Dr. Andrew T. Seeley (’87) Teaches Every Class in College’s Curriculum

At the recent close of the academic year, Dr. Andrew T. Seeley (’87), a tutor on the California campus, joined a select group of Thomas Aquinas College faculty: those who have taught all 23 courses in the College’s classical curriculum.

“Andrew had already completed the program once as a student, but completing it again as a tutor requires a level of mastery that is a remarkable achievement,” says Dean John Goyette. Only four other members of the teaching faculty have previously achieved this milestone: New England Dean Thomas Kaiser and California tutors Dr. Glen Coughlin, Dr. John Nieto, and Mr. David Quackenbush.

“It’s been a great privilege and treasure to be able to teach in a program that allows me to be a continuing learner with the students and my colleagues,” says Dr. Seeley. “I’ve felt my understanding of each year of study grow as I’ve worked toward mastering other parts of the integrated curriculum. That has helped me to better guide the students as I’ve been able to better understand where they’re going and what they’re drawing upon from their previous studies.”

Thomas Aquinas College is unique among American colleges and universities in requiring its faculty members to teach not only in their areas of expertise, but in all the disciplines — language, logic, mathematics, music, natural science, literature, economics, history, philosophy, and theology — that make up its fully integrated curriculum. “Our founders recognized that tutors who teach across the disciplines are better equipped to answer students’ questions and help them see how the disciplines build upon one another,” adds Dr. Goyette. “The requirement demands much from our faculty, but they rise to the occasion, and our students are the ultimate beneficiaries.”

A member of the Thomas Aquinas College Class of 1987, Dr. Seeley earned advanced degrees in medieval studies at the University of Toronto and the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies before returning to the College as a tutor in 1992. Given the relative youth of the College, which will mark its 50th anniversary in the upcoming year, the number of tutors who have taught the entire curriculum will surely grow in the years to come. For now, however, Dr. Seeley remains in rare company.

“By honoring the tutors who have completed the curriculum as teachers, the College strongly witnesses to its commitment to having a real community of learning,” Dr. Seeley says. Adds Dr. Goyette, “Andrew’s achievement illustrates the commitment of our entire faculty to our integrated program of studies, which we pursue together with the students in a close-knit community of friends.”