Aquinas Institute of Theology

Infobox_University
name = Aquinas Institute of Theology


established = 1939
type = Private
affiliations = Dominican Roman Catholic
president= Rev. Richard A. Peddicord, O.P.
city = St. Louis
state = MO
country = USA
website= [http://www.ai.edu/ www.ai.edu] |

Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Roman Catholic graduate school and seminary founded by the Dominican Order and sponsored by the Province of St. Albert the Great.

Mission

Impelled by the Catholic faith and in the Dominican spirit, Aquinas Institute educates men and women to preach, to teach, to minister and to lead.

Degrees/Programs of Study

The Institute offers a number of graduate degrees in theology and ministry, including a Master of Arts in Theology (M.A.), a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (MAPS).

The Institute has also been in a leader in online theological study and currently offers four separate graduate programs in a blended online/intensive format, including a Master of Arts in Health Care Mission (MAHCM) ("see Vocare Center below"), a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies in the Catechesis if the Good Shepherd (MAPS), the "Aquinas@Home" Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry (MAPM) and the country's only Roman Catholic doctoral program in preaching (D.Min.). Excellence in preaching is further promoted through AI’s Summer Preaching Institute.

Graduate Certificate Programs are offered at Aquinas Institute in Biblical Studies, Pastoral Care, Spiritual Direction (offered now also offered in an online format), and in Thomistic Studies.

The Vocare Center at Aquinas Institute is the school’s newest initiative, created in 2008 to serve the diverse needs of leaders in Catholic institutions and congregations as they strive to embody mission, sustain the ministry of these institutions into the future and transform society according the Gospel. Vocare Center offerings include spiritual and theological formation programs, consulting services and research and resources for professionals working in Catholic-sponsored institutional ministries, professional life, religious congregations and parishes.

Aquinas Institute is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.

Community Offerings

In addition to its academic programs Aquinas Institute offers several community programs, including monthly "Roundtable" lunch and lecture; Theology on Tap featuring local theologians discussing relevant topics; a "Business Forum" for local business leaders to discuss faith-related issues in their professions; and the "Apollos Project", a Lilly Endowment-funded project to identify and train lay ministers in St. Louis area parishes.

History

1925 - Having decided not to expand the House of Studies in Washington, D.C., the Dominican Order founded a new House of Studies in River Forest, Illinois.

1939 - The Master General of the Dominican Order makes the House of Studies/college a Studium Generale. He also formally established the Central Province of St. Albert the Great, and the school was intended primarily to prepare the province’s members for priesthood. The Studium Generale operated from 1939 to 1951.

1951 - The Studium faculty moved to the campus of the Dominican College of St. Rose of Lima in Dubuque, Iowa, and experienced a period of rapid change.

1961 - The two Dominican colleges, St. Rose of Lima and the Studium Generale, are incorporated as one, the Aquinas Institute of Philosophy and Theology.

1964 - Aquinas Institute is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

1965 - The Association of Theological Schools of Iowa, the first ecumenical consortia established in the country, is formed.

1967 - The first women students begin their studies.

1968 - Aquinas Institute becomes one of the first five Catholic schools to enter the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and to be accredited by it.

1981 - Aquinas Institute of Theology moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where it entered into a "Cooperative Project for Theological Education" with Saint Louis University, on whose campus it resided. During that time the school inaugurated the Great Preacher Award (awarded to an outstanding homilist in the St. Louis area), the Catherine of Siena Excellence in Ministry Award (awarded to a lay person who has contributed through ministerial work) and the annual Aquinas Lecture (given by leading theologians on current topics in theology). The Dubuque campus was sold to Emmaus Bible College.

2005 - The school moved again, this time to a former factory in Midtown St. Louis built in 1903 to house the Standard Adding Machine Company, which prospered with the invention of a 10-key adding machine. The renovation of the building is part of a larger urban renovation project which will include residential and commercial space.

On January 1, 2008, Rev. Richard Peddicord, O.P., professor of moral theology, assumed the role of president of the Institute.

External links

* [http://www.ai.edu/ Aquinas Institute of Theology website]
* [http://www.domcentral.org Province of St. Albert the Great (Central Province)]