Gala 2023
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A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
Catholic Distance University celebrated 40 years of its mission to communicate the mind and heart of the Church in a digital world. The annual CDU gala was held at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia. A symbolic way to celebrate 40 years, the Catholic Diocese of Arlington is the founding diocese of CDU. It was a night to remember when Dr. Michael P. Warsaw, the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of EWTN Global Catholic Network, was honored with the Founders Award, the university’s highest distinction.
In addition, President Emeritus Marianne Evans Mount, Ph.D., was presented with the Vatican’s Dame of St. Gregory Cross by Papal Nuncio, His Eminence Cardinal Christophe Pierre, and the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, President of the USCCB. This distinction is highly deserved. Dr. Mount has a storied history of supporting Catholic education and evangelization. Since the establishment of the Order of St. Gregory the Great on September 1, 1831, only 25 people have been awarded the Grand Cross. The honor is bestowed upon individuals in recognition of their personal service to the Holy See and the Catholic Church, their extraordinary labors, and the examples they set in their communities and their countries.
The gala drew guests from all across the world to join the Convocation Mass, including graduates, faculty, staff, supporters, friends, and family.
Dr. Maria Sophia Aguirre named CDU’s next president
After announcing her retirement last year, Dr. Marianne Evans Mount passed the reins of the Office of the President to someone new. Dr. Mount was involved in CDU leadership in many capacities before becoming president in 2008. Her passion to see the university succeed has influenced her to remain involved in the university, including by becoming a trustee of the Board.
Following a wide search full of talented candidates at the top of their field, Dr. Maria Sophia Aguirre was selected as the new president of CDU in June 2023. A dynamic, leading-edge addition to the university, Dr. Aguirre is a visionary who is equipped and ready to carry the university into the future.
High achievement for the university
This year, CDU was ranked fourth among the top online theology programs by Forbes, CDU being the top Catholic online theology program. The Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts degree was ranked 17th out of 3,000 online programs by Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for higher education program rankings and planning. The gala highlighted all of these achievements and more, all while celebrating the class of 2023 graduates.
Annual Report
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AA in Liberal Arts Degree Ranks #17 in the USA
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.
New Fall II Graduate Course Features Live Discussions
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.
Online Apologetics Seminar Offered in October
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.
Enrollment Is Underway in New Catholic Social Teaching Programs
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.”
CDU Makes Forbes 2023 “Top-Four” List
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.
