In a unanimous vote, the Board of Governors has appointed Paul O’Reilly as the next president of Thomas Aquinas College — the first alumnus to hold that position in the school’s 50-year history….
A 30-year member of the teaching faculty and the current vice president for advancement, O’Reilly first came to the college in 1980, shortly after his family fled to North America to escape the Troubles in Northern Ireland….
Within one year of his graduation, O’Reilly married classmate Peggy Steichen and moved to Quebec, where he earned master’s and doctoral degrees in philosophy at the Université Laval. He then taught for two years at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, before returning to Thomas Aquinas College as a member of the teaching faculty in 1989. From 1995 to 1999 he also served as assistant dean of students.
In 2011, President Michael McLean named O’Reilly vice president for development, a position he held until 2020….
In addition to being an alumnus of the College, O’Reilly is a TAC parent. He and Mrs. O’Reilly have 12 children, five of whom are current students or alumni, including a senior on the New England campus and a sophomore in California….
The above comes from a June 11 release from Thomas Aquinas College.
Congratulations to Dr. O’Reilly and wishing him much success in furthering the college’s mission. If you need a college for your kids, or a place to donate your money, this school should be at the top of your list. Fides Quaerens Intellectum.
It has a very limited curricula. If you are going into seminary or you need a bachelors for law school, it is great. It is very strict or it used to be-more like a boarding school, which I did not mind but my child did not want.
They were not interested in this kind of education.
Ended up at Franciscan but things were going downhill there. They loved it while they was there but after leaving and looking back, they realized there was some toxicity in the culture. There was a a lack of charity from a group of students who really looked down on other people and there was starting to be a rebellious faction that rejected Vatican II and was very uncharitable. There is still a strong charismatic bent but my child was not into that.
Both are good Catholic colleges where faculty adhere to Church teaching, which is what I wanted.
My child learned things from other students (not from faculty) that were not why I sent him to a Catholic school.
Every Catholic college has the problems of the devil, the flesh and the world.
One of the few truly Catholic colleges left in America.
Congratulations to Dr. O’Reilly!
have not been to Thomas Aquinas since the very early days when most things were in trailers. This college has a wonderful reputation! I’m going to plan a visit. It’s only 90 minutes away. I am currently Pastor Emeritus at St. Raymond Parish in Downey, CA.
Worth the drive Father, you will be amazed at how beautiful the campus is now, this is their 50th anniversary year.