New Campus Lectern Tells Tale of Two TAC Classes

It is traditional at Thomas Aquinas College for the outgoing seniors to furnish the College with a farewell gift in token of their gratitude. The first graduates of Thomas Aquinas College, New England, were faithful to this tradition; but unlike many such gifts, theirs arrived before the seniors ever left campus. In fact, as they were vested with their hoods and received their diplomas at Commencement 2022, each member of the class walked directly past it — a beautiful lectern, bearing the College crest and elegantly carved by a fellow TAC graduate.

Although the idea to furnish the new campus with a lectern originated with the Class of 2022, its members soon realized they couldn’t do it alone. Because high-quality craftsmanship comes at a correspondingly high price, the funds they diligently raised over the last two years would be insufficient.

Fortunately, the idea of a new lectern proved broadly captivating: a humble piece of campus furniture which nevertheless communicates the spirit and dignity of the College. Among those captivated were members of the Class of 1995, not only because several ’95 alumni are parents to members of the Class of 2022, but also because there was a carpenter in their midst, Canisius Johnson (’95). And so the Class of 1995 generously agreed to contribute to the project, and Mr. Johnson brought it to life in time for the New England campus’s first graduation on May 21, 2022.

“I thought that we could probably come up with a design that would reflect the classical roots of the school’s curriculum,” said Mr. Johnson. “I had just finished up a church furnishings project and asked the architect that I worked with on that and previous projects, CJ Howard, if he would be interested in providing a design, which he agreed to do.”

Mr. Howard, an architect with more than 20 years’ experience in Washington, D.C., opted for a design that employs the language of Greco-Roman classical architecture. “Intellectually, the choice of this language alone could be read as an architectural dialectic equivalent of Thomas Aquinas having taken the philosophical mantle from classical Greece,” he explains.

More particularly, the architect notes that the design principally incorporates the Doric order of classical architecture. “Visually perceived as male, since it is of squat and robust proportions, the Doric order is known for its association with men and warriors,” he says. “That seemed appropriate as an allusion to Thomas Aquinas being a Christian intellectual warrior — and it is taken to exaggerated extremes by stretching the order horizontally to be even squatter, and therefore more anthropologically resonant with the very physique of Thomas Aquinas.”

The most striking detail on the lectern is the prominence of the bucrania, or bull’s skull, on the front. “These strange yet iconic figures are a common occurrence in Greek Doric buildings, and were incorporated there because of their pagan sacrificial significance,” says Mr. Howard. “Here they have been appropriated as an allusion to the good doctor’s nickname of the ‘Dumb Ox,’ and his sacrifices in advancing the notions of faith and reason.”

With the design complete, Mr. Johnson’s work began. “As a craftsman I really enjoy bringing to actuality the design and vision of a talented architect,” he says. “For me it is very much like demonstrating a Euclidean proposition: The architect provides the enunciation, and using the first principles, definitions, and previous proofs of my craft, I set out to construct the project. The complexity and beauty of the design add to the satisfaction in the final project.”

Mr. Johnson’s final embodiment of Mr. Howard’s design is a refined article of furniture, a wonderful gift from the Classes of 2022 and 1995 that will reinforce and ennoble the educational mission of Thomas Aquinas College, New England, for many years to come.