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May 23, 2016
10,000 Ojai Road
Santa Paula CA 93060
Contact: Anne Forsyth, Director of ������ý Relations
(805) 525-4417      

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Dr. Michael McLean Reappointed as President of Thomas Aquinas ������ý

SANTA PAULA, CA—May 23—At its spring meeting, the ������ý voted unanimously to reappoint Dr. Michael F. McLean as president of Thomas Aquinas ������ý. 

Pursuant to its bylaws, the Board asked Dr. McLean last year if he wished to be considered for reappointment as president, to which he replied affirmatively. The Board and the ������ý’s faculty then conducted an extensive review, consulting with many constituents, including tutors, administrative faculty members, founders, alumni, chaplains, and benefactors. The consensus was a strong endorsement of Dr. McLean’s performance and a desire for him to continue as president. At a recent meeting of the Board, the process concluded with the Governors’ unanimous vote and Dr. McLean’s formal acceptance of his reappointment.

Speaking for the Board of Governors, Chairman R. Scott Turicchi praised Dr. McLean “for his leadership of the ������ý during his first term, for his deep commitment to preserving the mission of the ������ý as our founders envisioned it, and for his tireless efforts to secure its needs both now and for many years to come.”

Dr. McLean, in turn, thanked the Board for its confidence. “I am grateful to the Governors for entrusting me with the honor of being reappointed as the president of Thomas Aquinas ������ý,” he said. “I pray for the graces to fulfill worthily this great responsibility, and I ask the ������ý’s many friends to join me in this prayer.”

Per the ������ý’s founding and governing document, the Board of Governors must select the ������ý’s president from among the members of the teaching faculty. The ������ý’s founders chose this arrangement, which is singular among American colleges and universities, to ensure the integrity of the ������ý’s mission as an authentically Catholic institution committed to the highest academic standards. Dr. McLean is the ������ý’s fourth president, preceded by Dr. Ronald P. McArthur (1971-1991), Dr. Thomas E. Dillon (1991-2009), and Mr. Peter L. DeLuca (2009-2010).

������ý Thomas Aquinas ������ý

Thomas Aquinas ������ý has developed a solid reputation for academic excellence in the United States and abroad. At Thomas Aquinas ������ý, there are no majors, no minors, or electives because all students acquire a broad and fully integrated liberal education. The ������ý offers one 4-year, classical curriculum that spans the major arts and sciences. Instead of reading textbooks, students read the original works of the greatest thinkers in Western civilization — the Great Books — in all the major disciplines: mathematics, natural science, literature, philosophy, and theology. Rather than listening to lectures, they engage in rigorous Socratic discussions about these works in classes of 15-18 students. The academic life of the college is conducted under the light of the Catholic faith and flourishes within a close-knit community, supported by a vibrant spiritual life. Genuinely committed to upholding civic virtue and leading lives dedicated to the good of others, Thomas Aquinas ������ý graduates enter a wide array of fields where they are a powerful force for good in the Church and in the culture. Well-versed in rational discourse, they become leaders in education, law, medicine, journalism, public policy, military service, and business. In addition, a steady 10% of alumni go on to the priesthood or religious life.