There is the daily “prep” time, where the professors themselves study the material on the course syllabus and prepare to present it in their upcoming classes. There are the practical, day-to-day details and occasional faculty meetings; the grading of papers and tracking of student progress; and the one-on-one tutoring of students with particular questions and needs that are a fundamental part of any serious professor’s schedule.

 

Yet despite the demanding schedule called for as a full-time professor at the nation’s newest Catholic college, our faculty members still find many ways to impact the Catholic higher educational community at large. They write articles and position papers, deliver lectures and sit at round tables, and are frequent attendees and participants at academic conferences throughout the country.

 

Dr. Thaddeus Kozinski, Assistant Professor of Humanities and Trivium at Wyoming Catholic, recently spoke at The Inaugural North American International Étienne Gilson Society Congress. Hosted by Loyola University Maryland and featuring such distinguished academicians as Fr. James Schall, Dr. Jude Dougherty, Dr. Peter Redpath, and Fr. Joseph Fessio, the congress focused on "Thomist Humanism and the Future of Civilization." In keeping with this topic, Dr. Kozinski addressed the particular ways in which authentic Catholic education plays an absolutely fundamental role in our civilization's future. His presentation, entitled "Why the Good Catholic Philosopher and the Good Catholic College Need Each Other," covered many of the same points addressed in the newly-released Via Sapientiae article he wrote for Wyoming Catholic.

 

In mid-November, Dr. John Mortensen, Assistant Professor of Theology and Philosophy, will be speaking at the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture’s 10th Annual Fall Conference. The conference's theme this year is "The Summons of Freedom: Virtue, Sacrifice, and the Common Good," and intends to "reflect upon political and legal questions having to do with the very nature of the political common good, the particular conflicts that arise in trying to achieve it, and the precarious situation of freedom in the democracies of advanced modernity," as well as welcoming "inquiries into social structures other than political ones—such as the arts—in which the virtues may flourish." Dr. Mortensen's talk, which will be part of the conference’s session on Thomistic Themes, is entitled "A Thomistic Consideration of the Eucharist and the Common Good." (Dr. Mortensen’s wife, Beth, will also be presenting a talk at the same conference.)

 

And then, there is Dr. Mark Adderley, our Associate Professor of Humanities and Trivium. His studies at the University of South Florida, the University of Wales, and Cartrefle College have made him an expert in the field of medieval literature, but his experiences with literature have a “practical” slant to them, as well. In October of last year, Dr. Adderley’s first novel, The Hawk and the Wolf, was released by WestBank Publishing. Drawing on his own personal experiences in Wales during his university years, as well as his extensive knowledge and love of medieval literature, Dr. Adderley has crafted an entertaining, compelling retelling of the Arthurian legends, brimming over with “the clash of arms mingled with songs of love, treason, and destiny.” And best of all, this is only the first installment in the (at least) four volume "Matter of Britain" series that will cover the whole of King Arthur's reign in the same fashion as The Hawk and the Wolf. (The second installment in the series, The Hawk and the Cup, is scheduled to be published in March of next year.)

 

That’s the WCC faculty for you: as diverse and entertaining a group as the students they teach. (November 4, 2009)