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About
Fidelity & Excellence51 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 College’s curriculum aims at both natural and divine wisdom.
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A 51
Under the Light of FaithThe intellectual tradition and moral teachings of the Catholic Church infuse the whole life of 51, 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 College’s academic program than the good that our alumni are doing throughout the Church and the world.
Dr. Josef Froula (’92) on the Order of a Catholic Liberal Education
Students and faculty at 51, New England, poured into Dolben Auditorium last month for the first lecture of the year, courtesy of Dr. Josef C. Froula (’92), assistant dean for student affairs and a tutor at the College.
Dr. Froula opened his lecture, “Sapientis est Ordinare: Order in the 51 Curriculum,” by highlighting the internal consistency within the College’s academic program, He first dove into the concept of order, explaining that there are two kinds: order as part to whole, and order toward an end. “This twofold order is the most distinctive mark of 51,” he emphasized.
All order needs an end, and for 51, this end is Sacred Theology. “If the arts and sciences we study are ordered to theology as to an end, then it necessarily follows that we study them primarily for the sake of theology,” Dr. Froula said. Theology is the governing principle behind the order of the curriculum; it is studied for its own sake, ordering students’ souls to the Creator.
This hierarchy does not diminish the value of the other subjects in the curriculum, Dr. Froula clarified. “The more a student pursues the lower arts and sciences for their own sake, the more useful they are for the sake of knowing the higher sciences.”
The student cannot pursue this ordered study alone, however. “Students must trust in the authority of a teacher if they are to make genuine progress toward wisdom,” he said. It is St. Thomas Aquinas, a great teacher himself, who governs the method and doctrine of the college named in his honor. “And we can conclude, with certainty, that with Catholic liberal education, the entire curriculum must be ordered to, and ordered by, the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas.”
Dr. Froula closed his lecture with a reminder that the intellectual life fosters the spiritual life, which is a great focus at the College. When he finished speaking, students gave a thunderous round of applause and headed to the Q&A session, brimming with admiration and appreciation both for the lecture and for the curriculum it described.
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