Introduction
Joseph A. Esposito
Since the Cardinal Newman Society was es-
tablished in 1993, interested Catholics have
contacted the organization to discuss con-
cerns about the Catholic identity of specific
colleges. Often they bring to our attention
professors, speakers, curriculum, events or
other issues that are at variance with Catholic
teachings. Such input has and continues to be
very helpful to us, and we have been able to
address and often help reverse practices that
are clearly inappropriate.
At least as often, we also receive many in-
quiries asking how we assess the fidelity of
certain colleges. Generally, these are from
parents who want to know whether their son
or daughter would be spiritually nourished at
these institutions.
Sometimes the queries are very broad,
such as whether we can recommend, say, the
top ten U.S. Catholic colleges. There also are
many instances when we are asked to rec-
ommend a solid Catholic college that has a
good pre-med program, which colleges have
strong women’s athletic teams, or which offer
the most notable study-abroad semesters.
More than two years ago, the inquiries
about how we might match students with
their needs and interests became so numer-
ous that we were convinced of the need for a
guide to Catholic colleges. You hold the final
result in your hands.
The Newman Guide
A Tool for Catholic Families
At first we believed that a comprehensive
guide to all Catholic colleges in the United
States would be the best approach. We hired
researchers who combed through websites
and published materials and conducted in-
terviews. We sent a detailed questionnaire
to all 224 Catholic colleges but received few
responses from the many colleges that were
well aware of our concerns about their prob-
lematic approach to Catholic education. We
accumulated a large amount of information—
some of it heartening, some fairly predictable
and, alas, much that was disturbing.
The more we looked at the data, the more
we came to believe that publishing a guide
to Catholic colleges in which a majority were
neutral or conflicted in their Catholic identity
would be of little help to parents looking for
information on where to send their college-
bound son or daughter. Our goal is to help
with the challenge of the college search.
In this first edition of The Newman Guide,
we have identified 21 Catholic colleges—in-
cluding one in Ontario, Canada, which we
felt compelled to include—where students
can reasonably expect a faithful Catholic edu-
cation and a campus culture that upholds the
values taught in their homes and parishes. No
such guide has ever been published, and the
Cardinal Newman Society is uniquely quali-
fied to provide the information and analysis
entirely absent from typical college rankings
and guides.
13
Introduction
What we provide, then, is invaluable infor-
mation to supplement the traditional guides
and promotional materials that are also an
essential part of the college search process.
Each profile in The Newman Guide highlights
the college’s mission, governance, spiritual
life, curriculum, residential life and extracur-
ricular programs. We provide information
that we consider to be most useful in making
a college selection—assuming that Catholic
identity is an important criterion.
We have tried to provide primarily objec-
tive information in order to offer a compre-
hensive aid to parents and students. While
our focus is on Catholic identity, we also
discuss issues that are of use to any student,
such as notable academic programs, sports
opportunities and even characteristics of the
surrounding town.
How We Selected Colleges
No college is perfect, and no college is right
for everyone. There are wide variations, even
among some of the most orthodox Catholic
institutions. Some emphasize a Great Books
curriculum, while others are more career-
oriented. Some have a tiny enrollment, while
others are good-sized universities. Some are
located in remote rural areas, and others in
large cities.
And all, despite their Catholic identity, are
impacted to a greater or lesser extent by the
surrounding culture; there is no substitute for
proper formation before entering college and
a student’s ability to choose the best courses,
professors, friends and activities.
The criteria for selection reflect an art, not
a science. We do not give points to individual
colleges, nor have we attempted to weight cer-
tain characteristics. The colleges included are
characterized by the following:
14
 They give a priority to their Catholic iden-
tity and actively practice it in most, if not
all, aspects of campus life;
 They are generally assiduous in ensuring
that critics of Catholic Church teaching are
not given a platform for their work;
 They are committed to providing a quality
education for their students; and
 Any deficiencies are more than outweighed
by success in other areas.
The result is a listing of 20 Catholic colleg-
es in the United States and one in Canada. We
are impressed by all of these included here.
Could others have been added? Perhaps. In
a few instances, we encountered school of-
ficials who were reluctant to cooperate and
prevented us from doing the in-depth study
to determine whether they belonged in this
group.
We hope to add additional colleges in the
next edition, including those that are work-
ing to enhance their Catholic identity. We
look forward to helping facilitate dialogue
between the colleges in this Guide and those
that seek to emulate them.
The colleges included in the following
pages are grouped into three categories and
an epilogue. The first, “Joyfully Catholic,” are
those that we find to be the most thoroughly
orthodox institutions, those whose Catholic
identity informs most of what they do as an
institution and how they present their pro-
grams to prospective students and donors.
They are not necessarily “more Catholic”
than the other institutions, but their commit-
ment to fidelity above all else ensures that
secularizing influences are not likely to have
much impact here.
The second group is an intriguing one,
those “Born from the Crisis” in Catholic high-
er education. These are new colleges, some of
which are just getting underway, most seek-
The Newman Guide

ing to occupy a particular niche. Although
they are evolving and some still working on
accreditation, they offer great potential and
are clearly worth considering. All of these
suggest a commitment to Catholic identity
that rivals that of the “Joyfully Catholic” col-
leges.
One-third of the colleges are in a category
that we have designated “Fighting the Tide.”
They are well-established institutions that
have weathered the vicissitudes of the times
and continue to provide a good Catholic edu-
cation—some of them reversing past trends in
a sincere effort to comply with Ex corde Eccle-
siae, the document on Catholic higher educa-
tion issued by Pope John Paul II in 1990. In
most cases, they are working to bolster their
Catholic identity.
Finally, we discuss the University of Notre
Dame in an epilogue. In our opinion, it would
be difficult to produce such a guide without
addressing what is perhaps the most widely
recognized Catholic university in the United
States. Notre Dame is an excellent academic
institution that offers a vibrant spiritual life
to students and includes many of the best
Catholic minds in several disciplines.
But we believe it has suffered from vari-
ous missteps from its top officials that give us
deep concern. Notre Dame’s leaders need to
resolve a decades-long struggle to reconcile
ambitions toward become a leading national
research university—with all of the pressures
from external stakeholders and secular aca-
deme that accompany that role—and Notre
Dame’s Catholic mission.
So we offer a candid and detailed assess-
ment of Notre Dame’s notable strengths and
disappointing weaknesses as a Catholic insti-
tution.
The Newman Guide
Joseph A. Esposito
Helping You Get Started
To help place the college selection process in
the proper context, we have included essays
from several prominent Catholics who are
knowledgeable about Catholic higher educa-
tion. We start with a forward from renowned
Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., and a letter
to students from Archbishop Elden Curtiss of
the Archdiocese of Omaha.
The founder and president of the Cardinal
Newman Society, Patrick Reilly, contributed
an essay on the status of Catholic higher edu-
cation. We also are fortunate to have an essay
on the essentials of a Catholic college educa-
tion by the well-known evangelist Father C.
John McCloskey III, an Opus Dei priest.
The prolific writer and philosopher Dr.
Peter Kreeft of Boston College has written a
thoughtful article about why philosophy and
theology are important to all students. Eileen
Cubanski, founder and executive director of
the National Association of Private Catholic
and Independent Schools, wrote the last es-
say, which discusses the value of a Catholic
education.
We conclude our first section with answers
to some key questions of interest to college-
searching students and their families.
We hope that after you have read these
essays framing the issue of how to select a
Catholic college, you will consider the oppor-
tunities presented by each of the institutions
described in the following pages. Don’t for-
get to look at the material at the end, which
also provides comparative insights into this
group.
The Newman Guide, in our opinion, is a
starting point. After you identify colleges
which most interest you and your family, we
suggest that you study their websites, visit
their campuses and ask all the specific ques-
15
Introduction

tions that will help you make an informed

college selection decision.
Choosing a college is a major decision and
encompasses many different issues. Our goal
in producing this guide has been to create a
resource that will help point you toward to
solidly Catholic institutions. In this effort, we
have taken inspiration from the great work of
the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman
and Pope John Paul II. We hope that you will
find it in that spirit.

16 The Newman Guide