From the Desk of the President
President Thomas E. Dillon
(Spring 2000 Newsletter)
[Index
of Past Articles by President Dillon]
On Palm Sunday, April 16, we gathered on campus to dedicate
the eighth permanent building on campus, Albertus Magnus Science
Hall, a facility which will allow us to reproduce and discuss
the great scientific experiments of Western Civilization –
experiments which, in allowing us to look back at the fundamentals
of the development of natural science, will also allow us
to look forward with discernment and understanding.
We dedicated this building to St. Albert the Great, and,
as I explain more about him, you will see why. Born around
the year 1200 in Bavaria, St. Albert was the eldest son of
a powerful and wealthy German lord of military rank. In 1223,
over the fierce opposition of his family, he entered the novitiate
of the relatively new Dominican order and became an instructor
of theology. In 1240, he was sent to the University of Paris
to obtain advanced degrees in theology. And there he ended
up teaching as a master to a handful of young students, one
of whom was known as Thomas from Aquino.
For seven years, Thomas Aquinas was the pupil and assistant
of Albert, thus forming one of the greatest ‘teacher-student’
unions in history. During their studies together, some of
Albert’s other very bright students complained to Albert
that their quiet classmate seemed dull-witted, like a big
dumb ox. Albert replied, with remarkable insight, “You
call him a Dumb Ox – I tell you this Dumb Ox shall bellow
so loud that his bellowings will fill the world.”
Albert was later sent to Cologne, and in 1260 was consecrated
bishop of Ratisbonne. He retired two years later back to Cologne
to resume a life of writing and teaching. His literary production
spanned some 40 years, making him the most prolific writer
and teacher of the century. He was called “great”
even in his own time.
The Dictionary of Scientific Biography, a secular reference
tool, refers to St. Albert as “one of the most famous
precursors of modern science in the High Middle Ages,”
proficient in all branches of science. St. Albert had compiled
a monumental summary of all the known works of Aristotle and
Aristotle’s Arabic interpreters, which came to be recognized
as one of the marvels of his age. He was an assiduous observer
of nature, grounding his evidence in sense perception and
in repeated experimentation. He insisted that science consisted
not in simply believing what one is told but in inquiring
into the causes of things.
He speculated on the cause of heat, studying in detail how
light from the sun produces thermal effects. He knew of the
refraction of solar rays and also of the laws of refraction
of light. He prepared the way for the first correct theoretical
analysis of the rainbow. He speculated that the Milky Way
is composed of stars and attributed the dark spots on the
moon to configurations on its surface. He correlated the occurrence
of tides with the motion of the moon. He experimented with
alchemy and is said to have been the first to isolate the
element arsenic. He compiled a list of over one hundred minerals,
giving the properties of each. He was acquainted with fossils
and made accurate observations of animal impressions. He suggested
the possibility of the transmutation of metals.
In fact, his powers of observation and skill at classification
earned for him an unparalleled reputation. His work on plants
and vegetables, again from the Scientific Dictionary, “is
a masterpiece for its independence of treatment, its accuracy
and range of detailed description, its freedom from myth,
and its innovation in systematic classification.” He
was the first to have mentioned spinach in Western Literature,
the first to note the influence of light and heat on the growth
of trees, and the first to establish that sap is tasteless
in the root and becomes flavored as it ascends.
He proposed that plant life was mutable and that new species
could be produced by grafting. He studied embryology and was
acquainted with the development of fish and mammals and understood
aspects of fetal nutrition. His work on anthropology has been
regarded as a foreshadowing of methods used in experimental
psychology. He also made significant contributions to veterinary
and medical science, dentistry, and anatomy, and was so much
reported to have cures for all manner of diseases that he
was regarded as something of a magician.
But above all, St. Albert lived a life of profound humility
and sanctity, and for that reason he entered God’s heavenly
kingdom not as just a great scientist, but as an exemplary
holy man. Pope Pius XI declared him a universal saint of the
Church in 1931 and conferred on him that rare title, “Doctor
of the Church.” Ten years later, Pope Pius XII declared
him the heavenly patron of all who cultivate the natural sciences.
It is, therefore, especially fitting that we dedicated this
magnificent new building for science to the man who is the
greatest saint of science. As Catholics, we know that our
faith goes hand-in-hand with the progress of science in explaining
and discovering the mysteries of God’s creation. Our
Holy Father has reminded us of this profound truth in his
monumental work, Fides et Ratio, (“Faith and Reason”)
which he addresses, in part, to scientists, urging them to
press on to acquire an ever-greater knowledge of our universe
and its rich array of component parts, because, as he says,
“the search for truth, even when it concerns a finite
reality of the world or of man, is never-ending, but always
points beyond to something higher than the immediate object
of study, to the questions which give access to mystery.”
St. Albert the Great is, indeed, a fitting patron of our
new building as we remind ourselves of these same timeless
truths. Our College is named after a student he helped to
form. When we think of the legacy of St. Thomas, whom Pope
John Paul II calls a “master of thought” and “an
authentic model for all who seek the truth,” we cannot
help but think of St. Albert, who left his imprint on him.
And, as much as we aim to recognize St. Albert, we also aim
to give thanks to those benefactors who made this building
possible. This magnificent structure would not exist without
the prayers and gifts of so many, and in particular, the three
foundations and one couple whose gifts were extraordinary:
The Fritz B. Burns Foundation, The Weingart Foundation, The
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and Dr. and Mrs. William Weber
Smith. We are also profoundly thankful to those whose hard
work brought these plans to life: Scott Boydston of Rasmussen
& Associates, the architect; David Hight, president of
HMH Contractors, and his project foreman, Bob Powell.
Albertus Magnus Science Hall will exist for many years. Please
join us in giving praise to God for this achievement and pray
that we will remain true to His calling.
-- Qtrly Newsletter, Spring 2000
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