www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Saint Katherine College

A new Orthodox college is about to be created (if it has been discussed here, I have not seen any reference to it) in San Diego. The curriculum seems odd to be because it is slanted toward the hard sciences and public policy (http://www.stkath.org/). The tuition is only $15k a year. One wonders how they can pay their faculty a living wage! The operation is the product of one man, a MD. There are no pictures of the campus and I wonder what the source of its f8unding will be since, if its web site is to be believed, the school will not be getting direct funding from the government or the church. Perhaps it is the Orthodox equivalent of Ave maria U (I will admit AM does have real campi). Chapel attendance is required twice a week; I wonder how long that will last? It would only attract only the most diehard members of the EOC with that requirement.

John,

Intereseting indeed. Fr Thomas Hopko is listed as visiting faculty; Fr Andrew Cuneo, who just gave the valedictory address at St Vlad's, is a faculty member.

Application fee is waived. They state that they'll match or beat financial aid offers.

Many years,

Neil

It would seem that they must have some sort of campus. See the following and click on invitation. http://www.stkath.org/news/ there is mention of a campus tour.

In Christ:
Seraphim

"Chapel attendance is required twice a week; I wonder how long that will last? It would only attract only the most diehard members of the EOC with that requirement."

Such a curious statement.

I talked to the dean yesterday and the college is renting a 8000 square foot building for the time being.


My comment about the chapel requirement is based on what I know of college students as a college professor. I have taught for the last 28 years at a catholic college and only 5% of the student body at my college attend any religious services on a regular basis, even though they are offered on a daily basis. I suspect Orthodox students are not much different.

For the record, the school (St. katherine's) has only 10 students enrolled so far and 80 applications are in process. The whole issue may be academic because, unless the school (which is not yet accredited) gets more enrollment, it is not likely, in my opinion, to open.

Well one has to start somewhere right? Rather than being so negative why don't we all pray that this endeavor will bear fruit? As for the mandatory chapel services you state that you suspect that Orthodox students are the same as every one else as far as attendance at chapel is concerned, perhaps they might surprise you. All I know is that the kids that are either close to college or heading out are very active in the parish I attend and I would hope that this will carry over when they leave to further their education.

In Christ:
Seraphim

I think St. Katherine's is trying to be a school modeled on St. Thomas Aquinas college, also in Southern California.

Nelson, I pray that you are wrong! The last thing we need in the OEC is an Orthodox Ave Maria or Steubenville! which will only attract niche students who want to spend all their time in chapel! Although religious services have their place in college, they should be voluntary so that the students do not feel like the services are a burden rather than something of a far greater value. Fortunately, because the schools seems heavily slanted toward the sciences, it's unlikely to happen

I was just going on what I heard people say when talking about the school here is San Diego.

S

It better be; my daughter and son-in-law go there!

He is involved in a project to b hold a row of chapels, one for each EAstern Catholic Church.

There is a notion of becoming deliberately EC friendly, to attract parents who are afrid of sending their children to a RC school and seeing them westernized.

R

dochawk, I guess we disagree. I was not complementing KC by comparing it to AM. My comment was meant to be sarcastic (go back and read my comments on required chapel). The two events that give the RCC high marks in my book was the election of John XXIII to the papacy and the changes brought on by Vatican II. I wish that we in the EOC had such an EP as John. Frankly, I do not think KC will survive in the current economy unless it liberalizes its rules.

St Katherine College has a new podcast on Ancient Faith Radio at
http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/intheworld/language_and_literature

Considering that Universities were historically Church institutions where most students were, or intended to be, clergy (maybe only minor orders but still) I don't see the problem with compulsory chapel attendance twice a week. better than daily almost compulsory attendance at the beer keg.

And I am not talking ancient history speaking of universities as Church institutions. In Oxford and Cambridge until some point in the nineteenth century (from memory) students had to be professed members of the state religion (Church of England), affirm their belief in the 39 articles and the heads of Colleges were almost always clergy (one reason people became permanent deacons).

In that case, "disagree" is not a strong enough word. Ave Maria is *exactly* what the Church needs right now.


I do not believe at is the case there, though. My daughter's family doesn't even attend their church; they got to an eastern parish.

I think you misestimate the crowd drawn by such places; they generally wouldn't see the mandatory chapel as an issue, as they're already there (I also know a member of WCC's first graduating class).

Students choosing these schools are choosing them because of what's *missing* in other schools.



That may well be. RC outnumbers EO by, what, 50:1, 100:1, in the US, and has these two small schools? Combining all those who would go,both with and without mandatory chapel, may no t be enough for a viable college.

dochawk, you may be right; SKC and AM will appeal to niche audience, but the audience will be small. Let us sit back, get some pop corn, and time will tell us whether SKC will survive.