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“By Wisdom a House is Built, and by Understanding it is Established”
By Dr. Michael F. McLean
President, Thomas Aquinas ������ý
Dedication of Founders Plaza
March 7, 2017

We are gathered today on this great feast of our patron, St. Thomas Aquinas, a day on which we also celebrate the solemnity of the dedication of our Chapel. How appropriate a day this is to honor the founding of Thomas Aquinas ������ý and to honor those who made the beginning of the ������ý possible.

Our intention is to name this plaza Founders Plaza in the hope that all who will gather in, or pass through, this space will remember the founding of the ������ý with gratitude and will offer prayers of thanksgiving to Almighty God for His providential care of the ������ý and offer prayers as well for the intentions of all of those who contributed to its establishment.

In the words of Scripture: “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Mt. 7:25).

And Thomas Aquinas ������ý has not fallen. On the contrary, thanks to its founders, faculty, Board, and benefactors, it has succeeded beyond measure and has helped generations of students grow in moral and intellectual virtue, reconcile the demands of faith and reason, and bring the light of Christ to a world so desperately in need.

We owe so much to the principal founders of TAC — Ron McArthur, Mark Berquist, Jack Neumayr, and Peter DeLuca — for their ability to powerfully articulate the case for Catholic liberal education, their ability to promote the ������ý with eloquence and vigor, their commitment and discipleship to what is enduring and indispensable in Aristotle and in St. Thomas Aquinas, their abiding faith and trust in Providence, and their unstinting devotion to the teaching Church.

Faithful to the Scriptures, these men founded the ������ý on rock — their efforts made the ������ý possible and their vision enlivens and sustains it to this day.

Two of the ������ý’s principal founders, Jack Neumayr and Peter DeLuca, are with us today, and I would like to ask them to stand as we express our appreciation to them.

Founding and sustaining the ������ý was always something of a risk and a venture into the unknown. It would not have happened without the help and support of the founders’ spouses and families. The spouses of the four principal founders — Marilyn McArthur, Kay DeLuca, Bridget Neumayr, and Laura Berquist — are with us today, and I would like to ask them to come forward now to accept our deepest thanks and appreciation.

Founding a college, or any institution, is the work of many. Our principal founders and their families were not alone. We owe so much as well to…

• The many prelates whose approbation, prayers, and support enabled the ������ý to get started and, among other things, to find a home, first in the San Francisco Bay area and then in the Los Angeles Archdiocese.
• The earliest members of our Board of Governors, whose often sacrificial gifts of time, talent, and treasure guided and sustained the ������ý in its infancy.
• Other benefactors, whose generosity, from the widow’s mite to many thousands of dollars, provided the resources so necessary for the ������ý’s well-being in its earliest days.
• Our first chaplains and tutors, who provided for the ������ý’s spiritual needs and brought the educational program to life.
• The parents who entrusted their children to an as yet unproven venture in Catholic education.
• And our first students, who made something of a leap of faith and committed themselves to a rigorous curriculum and to serious conversation, and who set the tone for the ������ý’s academic, moral, and spiritual culture, a culture that has formed, and continues to form, so many so well.

The deans of Thomas Aquinas ������ý have done much over the years to preserve the vision of the founders and to ensure that the ������ý remains faithful to its mission. I would like now to ask our current dean, Brian Kelly, to say a few words. …

… Thank you, Brian.

To return once more to Scripture: As is written in the Book of Proverbs, “By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established” (Proverbs 24:3).

To remember all of those whose wisdom and understanding contributed to the founding of Thomas Aquinas ������ý, we today formally bless and name this plaza “Founders Plaza,” and we bless this plaque which calls upon us all to

“Please pray for the founders of
Thomas Aquinas ������ý
For whom this plaza is dedicated.
Their faith, vision, and commitment to
Catholic liberal education made the ������ý possible.”

And now I ask Fr. Paul to come forward to bless the plaza and the plaque. ...