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About
Fidelity & ExcellenceThomas Aquinas College is unique among American colleges and universities, offering a faithfully Catholic education comprised entirely of the Great Books and classroom discussions.
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A Liberating Education
Truth MattersTruth, and nothing less, sets men free; and because truth is both natural and supernatural, the College’s curriculum aims at both natural and divine wisdom.
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A Catholic Life
Under the Light of FaithThe intellectual tradition and moral teachings of the Catholic Church infuse the whole life of Thomas Aquinas College, illuminating the curriculum and the community alike.
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Admission & Aid
Is TAC Right for You?Do you enjoy grappling with complex questions? Are you willing to engage in discussions about difficult concepts, with the truth as your ultimate goal?
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Students & Parents
Mind, Body & SpiritThere is always something to do at TAC — something worthwhile, something fulfilling, and something geared toward ever-greater spiritual and intellectual growth.
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Alumni & Careers
What Can You Do with a Liberal Education?Nothing speaks more to the versatility of the College’s academic program than the good that our alumni are doing throughout the Church and the world.
New Tutor Profile: Dr. Charles Robertson
Like many students of Catholic theology in the last few decades, Dr. Charles Robertson has rubbed shoulders with numerous alumni from Thomas Aquinas College, but in his case the encounters were more than tangential. “My last year of high school, I was taught by TAC grads, one of whom is now a tutor on the New England campus, Dr. Josef Froula,” says Dr. Robertson. “I’ve always known that TAC existed and that it had a program that was based on Great Books, and I always liked that idea.”
A native of Saskatchewan, Canada, Dr. Robertson attended seminary in British Columbia for several years after high school. After discerning that he was not called to the priesthood, he left to complete his undergraduate degree at the University of Saskatchewan, where he remembered the example of Thomas Aquinas College. “I tried to model my education on the Great Books principle, which was more or less successful,” he says. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the TAC influence, he earned his B.A. in philosophy, graduating in 2004.
“I’ve known many people who have come to the College. I have always been impressed with their ability to think through an issue and read books carefully.”
That same year he also got married. “My wife, Heather, and I met at World Youth Day in Rome in the year 2000,” he notes. “I got to know her a little bit there, and when I left the seminary, I started to pursue her.” The Robertsons have since been blessed with eight children.
As his young family grew, Dr. Robertson completed a master’s in history from the University of Saskatchewan in 2008. The following year the Robertsons moved to Houston, where he earned a Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of St. Thomas’s Center for Thomistic Studies. The family returned to Canada in 2012 while Dr. Robertson finished his dissertation, “The Ethics of Embryo Adoption and Embryo Rescue: A Thomistic Approach,” which he successfully defended in 2017. He then spent the next few years teaching online at Newman Theological College and assisting students with special needs in Saskatoon’s Catholic schools. But in early 2022, when the opportunity to teach at TAC arose, Dr. Robertson could not ignore it.
“I’ve known many people who have come to the College,” he says. “I have always been impressed with their ability to think through an issue and read books carefully.” The latter aspect has been especially attractive. “In the past few years, I have seen a decrease in the number of people who seem to actually understand what they are reading, or who even have mastered the simple skill of outlining a reading,” he laments. “To be in an environment where those skills are a real focus is right up my alley!”
Dr. Robertson will be deploying those skills this year in the Freshman Philosophy and Mathematics tutorials, as well as in Freshman Seminar. “My family and I are just thrilled to be here,” he says of his new home in California. And Thomas Aquinas College is thrilled to welcome the Robertsons.