Tom Dillon

Thomas Aquinas College is a place with a mission. It is one of a few colleges in the country that works from a great books curriculum. It is a conservative place. It is Catholic and follows doctrine with a lot more fidelity than some of its sister institutions that also claim a Catholic heritage or inspiration. A lot of its graduates go into the priesthood. Others go on to graduate school. It is set in Santa Paula, California.

For most of its history, and for the last 18 years its president was a soft spoken and thoughtful guy named Tom Dillon. Tom personally kept the place afloat for a good portion of its history. He spent a good deal of his life on the road raising money for this place with a very distinctive vision. Six weeks ago the college dedicated its chapel. At the fall convocation for the event Tom commented “This community of learning, which is a community of friends dedicated to the fostering of intellectual virtue, is an ideal place in which to cultivate your sense of wonder and to strive for wisdom. Let us, then, begin this 38th year of Thomas Aquinas College with the determination that it will be the best yet in our history.”

This is a college whose curriculum is set carefully. It is also a place of intellectual intensity.

I worked with Tom on a couple of projects. He was an inspiration. He believed in civil debate. But that did not mean he was willing to compromise his beliefs. We worked to get them eligible for the state grant program and also in a series of controversies relating to the regional accrediting agency, which needed to widen its definition of academic freedom a bit. Tom and this little institution was never politically correct. But it was always respectful of those to the left of it who chose a different path.

Tom was killed in an auto accident while attending a meeting in Ireland of colleges based on Aquinas' teachings. He will be missed.