Posted on 07/17/2008 8:34:33 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Free Congress Foundation frequently is asked for a recommendation for good institutions of higher learning. Paul T. Yarbrough agreed to undertake a review of the best institutions in this country. He spent months acquiring catalogues, reviewing materials and asking questions. What follows is his exclusive report. We hope this will be an annual exercise.
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For our survival as a nation, to advance the cause of liberty and preserve what is left of our Judeo-Christian culture, faith and reason must infuse the life of an American college. There is no other way to achieve excellence. Do any institutions in our land value these imperatives? Yes, islands of sanity do exist, thank God. How does a school arrive at excellence? Here are what I believe to be the essential guideposts:
1. “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” These simple words of Jesus should be our model. Schools must recognize that truth exists, and free societies only can be built upon truth. As Pope John Paul II said, faith and reason are “the two wings on which human spirit rises to the contemplation of Truth.” A school should teach students that true freedom means personal responsibility and self-understanding, not license to do whatever thye want, with whomever they want. Institutions must seize upon the notion that relativism is the road to perdition. For Christians, knowing and living out the Truth is essential for happiness and salvation. For societies and nations, the effect is analogous. The mission of a university should be uncovering truths and applying them to our lives and our culture so that we can continue to live as a free people. Too many universities, however, have capitulated to post-modern culture and market it as truth. This is a grand deception that great colleges should not tolerate. A Godless, secular-humanist university cannot be an excellent educational institution.
2. A great American university advances the position that Western Civilization, known as Christendom until the nineteenth century, must be understood and recognized as the principle historical force advancing free societies. In so doing, it should advocate the necessity of cultivating and defending Western Civilization. A classical education is what America needs. The institution also must understand that Western Civilization is under attack and collapsing daily—and recognize that this is a devastating loss for liberty and be willing to do something to arrest its collapse. Such a position does not indicate that schools should ignore the failings of Western Civilization, but rather teach that these failings occurred when men lost sight of the noble purposes of our civilization. Studying civilizations which usually are not considered “Western” but which advance universal human values should be part of the equation. Finally, universities should acknowledge that the principle defender, contributor to, and advocate of Western Civilization since the collapse of the Roman Empire has been the Christian Church, in both its Roman Catholic and Protestant manifestations. Religious bigotry should not obscure this essential historical fact.
3. A university must maintain rigorous academics and a high-quality faculty to support its mission statement. Professors should be living witnesses for their specialties, not mere functionaries. The university must have a core curriculum in which all students, not just those taking philosophy and theology courses, participate in the quest for truth. The core ought to include an emphasis on the great books, including, of course, the Bible. Reading what Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, and Shakespeare actually wrote rather than a biased textbook “interpretation” is essential. Latin and Greek should be required so that students appreciate the great authors in the original languages and better understand their own native tongue. Students must be encouraged to speak in class, express themselves in a coherent fashion, and formulate logical arguments. Thus, a smaller student-teacher ratio is highly desirable. We ought to see history professors teach that greatness existed in American civilization prior to President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration. Economics and business professors should encourage entrepreneurism and teach that profit is beneficial to society because of the jobs it creates. For reference student could read Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. “Capitalism” should not be a dirty word at a great American university. It is imperative that law students are taught that natural law is the foundation for all law and that original intent and historical context is important for interpreting the United States Constitution. Medical and pharmacy students must know the Hippocratic Oath to respect life for the miracle it is at every stage of development and “do no harm,” even to the unborn. Political science departments cannot be retirement communities for aging Marxists. Political science professors should critically explore political systems, keep the common good (not economic redistribution) in mind, promote the principles of subsidiarity, and treat American democracy with the respect and admiration it is due. Journalism and communications courses should instruct on “information-ethics.” Art departments should recognize that a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe dressed as a stripper is not genuine artistic expression. Advocates of Intelligent Design and those who dare to question man-made global warming should be welcomed in science departments, which should pursue the scientific method of testing a hypothesis, not meddle in politics. Finally, mathematics and engineering students should be taught the fundamental goodness of order, logic and reason.
4. Participation in one’s own religion must be encouraged. A university should have chapels which are not just handsome, anachronistic curiosities put to more culturally sensitive uses but are used for their original purpose. There should be regular worship services that are well attended. The chaplain should be a genuine man of God who recognizes that saving souls is his calling and entertainment is not. His sense of humor must inspire students to worship God, not himself. Another positive sign would be seminaries or monasteries integral to campus life where appropriate.
5. If a university is Roman Catholic, it has to be faithful to the Magisterium of the Church. All professors of theology must have the mandantum from the local bishop. The school has to follow the great Catholic intellectual tradition consistent with Ex cordia ecclesiae. After all, the Roman Catholic Church developed the university in the first place: Universitas magistrorum et scholarium. If a school belongs to another faith community, it should be faithful to the tenants of that community consistent with Truth and God’s moral laws. Also, faithful Jewish schools can and should become excellent American universities. The Christian concept of faith and reason is similar the Jewish “Torah Umadda”: that faith knowledge and worldly knowledge bring together a cohesive, whole truth.
6. Is there a patriotic spirit about the place or is love of country mocked? Do students and faculty recognize that they are blessed to be Americans, or does the “blame America first” crowd dominate the school? Do foreign faculty and students respect our patriotic observances or do they belittle our country? In each case, the answer must be the former. ROTC and military recruiters should be welcomed on campus, not chastised and denigrated. A school’s fallen military heroes should be duly honored. Too often students forget that “freedom isn’t free.”
7. The arts and entertainment on campus must uphold what is inspirational, timeless, wholesome and beautiful. That includes a school’s architecture. It is critical that students are taught to find the highest aspirations of the human spirit in the structure and poetry of true art. It is equally important that filth is recognized for what it is and tossed out with the garbage. Clean fun is cool at an excellent American college.
8. The institutional structure and management should be morally and financially sound. The president, governing board, administration and faculty should be devoted to the mission of the university. The physical plant ought to be ascetically pleasing, with an air of permanence. The campus has to be safe. Males and females must have separate living accommodations. As for fund raising, the school ought to raise money without compromising its message. Professors should be paid fairly, and tuition should not be out of line with similar schools. The endowment should be healthy and growing. Students from all backgrounds and cultures should be welcomed, and no acts of racial bigotry or violence can be condoned. Protecting the dignity of the human person is essential, including freedom of conscious. There has to be tuition assistance for the genuinely needy. “Academic freedom” should include the responsibility to use it wisely. It cannot be used as license for sedition and decadence. Finally, the school must have no “speech codes” and mandatory diversity training, since these things exist in academia for the purpose of muzzling Christian conservatives and blaming white males for the world’s troubles.
9. All sanctioned student activities must be consistent with the university’s mission of promoting genuine and wholesome liberal education. The administration’s approval of leftist advocacy groups pushing homosexual, feminist, pro-abortion and anti-life causes should disqualify the school. Varsity and intramural athletics ought to be promoted, while the “scholar athlete” is the model to emulate. The school should try to develop “the whole man.” An excellent school cracks down on alcohol problems. Temperate and gentlemanly behavior must be encouraged—and enforced. Lady-like manners garner respect, not guffaws. Manliness and femininity are treasured virtues at excellent schools. Feminists and their cowed sympathizers do not emasculate the men on campus.
10. It is imperative that a university spread its message to the larger community. Professors should be known in a positive way in the media. The school should be praised by like-minded peers and publications. Honest, mainstream rating services should give the university high marks. A significant percentage of students ought to spend time helping the less fortunate at home and abroad, especially during “Alternative Spring Break.” Service hours should be required. We are our brothers’ keepers. Forums should be hosted on campus for ordinary people from beyond the ivory tower. Guest speakers ought to share the university’s mission, not be hostile to it.
11. The result of all this effort must speak for itself. We should see graduates advance their religions and the principles of Western Civilization. Graduates must be well-rounded and better equipped for life due to their liberal education. How many vocations does the college produce? Do alumni support their alma mater? Are prominent alumni good role models? Is the scholar-athlete who chose to stay with his sport now a respected professional, or is he on the juice? Most importantly, when the graduating senior is asked, “Are you a better human being now than you were four years ago?” the answer is, “Yes.”
These criterion are neither impossible or naïve. Several schools would receive a “B” or higher if this were an examination, and thus merit inclusion in this survey of Excellent American Colleges and Universities. The majority of the selections are Roman Catholic schools, which is not surprising given that classical liberal education has been well-preserved within the Catholic intellectual tradition. Here they are, with a few brief insights:
1. Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan. Although nonsectarian, this school lives out the criteria about as well as any institution of higher learning in the United States. It is fiercely independent, committed to the Truth, classical and liberal in the proper sense, proudly American and devoted to the mind, body and soul of every student. Like C.S. Lewis, Hillsdale is beloved by Roman Catholics and Protestants alike. I noticed that their chapel features a crucifix as its focus. While touring the campus with my oldest son, we came upon their new statue of George Washington. I asked him (rhetorically) what other campus in this country has a new statute of our first president? Our 40th president, Ronald W. Reagan, said that, “Hillsdale deserves the appreciation of all who labor for freedom.” (Hopefully a statute of the Gipper is on the way.) William F. Buckley, Jr. was given an honorary doctorate by Hillsdale, and upon receipt mused, “Well, thanks to Hillsdale College, it is all here, a lifetime’s work. Necessarily, you will find infelicities here, and maybe a deviation or two, but it is all an earnest attempt to contribute to the patrimony, preserved here thanks to Hillsdale.” Buckley, a devout Roman Catholic and iconic American conservative, found a home in the spirit of this small rural college.
2. Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, California. The school almost did not make the list since it is virtually devoid of organized athletics. However, at TAC one will find no better classical liberal education in the United States and in one of the most splendid campus settings in America. The dress code, the in-room TV prohibition, its tiny size (about 320 students), relative isolation, the curfew, and devout Catholicism will be off-putting for most students, which is fine with TAC. The school is only for students who are not afraid to immerse themselves in a world which in four years time will see them become far better human beings. The seminar-style classroom settings are very conducive to healthy student participation and interaction with their excellent professors. There is only one degree – Bachelor of Liberal Arts – and no graduate school. But the intellectual tools and moral foundation these students come away with equip them well for religious or secular life. There is also a healthy intramural program where students can develop physically. Even the mainstream college-rating organizations give this counter-cultural school very high marks. As added bonuses, the beach is 15 minutes away and the Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library is nearby in Simi Valley.
3. University of Dallas, Irving, Texas. Here is an orthodox, intellectually rigorous Roman Catholic school which takes its connection to ancient Western Civilization and the Holy Mother Church literally. Its campus in Rome gives every UD student the opportunity to study in Italy for a semester and includes a trip to Greece. Students bring the Greco-Roman culture back to the Irving campus, promoting a greater appreciation for Western Civilization. The seminary on campus reminds students that God is near. Unfortunately, there is a significant problem with drinking among some students, which the school needs to address more proactively. The Stalinist architecture reflects its emergence in the 1960s and 70s, and the lack of new construction its precarious finances in the 1990s. But UD is on the rise, thanks in large part to her aptly named president, Dr. Lazarus. There is school spirit and athleticism—next door to Texas stadium and in the heart of one of the most conservative metropolitan areas in the United States. This is a politically and spiritually conservative place, but UD is no stuffed shirt.
4. Grove City College, Grove City, Pennsylvania. One has to love a school like this which keeps its message simple: “Faith and Freedom.” This is a non-denominational Christian school in which holds “a vision of Christian society transcending denomination, creeds, and confessions, [and is] committed to the advancement of free enterprise, civil and religious liberty, representative government, arts and letters, and science and technology.” At GCC, students work hard. Chapel attendance is mandatory. This is a patriotic place. Grove City has been in the trenches of the culture wars and has fought hard for its independence. See Grove City College v. Bell, 465 U.S. 555 (1984), the seminal U.S. Supreme Court opinion on how the federal government can take control of a private college through its student loan program. By and large, GCC has been successful in maintaining its independence from government intrusion. Like Hillsdale, it affords its own non-governmental financial aid to students, thanks in large part to an endowment totaling over $100 million. The campus is old and beautiful, it has its own unique Greek system, admissions standards are very high, the student body is intelligent, and it is one of the most affordable private colleges in the country. A student fortunate enough to attend will get one of the finest classical liberal educations available.
5. Franciscan University of Steubenville, Steubenville, Ohio. They say this place has joyful campus spirit in bucketfuls, and its graduates certainly seem to emulate this in whatever they do in the culture. These people take salt and light into the world in keeping with the charisma of their patron, St. Francis of Assisi. The students and faculty develop a familial bond in an environment which encourages charismatic worship, which certainly is not for everyone. The school describes its Catholicity in terms of “dynamic orthodoxy.” The academics are good and several of the theology professors (most notably Dr. Scott Hahn) have international reputations. Ninety-nine percent of the faculty is Roman Catholic. It offers 35 undergraduate majors and seven masters degrees. The Master of Arts in Sacred Music helps fight the tide of awful church music. Steubenville students (98% of whom are Catholic) came out in droves during the 2004 presidential campaign to remind Senator John Kerry (D-MA) (an alleged Catholic) during a visit to the Ohio rust belt that his radical pro-abortion positions were incompatible with Catholicism. Kerry was taken aback. The school has reinvigorated its previously abandoned intercollegiate athletic program in order to better develop the whole man.
6. Christendom College, Front Royal, Virginia. A conservative thorn in the side of our nation’s capital and nestled in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, one would be hard pressed to find a more faith-filled and politically active student body in the United States. This definitely is not a group of separatists. One sees a large contingency of Christendom students at every significant pro-life event in Washington, D.C. In many respects, Christendom is “Thomas Aquinas College-East,” although it would not necessarily embrace that moniker, and would most likely call TAC “Christendom-West.” President Timothy O’Donnell is a prominent advocate for the college who walks the walk of faith in his own life. His education in Rome and connections to the Vatican help assure the Catholicity of the college. With 84 core credits required for graduation, this school has perhaps the most demanding core curriculum of any college in the United States. It recently added a small graduate program, albeit at a separate campus in Alexandria, Virginia. The school’s athletics are well supported. Like TAC, there are a significant number of home-schooled kids who have varying levels of socialization. There is also a decidedly pro-Irish bent, which may be off-putting to Anglophiles. Given its close proximity to Washington, the college has its fair share of high-powered speakers, and the school ensures that their presentations are compatible with the mission of the school. Christendom is committed to maintaining a wholesome, entertaining, genuinely Catholic environment for her students in unison with rigorous academic standards.
7. Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas. This college is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its original founding as a Benedictine monastery which later grew into a fine, orthodox Roman Catholic institution for higher learning. I cannot recall a friendlier campus and more students, faculty, and administration who were willing to go out of their way for a guest. In many ways, Benedictine is a Catholic Hillsdale, with many of the same attributes and virtues, including the small-town setting. Unlike Hillsdale, it has a graduate school, which has garnered a fair level of respect. Many students are business majors, and the liberal arts were a bit thin until recent years. The school has a fine, long-standing intercollegiate athletic tradition which includes football and most other major college sports. It also has made a concerted effort to grow, maintain high academic standards, adhere to the Catholic intellectual tradition, and be faithful to the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. This effort has been significantly helped along by BC’s energetic and orthodox Catholic lay president, Stephen Minnis. The monks are still on campus, and their community is vibrant. Many of the campus buildings are old and beautiful and set on a high bluff overlooking the Missouri River. The school is isolated enough that big-city temptations are inconvenient, but the amenities of Kansas City are less than 40 miles away.
8. Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, North Carolina. Like Grove City College, Belmont Abbey was founded in the 1870s and ensconced in an idyllic eastern setting about 10 miles outside of Charlotte. Like Benedictine College, it is a Benedictine school inhabited by monks who teach and are part of students’ daily lives. They take the charisma of St. Benedict very seriously: treat each person like Jesus Christ. This is a Roman Catholic island in one of the most Protestant areas of the country. There are roughly the same number of Protestant students as Catholic. But with just under 1,000 students, young people receive an excellent classical liberal education in a personally attentive environment. BAC, like so many other Roman Catholic schools, has made genuine progress in redeeming its Catholic identity. Parents should know that they are not sending their son or daughter to a place which will ruin their souls. There is a very active alumni that is fiercely loyal to the school. One of the youngest Representatives in Washington, Patrick McHenry (R-NC), is a 1999 BAC graduate and history major. He has solid conservative credentials and attributes much of his formation to BAC.
9. The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. Ten years ago, this university, overseen by our nation’s Roman Catholic bishops, would not have been on the list. But largely due to the determination of its president, Father David O’Connell, CUA has shaken off much of the political correctness afflicting it. Given its history, size and location, it cannot help but be a major player in the culture war. The enormous Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception adjacent to the campus is an imposing presence and the center of Washington’s Catholic culture. Its philosophy program is unrivaled and the quality of its faculty is superior. It offers 53 undergraduate majors. Its graduate programs are extensive and include the Columbus School of Law. It is also prohibitively expensive despite generous scholarships. There are still old guard leftists on the faculty, but they no longer predominate—nor dominate. Alcohol abuse by some students has been a problem and the small gay subculture does not appear to encounter much resistance. The ACLU was disallowed on campus because of its abortion advocacy. This is an American university that is no longer ashamed of its name and is rediscovering the traditions that made it great. Pope Benedict XVI chose CUA to address Catholic educators from across the nation when he visited the U.S. in April. In many ways CUA is emblematic of what has happened to the Roman Catholic Church in America—it finally is realizing that the true “spirit of Vatican II” is a call to orthodoxy in the modern world.
There are several “emerging” colleges and universities that, given time, may find their place among the truly excellent American schools. They may be too new or only recently have begun the process of turning around. These schools include:
* Wyoming Catholic College, Lander, Wyoming. This is a brand new Roman Catholic school in the tradition of TAC with an understandable emphasis on outdoor adventures. It is working to build a permanent campus.
* University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas. This 60-year-old school, which dropped athletics and became a commuter campus, is now rebuilding its Catholic orthodoxy and is beginning to do all the right things.
* College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Missouri. No tuition is charged at this competitive Christian school. Rather, the students (most of whom are lower middle class) must work 15 hours a week for payment in kind.
* Southern Catholic College, Dawsonville, Georgia. Next year this new Catholic school will graduate its first class. SCC is well on its way to becoming the school Emory could have been.
* Ave Maria University, Ave Maria, Florida. Institutional problems have plagued this promising school. But it is well-funded, thanks to Domino’s Pizza magnate Tom Monaghan, and has created a town in which to live.
Finally, there are some big time, well-known colleges and universities that have the potential to be excellent American schools. And on many levels they already demonstrate excellence. The sad fact is that the ACLU and other leftist groups have succeeded via judicial fiat in throwing God off campus at government institutions and stifling freedom of expression. Of course, one actually cannot throw God off a campus, but one can pretend that he does not exist. Some of the private schools cannot break free of the politically correct agendas gripping universities these days, but they have a growing conservative culture that gradually is starting to change business as usual. These schools include:
* The United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado * Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey * University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois * Texas A&M, College Station, Texas * The Military College of South Carolina (commonly known as The Citadel), Charleston, South Carolina * Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia * Notre Dame University, South Bend, Indiana * St. Johns College, Santa Fe, New Mexico and Annapolis, Maryland * Yeshiva University, New York, New York
Paul Weyrich and I encourage your comments regarding this survey. Please provide us with well-reasoned and well-researched opinions about the schools you believe should or should not have been included, or attributes about the school that should have been explained in the survey.
In a few years, the Good Lord willing, we will see more colleges and universities added to this survey. In the meantime we must fight the good fight for the sake of our children—never giving up and never giving in.
RE: Hillsdale
Both of my college age kids graduated from Hillsdale and I have no complaints and many kudos to list for this institution. If any one wants any additional info feel free to freepmail me.
How about Patrick Henry College?
read later
bump
However, some of the best critical thinkers—and true intellectuals—I know went to top Ivy League schools, and I have no doubt that these schools still offer an excellent education to those who seek one (and eschew gender studies classes and the like in favor of solid classes such as economics and the history of philosophy).
I'm in my last year at a prominent public Ivy, and I can vouch for your statement.
Could you send me more info on Hillsdale? My baby sister is head off there in a few weeks. My mom’s a little worried about her, just because. Mostly having to do with the social environment at the school. My sis is a National Merit Scholar, so she’ll hold her own in class.
Me.....I graduated from the #2 school on the list back in 2001.
Given that 6 of the 10 named colleges just “happen” to be Roman Catholic institutions (without only one Protestant church affiliated college named) I would wager the author has an agenda...
bttt
Many people on this board love to rag on the top schools, but it’s clear they still do an excellent job in many ways.
But note that his first listed school is non sectarian.
True, Hillsdale is not a religious school. However, with the exception of Grove City, none of the leading evangelical colleges are listed. Given Yarborough’s quote by the Pope and his statement about the Roman Catholic magisterium, I’d be willing to bet he is a Roman Catholic himself.
Nothing wrong with such a bias, however there are a few evangelical/Protestant types who really wouldn’t want their kids going to a conservative-Roman Catholic institution.
Yarborough and Free Congress should put their cards on the table if they have a pro-Roman Catholic bias.
I can say this for sure: Jefferson, Washington, Madison, and Adams would all be appalled at a freedom-loving institution quoting the head of one of the most hierarchical, un-democratic institutions in the world—namely a pope. As a rule our Founders had little use for the Church of Rome.
Am I saying we should have the same biases today? Not necessarily, only that Free Congress and Yarborough should make theirs known.
Their math and science curriculum sucks.
IMO calculus, biology, chemistry, physics, and computer science are prerequisites for a 21st education, even for a liberal arts major.
She also loves the new campus and the new town.
Thanks for the article.
One thing that occurred to me while reading the list was that it is mostly useless to attack the valueless, sometimes toxic culture of American colleges as a whole. You have to go after one college at a time.
I have hopes for all the prominent Virginia schools.
Virginia Tech is not too bad already, because it has a very practical engineering and agriculture history. There isn’t a lot of politics involved for many students. The faculty culture is definately liberal, but conservatives aren’t isolated in enemy territory.
UVA has a conservative presence, although the town is so liberal that the college actually seems to provide balance by comparison. I’m a little worried that UVA may head the wrong way for a while yet because it is a favorite backup school for Ivy League wannabees. They bring enough Yankee liberalism to more than offset any conservative values that in-state students may bring.
William and Mary is fighting the fight right now. They fired a liberal President for getting in too many spats with the trustees (or visitors or whatever they are called) and too many rough meetings with departmental faculty. The students seem pretty balanced. The faculty tends liberal in a major way, but they don’t seem to have a license to push their own agenda as hard as some faculties do.
Good news if correct.
It was another Christian college. It wasn’t a bad school, but it wasn’t selective and it wasn’t particularly strong in the majors I chose. Since school in general came pretty easily to me I was able more or less to coast through all four years—something I don’t think would be possible for anyone at one of the Great Books schools.
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