other student organizations is
the Frassati Society, which promotes the Be-
atitudes; Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati was an
early 20th-century Dominican tertiary who
exemplified the Beatitudes. There also is a
weekly student discussion group that is simi-
lar to the popular “Theology on Tap” pro-
grams around the country.
In October 2006, the college hosted a
“Teens with Christ” weekend retreat for
eighth-through-10th graders. It was a proj-
ect of the Dominican Sisters and the diocese;
Bishop Choby celebrated both Masses of the
retreat and participants heard talks on chas-
tity, vocations and other topics.
Catholicism in
the Classroom
The Dominican Sisters state that their mission
in Catholic education is “to provide students
with the freedom of a liberal arts education
so that with the development of skills and a
strong academic foundation they may fulfill
their God-given vocation.”
The college tries to integrate the teachings
of the Church into all of its programs. Ac-
cording to one administrator, “The school is
working to do a better job emphasizing what
theology and philosophy have to say about
other disciplines.”
In the business program, for example,
support for a free-market economy is com-
plemented by a desire for “Christian moral
constraints.” Students in the popular nursing
program are taught about the Church’s teach-
160
ings in this important area. As the director of
the associate degree in nursing program told
us, “We give students the tools to help their
patients make the right moral decisions.”
The nursing department has had guest
speakers who reinforce the moral nature
of the curriculum. Among these have been
Brother Ignatius Perkins, O.P., a dean and
nursing professor at Spalding University, and
Sister Renee Mirkes, head of the moral and
ethics department at Pope Paul VI Institute in
Omaha, Nebraska.
All of the theology faculty, we are told,
have received the mandatum—in fact, they all
“jumped at the opportunity,” according to
one college official. Moral theology courses
are reported to be especially good.
Eight sisters teach at Aquinas. They and
their lay counterparts, Catholic and non-
Catholic, “not only don’t contradict the Mag-
isterium but students are led to see that the
teachings of the Church touch on all parts of
their lives,” according to one Aquinas admin-
istrator.
While graduation requirements vary
slightly from discipline to discipline, the
Bachelor of Arts curriculum is indicative.
Here students take slightly more than half of
their total credit hours, 65, in a core that runs
the gamut of the traditional liberal arts curric-
ulum. Three specific philosophy courses are
required and students can select from a range
of theology courses to satisfy a two-course re-
quirement. Two foreign language courses and
one computer course also are mandated.
The college makes an effort to ease the chal-
lenge of the first year for students through its
Aquinas College Cares about Every Student’s
Success (ACCESS) program. It is a required
program of mentoring, tutoring and advising
for them and for other new students.
The Newman Guide
 Aquinas College

Student Activities
There is a Student Activities Board that spon-
sors speakers and other events. There are
about 10 organizations that include the Fras-
sati Society, the Salvation Army Angel Tree
program, groups for student nurses and pro-
spective teachers, Aquinas Singers, a business
fraternity and a classics club.
Among campus events scheduled for fall 2007
is a dramatic presentation, Therese, the Story
of a Soul: A One-Person Play on the Life of St.
Therese of Lisieux, at the St. Cecilia Theatre.
The college, which once successfully com- The Community
peted on an intercollegiate basis as part of the
National Junior College Athletic Association, Nashville is one of the most vibrant cities of the
currently does not field athletic teams. upper South. Its population recently exceeded
One faculty member, strongly supportive the 600,000 mark and is growing fast. In ad-
of the college, told us that social interactions dition to historical ties to the country music
were limited. She said, “This is a commuter industry, Nashville has a big health care sec-
college with few opportunities for students to tor, including serving as the home of the behe-
‘hang out’ and develop friendships with each moth Hospital Corporation of America.
other.” The city offers many cultural, social and
entertainment opportunities. There is, of
course, the venerable Grand Ole Opry, with
Residential Life its Saturday night performances, but there
also are National Football League (Tennessee
Some of the dynamics of the college might Titans) and National Hockey League (Nash-
change when residential facilities are built. It ville Predators) teams to follow.
is our understanding that the building of the
first residence hall by fall 2009 is at the top of Nashville is a transportation hub, which
the college’s strategic plan. According to Sis- includes the Nashville International Airport,
ter Thomas Aquinas, such expansion will al- a hub for Southwest Airlines and host to oth-
low the college to attract Catholics from other er major carriers. Three major national high-
parts of the country. ways, Interstates 24, 40 and 65, serve the city.

Students have access to St. Thomas Hospi-

tal, which is next to the college. The Daugh-
ters of Charity started the facility in 1898, and
it is now a comprehensive, 541-bed hospital.

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Aquinas College
The Bottom Line
Aquinas College is a small college with a
proud local tradition, particularly in areas
such as nursing and teaching. With several
promising initiatives underway, it is poised
to expand its curriculum and attract students
from beyond the Nashville area.
The fact that the city and state are so
overwhelmingly Protestant does not deter
the college from living its Catholic identity.
162
Even with a student body of only 20 percent
Catholics, Aquinas College embraces Ex corde
Ecclesiae, making it a cause for celebration in a
changing South.
This is a college worth considering both
for students in Tennessee and increasingly
for those around the nation who are looking
for the careful attention and dynamic spirit
that the Dominican sisters provide to faithful
education.
The Newman Guide