Thomas More College of Liberal Arts


The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts is a private Catholic liberal arts college in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The college emphasizes classical education in the Catholic intellectual tradition and is named after Saint Thomas More. The school has approximately 100 students. 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 and Magdalen College, also in New Hampshire. The curriculum, designed by educators Donald and Louise Cowan, associated with the University of Dallas, centered on the direct reading of foundational works of Western culture.

Since 2009

In 2009, the curriculum was revised under president William Fahey in an effort 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 non-major liberal arts program.
In the same year regional accrediting body the New England Association of Schools and Colleges 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 2011, the college announced its intention to move to a larger tract of land in Groton, Massachusetts, keeping the campus in Merrimack as a site for future graduate programs.
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. The relocation plan to Groton was consequently abandoned in August 2015, after the college acquired the Anderson House, due to concerns about the time and fundraising needed in order to develop the property in Groton.

Presidents

  1. Peter V. Sampo, 1978-2006
  2. Jeffrey Nelson, 2006-2009
  3. William Fahey, 2009-current

    Academics

The academic program at Thomas More College leads to a B.A. degree in Liberal Arts without a major concentration. The core curriculum is a Great Books program. Students read great works of Western literature, philosophy, and political science in their entirety rather than as a collection of excerpts. Students are also required to study a semester in Rome; this is done in the second semester of sophomore year.
In 2010, the college started a program of teaching students practical skills in art and music, using the medieval guild system as a model.
The college is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
For admissions to the college, Thomas More College accepts the Classic Learning Test as alternatives to the SAT and ACT.

Rankings

The college has sponsored the Centre for Faith and Culture at Oxford, 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.

Notable faculty

Former faculty