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23Oct2023

AA in Liberal Arts Degree Ranks #17 in the USA

October 23, 2023

Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for higher education program rankings and planning, ranked CDU’s online AA degree in Liberal Arts #17 of 35 top programs after evaluating 3,000 across the USA. Intelligent.com ranks online universities on a scale from 0 to 100 across six categories that include quantitative measures such as academic quality, graduation rate, cost and return on investment, and student resources. More points are assigned to nonprofit institutions.

The top picks are highly regarded, affordable, and offer the tools and resources students need to successfully graduate and excel in their fields. Recognized institutions in this category offer online programs that expose students to a wide range of disciplines, fostering critical thinking, creativity, and global awareness essential in the 21st century. View our listing.

4Oct2023

New Fall II Graduate Course Features Live Discussions

October 4, 2023

CST 510. Social Doctrine of the Church, 1891–1965 introduces students to the Church’s social doctrine from the time of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum novarum to the end of Vatican II. Students will become familiar with the basic principles of this doctrine by reading encyclicals and other Magisterial documents from this period, along with the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. Through discussion and writing assignments, students will explore the application of these principles to particular historical circumstances. Required synchronous sessions will be held each week on Mondays, 7:30-9:30 pm ET.

The course will be taught by moral theologian Dr. William Neu, an educator and translator who holds a doctorate from Sophia University, Incisa Vald’arno, Italy. He currently shares responsibility for the Focolare Movement in the Midwestern and Eastern U.S.

24Sep2023

Celebrate Constitution Day

September 24, 2023

View the CDU Calendar for more important dates

Take a virtual tour of the National Constitution Center

12Sep2023

Online Apologetics Seminar Offered in October

September 12, 2023

An online apologetics seminar, The Art of Evangelization through Apologetics, will be offered October 2–23. Popular instructor Allan Wright will share the good news of Jesus Christ, whose teachings entrusted to the Church encompass truth, beauty, and goodness. Learn to communicate a faith that is both relevant and foundational for one’s life, and gain the confidence to share the Gospel in an engaging, natural way and appreciate why being a credible believer is the most effective apologetic tool.

Tuition is just $99, with discounts for our diocesan partners. To register, visit https://www.pathlms.com/cdu/courses/38096.

21Aug2023

Enrollment Is Underway in New Catholic Social Teaching Programs

August 21, 2023

Two new Catholic Social Teaching (CST) programs, supported by an $879,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., recently began enrolling students. In the Fall I term, the first cohort of students began taking classes in a new AA degree program in Theology with a concentration in Catholic Social Teaching designed especially for Hispanic Catholics, who will make up the majority of the U.S. Catholic population by 2030.

All courses in the affordable online AA degree program are taught in Spanish to ensure wider access to higher education for students who may not be fluent in English or prefer to learn in their first language. Upon earning the degree, students will be prepared to serve as lay ecclesial ministers in Catholic parishes and pursue further academic study. There is great need in the Hispanic community to develop well-educated leaders for the Church of the 21st century.

A graduate certificate program in CST, with classes taught in English but with options for reading and writing in Spanish, is also now enrolling students. In the Fall II term, graduate certificate students can enroll in CST 510. Social Doctrine of the Church: 1891-1965. Classes begin October 23rd.

The graduate program was developed by Rev. Avelino González-Ferrér, a priest in the Archdiocese of Washington, and is targeted to ecclesial ministers who seek to deepen their understanding of CST to better serve their faith communities. Many Catholic pastoral leaders feel insufficiently knowledgeable when faced with the challenges of immigration, racism, poverty, and family breakdown. The curriculum draws upon the Church’s broad and deep intellectual tradition to provide the wisdom and insights needed to address these issues within local parishes. There are also plans to develop a hybrid seminar-travel experience in Rome through which students can earn academic credit.

“CST is essential to the new evangelization and provides a lens through which to view the issues of our time more clearly,” says Bishop Robert Barron, the 2021 recipient of CDU’s Founders Award. He added that Catholic social teaching is “not just for us, it’s for the whole world. We need to propagate it, we need to teach it. We need to announce it from the rooftops.”

10Aug2023

CDU Makes Forbes 2023 “Top-Four” List

August 10, 2023

Catholic Distance University made Forbes Advisor’s top-four list of “best options for Theology degrees online” for 2023. This accolade confirms what we have known for a long time: the great value and high quality of a CDU education.

To determine rankings, the Forbes Advisor Education team sources data from the National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and pulls information from reputable professional organizations and education providers’ websites. The rankings use a strict methodology to determine the best schools and programs for each category.

An expert advisory board of experienced professionals and educators reviews and verifies Forbes Advisor Education content to ensure accuracy and completeness.

30Jul2023

Watch the July 25th Virtual Open House

July 30, 2023

14Jul2023

Join Us for a Free Open House Webinar!

July 14, 2023

Join us for an Open House Webinar on Tuesday, July 25th, from 7-8 pm EDT to learn more about CDU’s online degree and certificate programs.

You’ll meet Admissions Director Kyle Nordstrom, Interim Provost Elizabeth Shaw, Registrar Lois Owen, Faculty member Alissa Thorell, Student Life Director Heather Pariera-Kimmerling, and librarian Stephanie Garrett.

You’ll also have a chance to ask questions during a live Q&A session and be entered into a raffle to win a book written by one of our professors! Join us to learn more about what sets CDU apart from other online universities.

3May2023

New President Appointed

May 3, 2023

The Honorable Maria Sophia Aguirre, Ph.D., a distinguished Ordinary Professor of Economics and researcher in the field of finance, family, and economic development, was appointed the third President of Catholic Distance University on July 1, 2023. The university’s Board of Trustees unanimously elected Dr. Aguirre following a national search launched after longtime President, Dr. Marianne Evans Mount, announced her wish to retire at the end of the 2022–2023 academic year.

A tenured faculty member at The Catholic University of America, Dr. Aguirre has 30 years of teaching and research experience, while holding leadership positions at the academic program level, department and school levels, as well as the university at large. She was a Fulbright scholar in 2012–2013.

After completing Accounting and Business Administration degrees in Argentina, Dr. Aguirre worked in accounting and commodities trading in Chicago for several years before earning an M.A. and then a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame with concentrations in monetary and fiscal policies and international financial markets. She has represented countries, including the Holy See, in international organizations, and served the U.S. President and Secretary of State as a presidential appointee confirmed by Congress in the capacity of Commissioner and Adviser for two presidential terms. Dr. Aguirre has testified before Congress in the U.S. and in several other countries, and has lectured and published extensively both domestically and internationally.

Since leaving government, Dr. Aguirre has worked to develop and implement Integral Economic Development (IED), an interdisciplinary approach to economic analysis that recognizes the role of social relationships—first manifested by the family—as key drivers of economic activity. Dr. Aguirre’s research, and the two master’s degree programs in Integral Economic Development she founded, have led to successful collaboration with a variety of business leaders, academicians, technologists, and policy makers on six continents, improving the lives of millions of people in the developing world. She is currently on leave at the University of St. Thomas in Houston conducting research on the application of IED to artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

“In searching for a successor to our great President, Dr. Marianne Mount, CDU struck gold in recruiting Dr. Aguirre,” said CDU’s Board Chair, Stephen Pryor. “Sophia Aguirre is a visionary academic leader with a track record of successful academic innovation, as well as pioneering economic research that is Catholic Social Teaching (CST) in action. As CDU implements its new CST curriculum in the U.S. and Latin America, her international experience, fluency in Spanish, and research background will be game changers,” Mr. Pryor said.

Marianne Mount Lauded for Leadership

President Dr. Marianne Evans Mount has served CDU for 40 years. Under her leadership, CDU has grown from a catechetical institute with a staff of two to the world’s only exclusively online Catholic university, with accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission and The Association of Theological Schools. Dr. Mount served as Education Director from 1983 to 1985, Executive Director from 1985 to 1996, Executive Vice President from 1997 to 2008, and as President since 2008 after earning her Ph.D. at Virginia Tech.

Under Dr. Mount’s leadership, CDU is implementing an innovative new curriculum in Catholic Social Teaching, enabled by the largest grant received in the university’s history, as well as new academic partnerships that will foster enrollment growth and offer students an expanded range of academic programs.

In reflecting on the contributions of President Mount, Mr. Pryor noted that “Marianne Mount has been a remarkable servant leader who has devoted her entire professional career to advancing the mission of CDU. Under her leadership, CDU has built a reputation as a pioneer in online theological education that is completely faithful to the teachings of the Church. Dr. Mount was recently appointed as a consultor to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education in recognition of her many contributions to the innovative realm of Catholic distance education. As she hands over the reins to Dr. Aguirre, the CDU community looks forward to an exciting future as a global trendsetter in online Catholic education.”

Dr. Aguirre’s vision for CDU builds on the foundation laid by her predecessor. “Under the leadership of Dr. Mount, the university has forged an impressive path and is now positioned for growth that will include curriculum development in mission-related fields, a larger global footprint, and a new agenda of institutional research through CDU’s proven online pedagogy. I am honored, grateful, and humbled by this opportunity to lead CDU on the next stage of its journey,” she said.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Mary Kate White, Director of Communications, Catholic Distance University, 300 S. George St., Charles Town, WV 25414 mwhite@cdu.edu; 304-724-5000, ext. 717. To learn more about CDU, visit cdu.edu.

11Apr2023

Saying Yes to God

April 11, 2023

Like so many journeys in faith, Maritza Mejia’s journey simply kept unfolding. She never planned for this journey to occur but is ever grateful for her path.

Maritza is from Colombia and her husband from Nicaragua. Twenty-eight years ago, they were married and came to the U.S. As she raised her two children, she wanted to be part of their education. What better way than to serve as a volunteer in their classes? Her children were in public schools, and she wanted them to be strongly rooted in the Faith, so she enrolled them in a catechetical program and served as a volunteer for it as well.

Maritza had always been a servant in the local parish church and the community. She said yes to many roles and yearned to be enriched spiritually and intellectually along the way. But the yearning to teach kept calling to her. She went from volunteering in the classroom to teaching catechism. For 14 years now she has been a catechist, teaching primarily 6th and 7th graders as they prepare for confirmation.

She finds students of that age to be interesting. So many times, after having received their First Holy Communion, students fall away from the faith a bit. But, as they embark on studies for confirmation, they must catch up and relearn what they were taught before as the Holy Spirit guides and encourages them to learn about the Faith.

When COVID hit and lockdowns occurred, all of the confirmation preparation courses shifted to Zoom. Maritza was determined to make Zoom classes more personal and inspire the students to turn back to the Lord. As she found herself quiet as well during the lockdown, she began to explore how she could deepen her prayer life and learn more about her faith. She embarked on the Master’s in Theology at CDU and received her degree in November 2022.

Already, she sees such enormous value from her degree. She finds that her teaching has improved, she now knows the strategies to use, where the resources are, and is constantly revising her lessons based on what she has learned from her coursework.

But what Maritza values the most is that through her studies in theology, she learned to let God guide her to serve Him. She had never done that before. Her studies were not just about becoming more knowledgeable, they led her to pray to praise God, to serve Him, in ways that are new for her.

She now sees His hand along her path, as she says yes to God. As CDU develops its Catholic Social Teaching program, Maritza has been tapped to help translate information into Spanish for the program. She shared, “I am totally blessed for this opportunity!”

Maritza is a beautiful example of how God guides someone to serve Him: from a dedicated mother of faith, to teaching others catechism, and now translating material so even more people can turn to God. Maritza gives witness to all of us of the work God does in our lives when we simply say yes to Him.

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