contacted the organization to discuss con- cerns about the Catholic identity of speci\ue000c colleges. O\ue003en they bring to our a\ue004ention

professors, speakers, curriculum, events or other issues that are at variance with Catholic teachings. Such input has and continues to be very helpful to us, and we have been able to

certain colleges. Generally, these are from parents who want to know whether their son or daughter would be spiritually nourished at these institutions.

Sometimes the queries are very broad, such as whether we can recommend, say, the top ten U.S. Catholic colleges. There also are many instances when we are asked to rec- ommend a solid Catholic college that has a good pre-med program, which colleges have

More than two years ago, the inquiries about how we might match students with their needs and interests became so numer- ous that we were convinced of the need for a

guide to all Catholic colleges in the United States would be the best approach. We hired researchers who combed through websites and published materials and conducted in- terviews. We sent a detailed questionnaire to all 224 Catholic colleges but received few responses from the many colleges that were well aware of our concerns about their prob- lematic approach to Catholic education. We accumulated a large amount of information\u2014 some of it heartening, some fairly predictable and, alas, much that was disturbing.

The more we looked at the data, the more we came to believe that publishing a guide to Catholic colleges in which a majority were

information on where to send their college- bound son or daughter. Our goal is to help with the challenge of the college search.

cluding one in Ontario, Canada, which we felt compelled to include\u2014where students can reasonably expect a faithful Catholic edu- cation and a campus culture that upholds the values taught in their homes and parishes. No such guide has ever been published, and the Cardinal Newman Society is uniquely quali-

What we provide, then, is invaluable infor- mation to supplement the traditional guides and promotional materials that are also an essential part of the college search process.

the college\u2019s mission, governance, spiritual life, curriculum, residential life and extracur- ricular programs. We provide information that we consider to be most useful in making a college selection\u2014assuming that Catholic identity is an important criterion.

hensive aid to parents and students. While our focus is on Catholic identity, we also discuss issues that are of use to any student, such as notable academic programs, sports opportunities and even characteristics of the surrounding town.

No college is perfect, and no college is right for everyone. There are wide variations, even among some of the most orthodox Catholic

And all, despite their Catholic identity, are impacted to a greater or lesser extent by the surrounding culture; there is no substitute for proper formation before entering college and a student\u2019s ability to choose the best courses, professors, friends and activities.

They give a priority to their Catholic iden- tity and actively practice it in most, if not all, aspects of campus life;

They are generally assiduous in ensuring that critics of Catholic Church teaching are not given a platform for their work;

The result is a listing of 20 Catholic colleg- es in the United States and one in Canada. We are impressed by all of these included here. Could others have been added? Perhaps. In a few instances, we encountered school of-

prevented us from doing the in-depth study to determine whether they belonged in this group.

We hope to add additional colleges in the next edition, including those that are work- ing to enhance their Catholic identity. We look forward to helping facilitate dialogue between the colleges in thisGui d e and those that seek to emulate them.

orthodox institutions, those whose Catholic identity informs most of what they do as an institution and how they present their pro- grams to prospective students and donors.

They are well-established institutions that have weathered the vicissitudes of the times and continue to provide a good Catholic edu- cation\u2014some of them reversing past trends in

tion issued by Pope John Paul II in 1990. In most cases, they are working to bolster their Catholic identity.

deep concern. Notre Dame\u2019s leaders need to resolve a decades-long struggle to reconcile ambitions toward become a leading national research university\u2014with all of the pressures from external stakeholders and secular aca- deme that accompany that role\u2014and Notre Dame\u2019s Catholic mission.

ment of Notre Dame\u2019s notable strengths and disappointing weaknesses as a Catholic insti- tution.

To help place the college selection process in the proper context, we have included essays from several prominent Catholics who are knowledgeable about Catholic higher educa- tion. We start with a forward from renowned

The founder and president of the Cardinal Newman Society, Patrick Reilly, contributed an essay on the status of Catholic higher edu- cation. We also are fortunate to have an essay on the essentials of a Catholic college educa- tion by the well-known evangelist Father C. John McCloskey III, an Opus Dei priest.

thoughtful article about why philosophy and theology are important to all students. Eileen Cubanski, founder and executive director of the National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools, wrote the last es- say, which discusses the value of a Catholic education.

essays framing the issue of how to select a Catholic college, you will consider the oppor- tunities presented by each of the institutions described in the following pages. Don\u2019t for- get to look at the material at the end, which also provides comparative insights into this group.