The Thomas More College

of Liberal Arts
Merrimack, New Hampshire
www.thomasmorecollege.edu

Overview
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts is
one of several small, faithful Catholic col-
leges founded over the last generation. Each
was launched to provide alternative options
to existing Catholic colleges, both in terms of
religious identity and academic rigor.
Despite similarities, each is distinctive.
Indeed, Thomas More College co-founder Dr.
Peter Sampo launched his college in 1978 be-
cause he was looking for something that he
had not found elsewhere. In addition to his quick facts
association with other colleges, he was presi-
Founded: 1978
dent of Magdalen College from 1974 to 1978.
Type of institution: Micro liberal arts college
What was created was a college dedicated Setting: Rural
to studying the whole texts of great thinkers Undergraduate enrollment: 92 (2006–07
as a vehicle for helping transform students. academic year)
Dr. Sampo referred back to the ancient Greek Undergraduate cost: $20,500 (tuition, room
and board for 2007–08)
idea of a paideia, a holistic approach to edu-
Undergraduate majors: Four
cation that molds young men and women to
become active and informed citizens.
Five Key Points
The college pursues its paideia through a
1. Curriculum places clear emphasis on
unique set of courses, an emphasis on class-
Catholic intellectual tradition.
room interaction and balance between the
2. Emphasizes a paideia approach to
academic and non-academic. It also promotes
transforming students.
its Catholic identity with guidance from Ex
corde Ecclesiae. 3. Has a unique humanities cycle taken
by all students at the same time.
According to its catalogue, “Catholicism 4. All sophomores participate in annual
is manifested in the College not merely as spring Rome semester.
one among many religions with unique ob- 5. Spiritual life is faithful but limited; there
servances and beliefs, but as an approach to is no full-time chaplain.
reality that is implicit in all aspects of the
institution’s life.”

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The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
President Jeffrey Nelson, who came to the
college in 2006, said, “The Faith permeates
everything [here].” He noted the emphasis
placed on Christian humanism in the curricu-
lum, particularly as advanced by Saint Thom-
as More and John Henry Cardinal Newman.
This is done through the integrated cur-
riculum known as the Cowan Program of
Liberal Arts, which was devised by Donald
and Louise Cowan, both of whom had long
associations with the University of Dallas.
The most unusual part of the core cur-
riculum is the humanities cycle, in which all
students take the same course at the same
time. Literally, freshmen through seniors are
reading, writing and thinking about the same
classical works.
The eight-unit cycle spans the period from
the ancient world to the 20th century. In the
fall of 2007, the unit will be on the Renais-
sance and Reformation and then move to
early modern philosophers and writers in the
spring.
By the end of their senior year, each stu-
dent will have taken 48 credits in humani-
ties, spread out over the eight semesters; that
accounts for 40 percent of the total credits
needed to graduate. And all will have been
done so in tandem with every student in the
college.
According to college officials, this non-
linear approach to studying Western civiliza-
tion forces students to think in more creative
terms while eschewing typical cause-and-
effect explanations. It also challenges younger
students to mix it up academically with older
ones, thereby building self-confidence.
Other requirements in the core include 12
credits for writing, 12 in classical languages
(Latin or Greek), 12 in science and mathemat-
ics and three in fine arts. There also is a two-
course, six-credit requirement in theology,
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“Christology and Ecclesiology” and “Sacra-
ments.” All sophomores spend their spring
semester in Rome.
But despite its Catholic identity, Thomas
More does not offer a theology major. It has
four majors: biology, literature, philosophy
and political science. Students take 24 credits
of work in their discipline during the junior
and senior years. All students complete a ju-
nior project and a senior thesis.
The college prides itself on attracting an
inquisitive, yet eclectic group of students.
Students hail from all sections of the coun-
try, including from the west coast, and have a
number of non-traditional, older students.
The 2006–07 enrollment was 92, all under-
graduates. Although that number is consis-
tent with recent years, President Nelson has
new plans for growth to about 250-300 stu-
dents, “which would allow it the same spiri-
tual and intellectual formation but round it
out more.” He also believes that there should
be more emphasis placed on history.
According to the college, more than 60
percent of alumni pursue graduate study. A
recent survey indicated that they have gone
on to 26 different law schools, 68 graduate
schools and one medical school.
The college is fully accredited by both the
regional agency, the New England Associa-
tion of Schools and Colleges and the Ameri-
can Academy for Liberal Education.
For the past 26 years, the college has been
located in the town of Merrimack, which has
about 27,000 residents. It is located in south-
ern New Hampshire near the border with
Massachusetts; Boston is one hour away.
The Newman Guide

Governance
The college is governed by a 14-member large-
ly lay board, which includes retired Notre
Dame law professor Charles Rice. The only
religious member of the board is Edward Car-
dinal Egan of the Archdiocese of New York.
Dr. Sampo served as the president of TMC
from its founding until 2006 when he became
chancellor and a political science professor
there. One graduate referred to him as “the
patriarch and grandfather on campus.” His
successor, Mr. Nelson, had previously been a
senior official with the Intercollegiate Studies
Institute in Wilmington, Delaware.
Another important part of the college ad-
ministration has been Dr. Mary Mumbach, a
co-founder of the college who serves as dean.
Public Identity
According to a 2004 alumna, “Thomas More
College affirms the union of faith and rea-
son. It also upholds the understanding of the
Church as Mother—generous, welcoming,
unwavering in its adherence to the truth but
loving in the way it offers the truth.”
All faculty members are Catholic and most
of its students are, but the college emphasizes
that non-Catholics are welcome. Accordingly,
the website notes that the institution “is dedi-
cated to providing a Catholic education to
students of all faiths.”
The public identity is manifested in its
choice of campus speakers. The commence-
ment speakers from 2004 to 2006 were for-
mer U.S. ambassador to the Vatican Raymond
Flynn, Heritage Foundation president Edwin
Feulner, Jr., and journalist Robert Novak. All
are faithful Catholics.
The Newman Guide
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
The 2007 commencement speaker was
novelist Ron Hansen, who has written and
spoken as a Catholic apologist and is report-
edly a daily communicant.
At the 2007 commencement, honorary de-
grees were awarded to Hansen; Dr. John Lu-
kacs, a distinguished historian; and Rt. Rev.
Robert Taft, S.J., a scholar of Oriental litur-
gies.
Lecturers have included Dr. Alice von Hil-
debrand, who spoke on “Purity: This Forgot-
ten Virtue”; Dr. Peter Kreeft, whose topic was
“What Thomas Aquinas Really Meant”; and
Father George Rutler, speaking on “St. John
Vianney and the Enlightenment.”
According to one of our alumni interview-
ees, “Usually our speakers were rather heady
but very interesting. They were great choices.
Most were not expecting to be grilled so in-
tensely by a well-informed student body.”
The college also now runs the Vatican Fo-
rum, a speaker series for journalists in Rome,
as an adjunct to its Rome semester. Andrea
Kirk Assaf had earlier launched the forum;
she joined the TMC staff in fall 2007. She is
the daughter of the late Catholic conservative
Russell Kirk.
As another example of a growing interest
in expanding its Catholic public presence, the
college announced in March 2007 that it had
become co-publisher of Second Spring: An In-
ternational Journal of Faith and Culture.
Second Spring, consistent with Thomas
More College’s mission, is a Christian Hu-
manist publication. This tool for evangeliza-
tion has included among its writers Joseph
Cardinal Ratzinger (now Benedict XVI) when
he was the Vatican’s Prefect of the Congrega-
tion for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Finally, in July 2007 the college announced
it was setting up two funds that should help
remove one impediment to vocations. The
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The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
Saint John Vianney Fund for Future Priests
and The Saint Mother Katherine Drexel Fund
for Future Nuns will absorb student loans
accumulated by its graduates who are going
into a seminary or convent.
President Nelson believes the institution
has a “duty, as a Catholic college, to make
sacrifices of our own and guarantee that no
vocation is ever lost because of fear of student
debt.”
Spiritual Life
The spiritual life is faithful but basic. The col-
lege does not currently have a full-time chap-
lain. Three local priests visit the campus to
celebrate daily Mass (“reverent and peaceful,”
according to one alumnus) in a small chapel
that is located in a multipurpose 17th-century
building.
There are regular confessions available be-
fore Mass and by appointment. There also is
Divine Mercy devotion, nightly recitation of
the Rosary and exposition of the Blessed Sac-
rament. There is a voluntary annual retreat.
President Nelson said that although there
is no formal campus ministry, “we are a Cath-
olic ministry.” And yet, students have told us
that the existing program needs strengthen-
94
ing. “Outreach to others was lacking,” ac-
cording to a recent graduate, “and I think
somewhat detrimental to overall student life
and for later ministry because our focus on
prayer and studies was not given opportunity
to flourish.”
Another graduate added, “Because of the
strong intellectual bent on campus, it can be
easy for students to think more than pray.”
She cited the need for regular retreats and the
importance of having a full-time chaplain.
Finding a full-time chaplain, we are told, is a
priority for President Nelson.
Students also have access to two local par-
ishes in Merrimack. The cathedral of the Dio-
cese of Manchester, St. Joseph Cathedral, is
located 10 minutes away.
Catholicism in
the Classroom
Students are required to take two courses in
theology, one on campus and one in a Rome
semester. The on-campus theology class sup-
ports Catholic doctrine and is taught by a
theology professor who has received the man-
datum.
The Catholic intellectual tradition is wo-
ven into other parts of the curriculum. There
is the study of patristics such as Saint Thom-
as More as well as scholastics such as Saints
Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure.
Also, the writing workshops that students
are required to take have included books by
Josef Pieper and Pope Benedict XVI, but one
graduate said that the addition of more con-
temporary Catholic and Christian writers
such as Chesterton, C. S. Lewis and Dietrich
von Hildebrand would be welcome.
The Rome semester generally gets high
marks. It is not considered to be a semester
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of tourism, but rather an opportunity, as one
said, “to tap into this culture that is our heri-
tage.” It also presents an opportunity to bathe
in some of the great landmarks of Catholi-
cism, for which many students are grateful.
All Merrimack campus faculty members
are reported to be excellent. One 1996 alumna
said, “Everyone has invested themselves in
their teaching, not just their reputation, ideas
or careers.”
One who especially comes up for high
praise is Dean Mumbach. A 2000 alumna
said, “Dr. Mumbach was a role model of faith,
intellect and virtue for me as a young student.
She inspired thought-provoking dialogue in
our literature courses and has devoted her
life to God by way of a vocation that only on
the surface is expressed in teaching.”
Yet another woman, a 2004 graduate, said,
“Dr. Mumbach is rather partial to teaching
about the authentic feminine and she embod-
ies it beautifully: gracious, interested, ever-
patient and there with a motherly shoulder to
cry on.”
The faculty received a boost by the hiring
of two veteran professors from Christendom
College for the 2007–08 academic year. Dr.
Christopher Blum was chairman of the his-
tory department and Dr. William Fahey was
founding chairman of the classical and early
Christian studies department. Together, they
had 20 years of teaching experience at Chris-
tendom.
Despite the intellectual rigor, TMC stu-
dents study in a relaxed and friendly envi-
ronment. There are not typical Thomas More
students. Students clearly emphasize a degree
of individuality as a complement to their in-
quiring minds. The college, according to one
graduate, “doesn’t mold people in a certain
way, and that is a distinction between TMC
and other small schools—it authentically
teaches a tradition, not a mold.”
The Newman Guide
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
Prospective students are able to experi-
ence Thomas More College life as part of the
Collegiate Summer Program for High School
Students. There are two two-week sessions
that cover literature, philosophy and Ameri-
can political heritage.
Student Activities
Campus organizations are minimal. There
is a St. Cecilia’s choir and a schola cantorum.
There is a Theatre Guild, which performed
Much Ado About Nothing in fall 2006, and a
student newspaper. Students have access to
the Merrimack YMCA, which is next to the
college. There are no groups that are in op-
position to Church teaching.
The academic orientation of the campus
works to discourage the formation of student
groups. One interviewee said, “For TMC your
job is to hit the books, and so people who have
interests have to suspend them for four years;
they don’t have the time. People are pro-life
but don’t have time for picketing, pro-life ac-
tivities or lobbying.”
A winter highlight is the annual celebra-
tion of Thomas More’s birthday, February 6,
with a medieval banquet. There is a Friday
night speaker and film series, which is now
an institution. So, too, is the annual Novem-
ber Mudbowl football game between the
“Saints” and “Sinners.” And students enjoy
the Christmas dinner dance.
There is, of course, time for informal relax-
ation. The Student Social Council meets every
week to help direct social functions. Social
events include excursions to outdoor locales
and to cities such as nearby Nashua and Man-
chester as well as Boston.
All students perform service on campus,
including working in the dining hall, partici-
pating in snow removal and assisting with
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The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
security. This is all part of an effort to create a
community spirit.
Residential Life
This is primarily a residential campus. There
are two residence halls, Kopka Hall for men
and Stillman House for women. Students are
not allowed into the residences for the oppo-
site sex. Chastity is encouraged by teaching of
the Theology of the Body, talks about chastity
and peer monitoring. There is a curfew and
students may not go off campus without per-
mission.
Drinking is not allowed on campus, but
problems do occur periodically, more so in the
men’s residence hall. A bigger issue, however,
is off-campus drinking. Despite the discour-
agement from faculty, there is a longstanding
tradition of drinking in the nearby woods.
The Community
Merrimack is a small New England town,
with easy access to the state’s two largest cit-
ies. Manchester, with a population of 110,000,
is nine miles northeast of Merrimack, and
Nashua, with a population of 87,000, is eight
miles south of Merrimack. New England’s
largest city, Boston, is about 50 miles away.
Students have access to three regional
hospitals, each about 10 minutes away: Elliot
Hospital in Manchester and Southern Medi-
cal Center and St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua.
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Also nearby is the Manchester-Boston
Regional Airport, an efficient and rapidly
growing airport. And, of course, Boston Lo-
gan International Airport is an option for air
travelers.
The winters, although harsh, provide op-
portunities for skiing. There also are many
hiking options in the mountainous state.
Crime in Merrimack is about as low as it
gets in the United States. The crime index rate
was a mere 15 percent of the national crime
figure in 2005.
The Bottom Line
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts pro-
vides a rigorous, classical education. Alumni
have told us that the college offered a liberat-
ing experience that was refreshing and some-
times surprising.
There are some unique aspects of the col-
lege, including its humanities cycle that fos-
ters a community learning experience. In its
nearly 30 years of existence, the college has
lived up to its founders’ desire to create a tra-
ditional paideia.
Thomas More College has long empha-
sized its intellectual offerings and has recent-
ly strengthened its already notable Catholic
identity. For students seeking to broaden
their minds, this is an attractive institution.
It can provide the transforming experience it
was designed to be.
The Newman Guide