Faculty News: Sr. Barbara Green, OP

On November 21-23, Sr. Barbara attended the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in New Orleans. The SBL is the largest and probably most representative association of academic biblical scholars in the world. Sr. Barbara was invited to offer a paper in a section called Writing/Reading Jeremiah, since she has been working on that prophet for about three years and presented two papers on the book of Jeremiah at last year's SBL meeting in Boston. Her paper "Sunk in the Mud: Literary Correlation and Collaboration between King and Prophet," focused on the material where the prophet interacts with the last king of Judah, Zedekiah (350 verses, with the main portion in 38:14-28). Sister’s thesis was that the apparent opponents—the prophet Jeremiah and the king Zedekiah—deeply resemble each other and are in fact comprehensively interlocked (each is, at a given moment, described as "sunk in the mud";) their common striving makes visible a project larger than either of them: the characterization of prophecy and the survival of God’s biblical people; the failure of Jeremiah’s speech offers insight into coercive language. The paper concluded with the implication that the interlocked characterization heightens the prophet’s inability to do his apparent job well; at a moment he might have spoken effectively his word—lacking empathy—seems to boomerang; maybe that’s the point for his re-readers, then and now.

Current Student Profile, Hannah Mecaskey

My explorations of Catholicism intensified during my undergraduate studies at a Baptist Bible school, propelling me to consider my graduate studies at a Catholic institution. Hoping for a philosophical exploration of faith, I began searching for a small school fostering a dialogical academic tradition in an intellectual community. The DSPT was a lucky find, its numbers, mission statement, and the approachability of faculty and staff convinced me that these people were sincere in their academic questions and faith traditions. The degree of openness between classmates and professors has demonstrated to me a working model of academic and spiritual community that has inspired various approaches I plan to pursue with my own future students.

Part of my academic journey my first year as an MA Theology Candidate was preparing myself to finally embrace the Catholic Church as my immediate family. My questions have changed since entering the Church this past May, but the Marian devotion and heartfelt adherence of the Dominican community to Church teaching have begun to inform not only my course of study, but my spiritual life as well. I feel very welcome in the Dominican community as a fellow sojourner in theological pursuits, and as a sister in the larger body of Christ.

Current Student Profile: Jacob Washabaugh

I come from a small farm town in the western part of the Sacramento Valley. A few years after high school I joined the United States Navy as a communications electrician, and was honorably discharged after four years of service on a guided missile frigate. Shortly after my military service I began work as a union electrician, but I was not satisfied with this profession. I wanted to do something that would have a positive impact on others. At the age of twenty-six, i decided to leave the trades and a good paying job, and return to school in the hope of earning my PH.D in order to teach at the university level. I'm the first person in my family to recieve a college degree, and i am currentlypursuing my M.A. in Philosophy at the DSPT. When I was looking into Master's Programs, it was important that I find a school that bases its appraoch to learning on Catholics principles, and a school that approaches modern ideas and problems with the philospcial and theoligical ideas of of the Catholic faith. I believe I've found that at the DSPT. Every clas I have in opened with an invocation, and there is an oncampus Mass where students come together in communion with Christ every Tuesday. We are taught by devout and academically accomplished Domincans who desire to help their students in the pursuit of truth. I really enjoy the small class size, and tha small campus whicvh gives the school a real sense of community. It really is a great academic environment. I enjoy, and value, my time in class as well as outside of class. DSPT was an excellent choice for higher education and I look forward to the coming semesters.

Culture of Philantropy: Sunday in Spain

On October 18th, we held our annual fund kickoff event at the DSPT campus. Although the weather was cool and not particularly Mediterranean, we nonthless celebrated an ode to a traditional Spanish afternoon, replete with Paella, Spain-themed tables, Sangria, community and good times. The auction raised over $20,000 even with the not-so Spanish weather.

A few highlights: Mike Bentovogilio won the Gourmet Dinner for 10 with Fr. Michael at Marilyn Knight's home in Tiburon. Eunice Jackson's bid prevailed on the weekend retreat with Fr. Sweeney, O.P. at the spectacular Sweetwater property in Guerneville, CA. Eileen Bitten sponsored a student for a semester for our "Fund-a-Need.: Maria Vickroy-Peralta won a Tuscan Dinner for Eight with Fr. Chris Renz and Joe Vanderlit walked away a Monterey Get-away and other prizes.

To see a video synopsis of the event along with interview highlights including DSPT President, Fr. Michael Sweeney and current DSPT students, please click here.

Faculty News: Fr. Michael Sweeney, OP

Just recently, on October 27th, Fr. Michael traveled to Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage, Alaska to deliver a talk about the state of Catholic Education in America and why DSPT is so exceptional. His presentation was entitled "Reading the Signs of the Times: Dominican Education and the Challenge of Contemporary Culture." The presentation will be announced at www.dspt.com with a link to the full text if yor are interested in viewing it. It will be available within the coming week.

Father Michael Sweeney, OP, will be presenting a paper at the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture's 10th annual fall conference The Summons of Freedom: Virtue, Sacrifice, and the Common Good taking place November 12-14. Father Michael's presentation, "Expressing the Good," will address the problem of the insufficient grasp of the good in our culture resulting in the inability to understand or apply the notion of the common good, and will suggest principles of a pedagogy that could address this problem.

For full schedule of the conference, go to

www.nd.edu/~ndethics/events/fallconfs.sof.documents/abstract.pdf

or

ethicscenter.nd.edu/events/fallconfs/sof/sof.shtml

DSPT and the World Parliament of Religions

Sr. Marianne Farina, CSC and 3 of her students from the Christian-Muslim Dialogue course have been invited to attend the Parliament of World Religions on December 3-9, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia.

This delegation will be part of the consultation on "Educating Religious Leaders for a Multi-Religious World." The goal of this consultation is to address ways that seminaries foster significant teaching/learning opportunities for the development of a new generation of leaders equipped to serve in the challenging milieu of today's mult-cultural, multi-religious world. The planning team of the World Parliament of Religions chose 15 seminary institutions to participate because of each institution's significant and creative studies in dialogue and comparative religions.

It is hoped that throughout this consultation, these schools will make their experience available to other theological communities. The attendees will write a final document to be shared with national theological associations and institutions in the United States.

For more information go to www.parliamentofreligions.org/index.cfm

Support the DSPT through Online Shopping

Giving Cart and Amazon.com

Did you know that you can help raise money DSPT through online and retail purchases?

Givingcart.com is a portal for Catholic internet shoppers. When you register for a free membership, you choose the Catholic project or charity that will benefit from your transactions, with the option to change your beneficiary at any time. A running tally keeps you posted on how much money you have raised for your charity as well as the total amount raised by all GivingCart.com members.

eScrip.com is a fund raising program where participating business contribute a percentage of your purchases to the school, group, or organization of your choice. Just register any one or all of you existing retail cards (Safeway card, etc.) as well as debit and credit cards for use in the program. To learn more, go to www.eScrip.com. To register, go to the eScrip Registration Page and enter GroupID# 500000450 for the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology.

Amazon.com

For DSPT students as well as those looking to support the school, we have an Amazon store which donates a percentage of your purchase directly towards us! Just go to http://astore.amazon.com/dspt-20 and start shopping. This page contains course specific listings as well as having Faculty Recommendations, Faculty and Alumni Publications and a "Thomism Bibliography" with writings by and about St. Thomas Aquinas. In addition, if you click on the Amazon logo on the upper left hand corner of our storefront site, you will be taken to the main Amazon website where you can purchase any other items you might be interested in with the same benefits of supporting the school

Seminar Discussion of Plato's "Phaedo" led by Prof. John Dragstedt

This seminar-discussion of Plato’s Phaedo is modeled after the educational methods of the “Great Books” programs of St. John’s College, Thomas Aquinas College, and St. Mary’s College’s Integral Program. The professor leading the discussion, John Albert Dragstedt, will lead off with a question which provokes inquiry into the heart of the text, and the discussion thereafter is a matter of the participants engaging the text and each other, with Prof. Dragstedt as “facilitator”. Space is limited so RSVP to Reynaldo Miranda at reynaldo.miranda@gmail.com if you can and desire to join us.

Although any translation is welcome, a recommended one is by St. John's Tutors Eva Brann, Peter Kalkavage, and Eric Salem, in the Focus Philosophical Library series, from R. Pullins Company, 1998, an inexpensive paperback.
Various translations of the text can also be found online, e.g. at http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/plato_phaedo01.htm

Discussion led by Prof. John Albert Dragstedt, PhD in Classical Languages by UC Berkeley, Professor of Classical Languages, and Tutor in the Integral Program, at St. Mary's College of California. Prof. Dragstedt studied under Leo Strauss at the University of Chicago, and has taught at St. Mary's College in Moraga for over 45 years in the faculties of philosophy, history, classics, and the Integral Program (founded 1956 by St. John's Annapolis Tutor Brother Robert Sixtus Smith, FSC). Prof. Dragstedt has lectured at the Santa Fe campus of St. John's College, and participated in the "three dialogues on Liberal Education" held there in April, 1977 (published by the St. John's College Press, 1979).

The event is organized by St. John's College Alumni Association - Northern California Chapter.

Alumni Profile: Carla Zilaff, MA Theology, 2009

Carla Zilaff, MA Theology, 2009
Campus Minister at St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah

While living in Eugene, OR for five years I had the pleasure of meeting many Dominican priests and brothers who had received their education from the DSPT. They were a constant example to the community at the Newman Center in Eugene of the quality education that one receives at the DSPT.

When looking at various masters programs in theology, I chose the DSPT because of the solid theological and philosophical foundations that the school provides. In addition, I appreciated the small school atmosphere with the support of a larger institution (the GTU) next to a major university (UC Berkeley). Overall, it is a well-rounded education which equips students for various career and education goals after leaving the DSPT.

I am now the Campus Minister at the (Dominican run) Newman Center in Salt Lake City which ministers to the University of Utah, Westminster College, and Salt Lake Community College. Being a Catholic in Utah is a constant challenge for our students who often come to the Newman Center searching for answers. All aspects of my education at the DSPT are tested and utilized in my work at the Newman Center and I am constantly thankful for the education I received.

Faculty News: Sr. Marianne Farina, CSC

Sr. Marianne and 3 of her students from the Christian-Muslim Dialogue course have been invited to attend the Parliament of World Religions on December 3-9, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia.

This delegation will be part of the consultation on "Educating Religious Leaders for a Multi-Religious World." The goal of this consultation is to address ways that seminaries foster significant teaching/learning opportunities for the development of a new generation of leaders equipped to serve in the challenging milieu of today’s multi-cultural, multi-religious world. The planning team of the World Parliament of Religions chose 15 seminary institutions to participate because of the institution’s significant and creative studies in dialogue and comparative religions.
It is hoped that throughout this consultation, these schools will make their experience available to other theological communities. The attendees will write a final document to be shared with national theological associations and institutions in the United States. For more information go to
http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/index.cfm

Faculty News: Fr. Richard Schenk, O.P.

Fr. Richard Schenk recently took part in the colloquium, Revelation and Salvific History - J. Ratzingers Studies on Bonaventure in the Context of Systematics and the History of Theology. Held in Bagnoregio, the birthplace of St. Bonaventure, this conference was organized by the Institute Pope Benedikt XVI of Regensburg, which is responsible for the edition of the complete writings of the current pope. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the content, context and significance of young J. Ratzinger’s second major work, his 1955 habilitation on St. Bonaventure. The faculty of the time at the University of Munich had accepted only the final third of the work dealing with Bonaventure’s view of history. The first sections on Bonaventure’s sense of revelation continued to be of interest and would have an important impact on the dogmatic constitution on revelation at the Second Vatican Council, which began in 1962; three years after the short version of the text had appeared in print. Prof. Ratzinger was present at the Council first as an advisor to Cologne’s Archbishop, Cardinal Joseph Frings, and then as an official expert or “peritus”. Frings made sure that the young theologian’s voice was heard, notably in a famous lecture on revelation the day before the Council opened. It helped move the Council to rework thoroughly its statements on revelation. Fr. Richard Schenk spoke on the ecumenical theological program connected with the interpretation of Bonaventura developed by the young Ratzinger and his theological mentor, Gottlieb Söhngen. The colloquium ended in Castelgandolfo with the presentation to Pope Benedict XVI of this second volume of his collected works, including the first publication of the entire draft of the monograph on St. Bonaventure.

Faculty News: Fr. Joseph Boenzi, SDB

Fr. Joseph spent the first week of September offering two three-day workshops to the Salesian Family in Thailand, at Hua Hin, 200 km south of Bangkok. He was invited to Thailand by a committee of Alumni from DSPT and the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome.

Joseph delivered four presentations each day centered on evangelization and education of the young in the style of St John Bosco and according to the spirit of St Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal. Over 160 women and men participated. The majority of the participants were Thai, but there were also delegations from the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and Cambodia.

2009 marks the 150th year since St John Bosco launched the Salesian Society. The reflections built on this event, asking the Salesian Family in Thailand and Southeast Asia how they might re-launch Don Bosco's mission for the young of the next 150 years.

Faculty News: Fr. Augustine Thompson, OP

At the recommendation of Mr. Manu Radhakrishnan in the history department of Princeton University, Wiph and Stock Publishers of Oregon has decided to republish Fr. Augustine Thompson's book Revival Preachers and Politics in Thirteenth-Century Italy, originally published by Oxford University Press and out of print since 2005. His book examines the nature of revivalistic preaching by early Dominicans and Franciscans and how it resulted in their appointment as city managers charged with reforming civic laws and constitutions to promote peacemaking and social justice.

Report of 2nd Annual Tee It Up for Truth Golf Tournament

Beautiful weather, a long-driving Dominican, and the steadfast support of our community made for a perfect day at Oakland Metropolitan Golf Course. Twenty-two foursomes hit the links after an energizing breakfast. All were determined to beat Br. Peter Hannah’s 349-yard long drive, a shot that landed only a few yards from the green but none came within 40 yards of Br. Peter’s shot.

At the end of the day, participants gathered for a delicious BBQ dinner followed by a successful auction and raffle draw. The evening wrapped up with an awards ceremony for first and second place teams, longest-putt, longest-drive and closest-to-the-hole winners. Congratulations to the winning team that came in with a 56 - Lance Russum, Philip Boehm, Ron Scalise and Bill Westernoff.

From all of us at DSPT, a special thank you to those who helped to make this year’s tournament a huge success. The money raised will go directly to providing scholarships for clerical and lay students, resources for student recruitment, curriculum development, advertising and much more. We look forward to next year’s golf event. If you have any recommendations for how to make the event bigger or better or are interested in volunteering to organize it, please contact us at advancement@dspt.edu.

In This Light Which Gives Light by Fr. Chris Renz, OP

Father Chris Renz recently published an inspiring and quite beautiful historical account of St. Albert’s College. His 225 page work In This Light Which Gives Light contains many rarely seen photographs of the friars and the school that help to tell a marvelous story of religious and academic devotion.

Originally founded in 1851 as the House of Studies for the Western Dominican Province, the College of St. Albert the Great was civilly incorporated in the State of California in 1932 with the hope that it would become "a lighthouse of religion and learning to the regions around," and in so doing open up a conversation between the Church and contemporary culture.

As its growth continued, the College became well situated both academically and geographically to respond to the ecumenical movement of the mid-twentieth century. Ideas which served as the seedbed for the Graduate Theological Union (1962) also provided the means for the College to be the first Catholic institution to join the GTU in 1964. Shortly thereafter, the College changed its name to the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, moving classrooms and administration to the GTU campus.

For more information about the book and how to order it, please go to http://www.dspt.edu/ and click on the About Us section or call 510-883-2030.

Jon Stewart Lecture

"Kierkegaard and Hegel on Faith and Knowledge"
When: Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 7:00 pm
Where: DSPT Classroom 1

One of Kierkegaard's main objections to Hegel's philosophy is that it misunderstands the nature of religion by placing it on a par with various forms of scholarship and knowing. Through his pseudonymous authors, Kierkegaard stubbornly insists that faith is fundamentally different from knowledge. How would Hegel respond to Kierkegaard's objection? I wish to argue that Hegel would find Kierkegaard's conception of faith to be a pure formalism with no determinate content.For this reason, it cannot be properly designated as Christian faith since it has no content by which it can be distinguished from the faith of other religions.

Save-the-Date! DSPT’s 2nd Annual Sunday in Spain Dinner & Auction

WHEN: Sunday, October 18, 2009, 2:00 - 7:00pm
WHERE: DSPT Courtyard – 2301 Vine Street, Berkeley, CA (free parking)

Please join friends, benefactors, faculty, students, and staff of the Dominican School of Philosophy and communities that support the School for an afternoon of fun and camaraderie as DSPT kicks off its 2009 Annual Fund.

Our Sunday in Spain dinner and auction event now serves as an important part of our new effort to bring our donors closer to what we do and to give members of our community of friends and supporters a chance to help us sustain and grow our mission. Let's celebrate the beginning of the academic year in honor of Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of the Preachers (O.P.) and connect with old and new friends with good food and great company. Tapas and wines of Spain will be served and the cooking of traditional Spanish Paellas will be demonstrated by Eduardo of Venga Paella.

There are many ways in which you can help us ensure the success of this effort. If you'd like to learn more, e-mail Ciel Mahoney at mmahoney@dspt.edu or call (510) 883-2085.

* Become a Table Sponsor! If you'd like to select the seven people who will sit at your table, we invite you to consider becoming a table sponsor. For $350 per table, sponsors get to fill their table with friends and family.

* Volunteer to Help! If you'd like to volunteer to work at the event, please fill out the attached volunteer registration form.

Stay tuned for more information. See you on October 18th!

SMASH HIT PRODUCTION THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS

“Wickedly Witty…It is one Hell of a Good Show!”
- Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, the entertaining hit theatre production is being presented by Fellowship for the Performing Arts at The Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, CA. The play has enjoyed sold-out runs in Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C. and now makes its way to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Tickets range in price from $29.00 to $45.00. Tickets are available by calling The Lesher Center for the Arts Box Office at 925.943.7469,
A limited number of $20 student tickets are available for each performance. You must show valid ID at the box office.

RECEIVE $10 OFF WHEN YOU BUY TWO TICKETS TO SMASH HIT PRODUCTION OF C.S. LEWIS’ THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS
Valid on following performances: Friday, Oct. 2, 8PM and Saturday, Oct. 3, 4PM & 8PM
This offer is only available by calling the Lesher Center for the Arts Box Office at 925.943.7469. Mention code E103. Subject to availability and not valid on previously purchased tickets. Service fees apply. OFFER EXPIRES September 18, 2009.

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is a funny, provocative and wickedly witty theatrical adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ brilliant novel that explores the theme of spiritual warfare from a demon’s point of view.

Adapted for the stage by Jeffrey Fiske and Max McLean, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, which runs 90 minutes without intermission, is set in an office in hell. The engaging play follows a senior devil, Screwtape, played by Max McLean, and his secretary, Toadpipe, played by Karen Eleanor Wight,as they train an apprentice demon, Wormwood, on how to “undermine faith and prevent the formation of virtues” in a young man who has just converted to Christianity. As Screwtape ridicules Wormwood and devilishly dictates his letters to Toadpipe, the fantastical creature transforms into laughingly recognizable figures with whimsical movement and wordless wit.

Critics have raved that the show is “Very smart…richly rewarding…exuberant theatricality!,” (Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune), “THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is just about everything you want in a night at the theatre…,” (Daniel Kelly, NYTheatre.com), “A first rate production…Terribly entertaining… Screwtape boils over with wit” (Jayne Blanchard, The Washington Times), a “Hell of a good time…imaginative theatricality…wonderful performances” (Frank Scheck, New York Post), “Sly, funny, handsomely produced” (Celia Wren, Washington Post) and “Pure genius… an outstanding piece of work,” (John J. Miller, National Review)

When first published in 1942. THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS brought immediate fame to C.S. Lewis, a little known Oxford don whose field of study was Medieval English and literature. Over the past sixty-five years its wit and wisdom have made it one of his most widely read and influential works. One of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential Christian writer of his day, C.S. Lewis was a Fellow and Tutor of English literature at Oxford University until 1954 when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement.

His major contributions in literary criticism, children’s literature, fantasy literature, and popular theology brought him international renown. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract millions of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include: The Chronicles of Narnia, Out of the Silent Planet, and Mere Christianity.

The initial production of THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS opened at Theatre 315 in New York City in January 2006 for a limited three-week run. Due to popular demand it ran for ten sold-out weeks. After building on its success it reopened in the fall of 2007 at the larger Theatre at St. Clement’s for another twelve sold-out weeks to rave reviews from audiences and critics alike. In April 2008 it transferred to The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Lansburgh Theatre in Washington, D.C. for a five week run. Again it played for sold out and standing room-only audiences. In October 2008, it transferred again to the Mercury Theater in Chicago for a scheduled six week run that grew to six months. The Chicago Tribune called it “the most successful show in the history of the Mercury Theater.”

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is directed by Jeffrey Fiske and stars Max McLean as Screwtape and Karen Eleanor Wight as Toadpipe. Scenic design is by Cameron Anderson, costumes are by Michael Bevins, lighting by Jesse Klug, and sound is by Bart Fasbender. For more biographical or production information, visit http://www.screwtapeonstage.com/.

America Needs You, Thomas Aquinas

By Rev. Robert Barron

Just last week I was in Toulouse France, filming for my ten part documentary on Catholicism. I will admit that I was in Toulouse for fairly personal reasons. In the Dominican church of the Jacobins, in a golden casket situated under a side altar, are the remains of my hero, St. Thomas Aquinas. I spent a good amount of time in silent prayer in front of Thomas’s coffin, thanking him for giving direction to my life. When I was a fourteen year old freshman at Fenwick High School, I was privileged to hear from a young Dominican priest the arguments for God’s existence that Thomas Aquinas formulated in the thirteenth century. I don’t entirely know why, but hearing those rational demonstrations lit a fire in me that has yet to go out. They gave me a sense of the reality of God and thereby awakened in me a desire to serve God, to order my life radically toward him. I’m a priest because of God’s grace, but that grace came to me through the mediation of Thomas Aquinas.

As I prayed before the tomb of Aquinas, I found myself ruminating on the importance for our own time of the one whom the church calls its “common doctor.” What can this thirteenth century Dominican master teach us? First, Thomas Aquinas saw with utter clarity that since all truth comes from God, there can never be, finally, any conflict between the data of the sciences and the facts of revelation. In his own time, there were advocates of the so-called “double truth theory,” which held that the “truths” of philosophy and science were in one category and the “truths” of the faith in another. On this interpretation, one could hold mutually exclusive positions as long as one remained cognizant that the opposing views were in separate departments of the mind.

Well, Thomas saw this as so much nonsense and said so. Apparent conflicts between science and religion (to use our terms) are born of either bad science or bad religion, and they should compel the puzzled thinker to dig deeper and think harder. Following Augustine, Thomas said that if an interpretation of the Bible runs counter to clearly established findings of the sciences, we should move to a more mystical and symbolic reading of the Scriptural passage. How important this is today when forms of fundamentalism have given rise to a terrible rationalist counter-reaction. Biblical literalism—a modernism, alien to the patristic and medieval minds—produces a variety of views repugnant to physics, evolutionary biology, cosmology, etc. And this has led to the sequestration of some religious types and some scientific types into separate and mutually hostile camps. Thomas Aquinas would see how foolish and counter-productive this is for both science and religion. The faith, he claimed, should always go out to meet the culture with confidence, and the culture should see its own deepest aspirations realized in the faith.

Secondly, Thomas knew that the Creator God of the Bible is the only finally satisfying explanation for the existence of the contingent things of the world. He was deeply impressed by the actual existence of those things that do not contain within themselves the reason for their being. Clouds, trees, plants, animals, human beings, buildings, planets, and stars certainly exist, but they don’t have to exist. This means, he saw, that their being is not self-explanatory, that it depends, finally, on some primordial reality which does exist through the power of its own essence. This “necessary” being is what Thomas called “God.” He was moved by the correspondence between this philosophical sense of God and the self-designation that God gives in Exodus 3:14: “I am who I am.” How significant this is in our time when “new” atheists have raised their voices to dismiss belief in God as a holdover from a pre-scientific time. Thomas would remind the Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins of the world that no scientific advance could ever, even in principle, eliminate the properly metaphysical question to which God is the only satisfying answer. God is not a superstitious projection of human need; rather, God is the reason why there is something rather than nothing.

Thirdly, Thomas Aquinas was a deep humanist, precisely because he was a Christian. He saw that since God became human in Christ, the destiny of the human being is divinization, participation in the inner life of God. No other religion or philosophy or social theory has ever held out so exalted a sense of human dignity and purpose. And this is why, Aquinas intuited, there is something inviolable about the human person. How indispensably important that teaching is in our era of stem-cell research, euthanasia, legalized abortion, and pre-emptive war, practices that turn persons into means.Thomas’s bones lie in that golden casket in Toulouse, but his mind and his spirit, thank God, still inform the counter-cultural voice of the church.

An Update on Picturing Paradise: Cuadros from the Peruvian Women of Pamplona Alta as Visions of Hope exhibited at the Dominican School

After two months at the Dominican School Gallery (January 26-March 20), Picturing Paradise moved on to the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William and Mary where it was on display from April 7 – May 17.
In June 2009, GTU doctoral student and curator of the exhibit, Rebecca Berru Davis was in Lima, Peru doing research and fieldwork. While there, the exhibit was displayed at the Miraflores Community Gallery (June 5-7). This was carried out with the help of Fundades and ConVida, two organizations who collaborate in assisting the women. During its three day venue, over 600 persons viewed the exhibit. The women artists from the shantytown of Pamplona Alta were honored at the opening reception held on Friday evening, June 5.

Picturing Paradise will be exhibited at Chabot Community College Gallery in Hayward, California from October 8- November 5, 2009. The opening reception is scheduled for the evening of October 8 from 5-7pm. For more information about the exhibit, please contact Rebecca Berru Davis berrumt@yahoo.com or:
Chabot Community College Gallery
25555 Hesperian Blvd, Hayward, CA 94545
510-723-6600

From the Office of Admissions

We are delighted to welcome our new Fall 2009 class! This semester we are joined by 23 new students: 13 lay and 10 religious. As always, they come from many different backgrounds and have many interesting stories!

Most of our new students are Californians, but others come from New York, Georgia, Virginia, and Washington as well as India, South Korea, Vietnam, Tonga, Samoa, and the Philippines. Some are young people who applied straight from their undergraduate schools, and others have been working or serving in active ministry for many years.

Their undergraduate backgrounds are diverse, with degrees in Liberal Arts, Finance, Engineering, Philosophy, Religion, Nursing, Medicine, English, Political Science, Education, Anthropology, and Economics. They come from UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Santa Clara University, Pepperdine University, Dartmouth University, Thomas Aquinas College, St. Mary’s College of California, Dominican University of California, the University of San Francisco, Fordham University, the University of Georgia, Boston College, George Mason University, Gonzaga University, Humboldt State University, Australia Catholic University, and Far Eastern University (Manila).

Among our lay students is a Navy veteran and electrician, an engineer, a medical doctor, two teachers, and an artist. Our religious students are brothers, priests and sisters from the Dominicans and Salesians, and a Marian sister from Mount St. Michael in Spokane, WA. We welcome all of our new students and wish them all the best as they begin their programs!
We are now accepting applications for the Spring and Fall semesters of 2010! Most of our students learn about DSPT through word of mouth, so please tell your friends about us and encourage them to consider a degree in philosophy or theology. We have brochures and posters for you to place in your parish, school or place of business. For more information, contact the Admissions Office at (510) 883-2073 or by email at admissions@dspt.edu.

Alumni Profile: Fred Rodriguez, BA Philosophy (2002); MA Theology, (2004)

My coming to the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology seemed to be driven by outside influences rather than a personal choice in selecting schools at the Graduate Theological Union. You see, if there is any truth to the following, then, God certainly has a sense of humor!

In the mid-90s, I had received a letter in the mail from the DSPT thanking me for my interest in considering their school as a possible choice of schools in the Bay Area. First off, who and what was the DSPT, and how in the Good Lord’s name did they get my address way out here in the Pacific on a tiny island called Guam?

After several weeks of passing this most unusual letter around to friends and family, I finally ran it by a friend of mine who happens to be a priest. Of course, this priest had other ideas of how the letter got into my hands—“God is talking to you!” he said laughing. He also suggested it was my vocational calling to consider the religious life. That somehow did not seem like the road I was supposed to be on.

It was a year before I finally considered the school as a choice to complete my bachelor’s in philosophy. And, at last, the culprit behind the letter showed his face. It was my cousin Vince Cruz who was visiting the GTU and who had, as a sort of friendly boost, decided to visit the DSPT and personally requested information and catalogs be sent to me. That prompted a DSPT student to write me a personal note of why the school would be a fine option when considering the bachelor’s in philosophy.

My graduation from DSPT did not end with a bachelor’s in philosophy. My journey culminated into a master’s in theology. These two specific disciplines were somehow not what I thought I’d be studying if I had it my way. It was my good friend Therese A. Matanane who said I should go back to school and even argued, “What have I got to lose from applying?” That positive push sent me to a community where I would find my place in the field of critical thinking.

After graduating from the DSPT, and finally accepting the fact that I have found a family away from home at the DSPT, I was convinced that God did in fact have His hand in my life. Even after all that was said and done, I am writing this profile with a smile because He certainly put me where He wants me.

In the Summer of 2005 I was working as the Archdiocesan Director of Faith Formation in Guam and another priest friend of mine, Fr. Mike Crisostomo, thought it would be a good thing to have a radio show where we could catechize on the air. That was the beginning of our popular radio program, “Why Do Catholics Do That?” Now in 2009, my good friend Therese and I teamed up to put our gifts and talents together. She, with her degree in motion pictures, and I, with my degrees in philosophy and theology, now have a Catholic Television show called, “Catholics on the Move.” I borrowed the title from my good friend Fr. Joseph Boenzi who taught a course at the DSPT called, “Church on the Move”. We are now entering our fourth season and still growing strong. My education in both these disciplines have given me the tools to create content and programming for our faithful viewers who loyally follow the show on two islands: Guam and Saipan.

If I were to believe that I did this on my own, I would not be telling the truth. The fact of the matter is, God has a plan for us and he has me doing his will. The Parable of the Three Talents tells the story very well. Obviously, I refuse to be the servant who buried his lord’s money. I was given a talent, and through my study of philosophy and theology, am now bringing the Good News to folks throughout the Mariana Islands. Incidentally, the DSPT’s motto “Deus Providebit” will speak volumes when you allow God to use your mind, soul and body to do His Will.

DSPT Launches 2009 Annual Fund Campaign

Welcome to a new academic year at DSPT! The School especially welcomes new members of our community to the DSPT family, and greets its returning students and faculty and staff.
As another academic year begins, DSPT is experiencing the benefits and challenges of its steady growth. Reflecting on last year's enormous challenges and accomplishments allows us another opportunity to share our joy, pride and gratitude to our benefactors, friends, and community that continue to support and sustain our mission.

The DSPT Annual Fund campaign, made possible by community support, is the cornerstone of DSPT’s fundraising efforts. The Annual Fund provides essential funding to virtually every area of the school’s operation.

Today, lay and religious students who are enrolled at DSPT are just as idealistic and enthusiastic as their counterparts some 40 – 50 years ago. One substantial difference, however, is that students today often incur significant financial debt as they prepare for ministry. In the case of our Dominican brothers preparing for ordination, DSPT receives a subsidy from the Western Dominican Province; but still, the subsidy does not cover the whole cost of educating a seminarian.

In 2008-2009 the actual cost of educating a DSPT student was $24,500 a year; although the full time tuition is $13,500. In essence, every student receives a subsidy of $11,000. It is important to also keep in mind that School’s full-time student population receive a third of their tuition in the current academic year.

As the school is committed to increasing financial aid and scholarships available to all students, it needs the renewable, steadily increasing, and long-term support from the Annual Fund. Faced by challenges, such as raising funds in a difficult economic environment, DSPT must keep its sights high and far beyond the immediate details of the budget crisis, with which so many educational institutions have spent so much time dealing.

This year, as DSPT embarks upon a rebranded fund-raising campaign, it is emphasizing to donors, volunteers and the community that it is continuing to excel even as it takes prudent steps to navigate uncertain fiscal terrain.

DSPT will kick off its Annual Fund campaign this year with its annual Sunday in Spain dinner and auction event. Known to its constituents as its annual auction fundraiser, Sunday in Spain has now evolved into an event that will help DSPT spread the word to a broader audience about DSPT’s mission and its impact. This is why support for it is crucial.

The support that DSPT will get from the local community is absolutely critical, and the School wants to take steps to continue to grow it. But as the School moves forward, it also will be casting a wider net that extends beyond our local area. The Annual Fund campaign will continue that growth by targeting alumni and members of communities in other parts of the nation and overseas. Tapping new sources is especially important in times of economic hardship because it enhances the School’s prospects for success.

Sunday in Spain will reach out to members of the community, who might not think that they have the financial wherewithal to make meaningful gifts, by explaining that giving at any level is helpful and appreciated. The event will seek to underscore the real-life impact of donations, including by giving lay and religious students the opportunity to tell how they have benefited from the support of the community.

With your support, DSPT has made great strides in the past years, but it is just a beginning. The School, more than ever, needs your endorsement of our future efforts and your assistance in enabling these efforts in ensuring that we sustain our mission going forward.

For more information on supporting DSPT, please visit our “Support DSPT” page in our website.

The 2nd Annual DSPT Golf Tournament is less than 2 months away!

On Monday, September 21, you will have the opportunity to enjoy a round of golf with friends and make a difference for graduate education at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (DSPT). Play 18 holes, sponsor the event and promote your business to people from all over the Bay Area, or just join us for dinner and a raffle. Raffle prizes include vacation packages, electronic devices and more. All of the proceeds will go directly to providing our students with a solid, affordable academic foundation for their life’s work. Sponsorship levels range from Table Sponsor for $250 to Title Sponsor for $5,000. Registration is $150 per player. Substantial discounts are available for 2 or more foursomes.

Please visit us at www.dspt.edu or call 1-888-450-3778 to register today.

New Chair of the DSPT Board of Trustees

At the April meeting of the Board of Trustees, Eileen K. Bitten was elected Chair of the Board of Trustees, succeeding Robert Andres, who served for four years as Board Chair. Eileen joined the Board in 2006, and has served on the audit committee and the development committee, which she has chaired.

Eileen’s professional background includes over thirty five years of Human Resource Administration in both private and public sector organizations, thirty years of which was at the executive level. She was involved in policy formulation and implementation of programs covering compensation, selection, training, employee relations, employee benefits and affirmative action. She has served as representative on numerous task forces and special committees at the local, state and national levels.

Eileen brings to DSPT an extensive experience on other boards. She has served: as President of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources, Western Region; as a member of the International Executive Council, International Public Management Association for Human Resources; as Chief Executive Officer for Civil Service Boards serving three separate jurisdictions; as Vice Chair, Board of Directors, Community of Harbor Bay Isle; as Member, Board of Directors for Battered Women’s Programs Southern Alameda County and as Member, Board of Directors of CLASS, a community based organization which interacts with the Port of Oakland and the Oakland Airport.

Eileen is particularly interested in the role of the Board of Trustees in assisting to formulate long and short range strategic goals in support of the mission of DSPT, in securing the financial resources necessary for the school to carry out its mission, in enhancing the visibility of the school within the Catholic community, and in the institutional evaluation of the school in the light of its mission.

We deeply appreciate Eileen’s commitment to DSPT and her willingness to undertake the further responsibility of chairing the Board of Trustees.

Reflections on Salesian Retreat led by Fr. Michael Sweeney, O.P.

by Fr. Timothy Ploch, SDB
Originally published in the July 6 2009 edition of "In Touch"

The first [Salesian] retreat of the year was concluded last Friday. For me it was an exceptional blessing. Three Rivers is a gorgeous set­ting for a retreat experience, except per­haps, if you’re like me, for the heat... Of particular meaning for me was the chance to spend some time with so many confreres from all over the province.

The preacher was Fr. Michael Sweeney, OP, President of the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (DSPT) in Berkeley. WOW! He admitted that he came to us and to our documents, which he had obviously read thoroughly, as a visitor. Some visitors come and go clueless, but Michael brought a depth of religious life, philo­sophical training, and theological grounding rarely heard from most visitors.

Here are some of the points he emphasized that will stay with me for a long time. The Salesian pro­gram of spiritual and apostolic life expressed in Don Bosco’s motto, Da Mihi Animas, Cetera Tolle, Michael saw with such fresh eyes. He brought out new aspects that only helped to understand our own GC26 in a deeper way. He saw DMACT as a bold prayer to God telling him what we want from him, a mystical experience of the apostolic mission (Da Mihi Animas) coupled with a robust as­ceticism (Cetera Tolle).

Our charism was given to Don Bosco by the Holy Spirit for the good of the whole church. Now it resides in the Salesian Society as a whole and in the local fraternal and apostolic community, not in individuals. Thus if the young are to be introduced into what Salesian is all about, it has to be through a community, regardless of how “charismatic” an individual Sale­sian may or not be.
There are three aspects to our charism: the call to holiness, the call to communion, and the call to ap­ostolic witness. With almost poetic flights of philosophy, Michael led us to understand that to seek souls is to allow God to save them. To be saved means to be safe, to have a place, to have a voice. Is that not precisely what we are called to bring to the young and the poor, to make them know they are loved, saved?

Don Bosco anticipated Vatican II with his notion that lay and consecrated alike could share the charism. It is not a mat­ter of we SDBs having a charism for the non SDBs, but rather SDBs and lay people together having it for the young and the poor.

I’m not doing Michael justice with these brief reflections. You had to be there! I hope, with his permission, we will be able to make his insights available to the whole Salesian Fam­ily in published form.

August 2009:Faculty News

Fr. Bryan Kromholtz, OP, assistant professor of theology at DSPT, recently published “La résurrection au dernier jour selon saint Thomas d’Aquin” (Revue Thomiste 109 (2009), pp. 55-78), a study of St. Thomas Aquinas’s theology of the general resurrection. The French-language article is based on his recently completed doctoral research at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Fr. Bryan’s doctoral dissertation (written in English) is currently under consideration for publication.

Alumni Profile: Colleen Power, MA Theology, Religion and Art (2007)

I came to DSPT from Fort Worth, TX determined to break out of my hermit-like habits and immerse myself in both the school and church communities. I had no idea how successful I would be. Before my first day of classes, I was hired as Scott Connolly’s events assistant and worked with him to plan and host most of the school’s events. As I got better at defrosting Tuesday lunches and filled more bellies with warm food, it seemed that I became better known. I started out as "The New Fred" (Fred Rodriguez was Scott’s assistant in the years before my arrival), but by the end of the first year had earned my own name and was elected Student Body President.

It was the year that the school was in Diaspora. The staff and some of the faculty had offices, but there was no centralized building for classes or events. I helped create a student lounge in the front apartment at the Le Conte housing and worked with a great council of Dominican brothers and lay students to build community and foster a sense of school unity within our diverse population.

When I graduated from DSPT in 2007, diversity was a hot button issue because of our WASC accreditation. Now due to current events at the GTU diversity rears its head as a hot button issue once more. With a superficial glance, it might seem to the outsider that there is a lack of diversity on our campus. To the contrary, I discovered that our population of students, faculty, and staff is very diverse, and building community here is an interesting challenge. In our community of scholars we have bio-chemists, lawyers, business executives, bankers, physicists, and poets (just to name a few). Lay and religious, philosopher and theologian…all come here in search of the Truth or at least to grasp some aspect of it; and the papers and theses that have been produced here express insights on vast number of topics. Many of our students use their degrees to work in the church or to teach, but some of our graduates have taken more unusual paths. Whether they are heading to law school, working with a signing gorilla, or dressing opera singers in mullets and fat suits, our alumni carry with them the knowledge and experiences gained at DSPT. They go out into the world to be witnesses of their faith and education.

After graduating with honors from DSPT, I travelled the country with a small theatre show called The 3 Redneck Tenors. I designed costumes and ran wardrobe. Before and after the show, I would explore whichever small town we were performing in. Sometimes I just took in the scenery, but I often found I had the opportunity to be a witness to my faith and education by being open to the new people I met. Our show took us from small towns such as Albemarle, NC and Redding, CA to big cities like Baltimore, MD and Las Vegas, NV and I discovered that most people have a real need to talk about their faith and their worldview. I credit the diversity of ideas and scholarship that is integral to education at DSPT for providing me with the courage and tools I’ve used in talking with others and helping them to broaden their understanding of God and life.

In the 2009-2010 school year, I am returning to the DSPT as the new Director of Students Services and Office Manager. I am excited to have the opportunity to help the students, faculty, and staff at the school come together and continue to build community. I look forward to seeing how our community of scholars has grown in the past two years and what new and different experiences, traditions, and ideas this year’s student body will bring.

A Culture of Philanthrophy: The Path From Evangelical Protestant to Dominican Priest

By Fr. Raphael Mary Salzillo, OP

My name is Fr. Raphael Mary and I have been a priest for about a month and a half. I did my philosophical and theological studies at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, CA. I graduated at the end of May and was ordained a priest just a week later. After a whirlwind vacation of visiting family and friends, I arrived at my new assignment – Blessed Sacrament Parish in Seattle. I am really only a “baby priest” and have a lot to learn. But I would like to share with you a little of my journey and how Our Lord brought me to this point.

My path to the priesthood has been a long and winding one. I grew up in an Evangelical Protestant family, in a little town on the Oregon coast. It was through my mother that I first became interested in Catholicism, at the age of fifteen. Through a long and turbulent process of wrestling with God, I finally decided to become Catholic. Little did I know where this road that I was grudgingly setting out on would one day lead me!

At the age of sixteen, just one year after becoming Catholic, I had a spiritual experience during the Holy Mass that made me suspect that God was calling me to the priesthood. I rejected it out of hand at the time. Even though I loved God very much, I had no desire, nor was I willing to give my life to Him in that way.

As a teenager, I was far from being spiritually or intellectually mature enough to understand clearly what being Catholic meant. I like to say that I became Catholic at fifteen and then spent the next eight years trying to figure out what I had done! Fortunately the Holy Spirit was there every step of the way to nudge me in the direction He wanted me to go (there were times that nudge was less gentle than at other times – the Lord always seems to know just how much force to use).

I studied Applied Physics and was working on my PhD when God started to soften my heart and open me to the possibility that I was being called to the religious life and the priesthood. Thankfully, He put just the right people around me to encourage and support me in this vocation.

It was eight years ago that I finally answered the call by entering the Dominican Order as a novice at St. Albert Priory in Oakland. I made my Simple Profession at the end of my novice year and then began what would be six years of graduate study in philosophy and theology at the DSPT.

As a student at DSPT I found myself engaged in a community of scholars pursuing studies solidly rooted in the Catholic faith and seeking to provide answers to the concerns of our time. The school makes no bones about being faithful to the Magisterium of the Church, while at the same time reaching out to engage in dialogue with many different viewpoints and ideologies. St. Thomas Aquinas is the guiding light and the starting point for both philosophy and theology at DSPT. The school is animated by a conviction that the truths of reason and faith that St. Thomas illuminated so well are still both relevant and necessary in the modern world. Ultimately, the mission of DSPT is to evangelize our culture – to bring the light and truth of Christ to a world that so often seems to have turned its back on him.

My life has changed so suddenly in these past days. Celebrating the Mass daily, hearing confessions, and preaching are all new and fresh for me and I hope they remain so, even as I grow in age and experience. Through it all, I am profoundly grateful for the education I received at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology. DSPT is truly a gem and an oasis in a time when the dictatorship of relativism seems to be so powerful.

There are many others continuing on a similar path toward the priesthood right behind me. So that these students and future priests may enjoy the same solid academic experience I have benefited from, I ask you to consider prayerfully what you can afford to give to the School. Please consider donating your time and your talents or make a contribution to the Annual Fund. When you give of your time or your money to the Dominican School you are directly helping to form the future leaders of the Church, both priests and laity.

I ask for your prayers at this exciting and complicated time as I begin my priesthood. May Our Lord richly bless you and your family and draw you ever closer to Himself.

In Christ,
Fr. Raphael Mary Salzillo, O.P.

DSPT on Local TV

On June 21, 2009, Fr. Michael Sweeney, OP, President of the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (DSPT), and Sr. Marianne Farina, CSC, assistant professor at DSPT, were interviewed on the MOSAIC television program of CBS affiliate KPIX-TV. MOSAIC is a community service news program devoted to discussing events and programs of faith communities in the Bay Area. Fr. Michael and Sr. Marianne discussed the Faith in Human Rights program (www.dspt.edu/humanrights/index.html) and the creation of an Interfaith Coalition for Human Rights that was formed in order to continue the study, dialogue and action begun in the project.

The other program guests were Rachel Biale, Program Director of the Progressive Jewish Alliance, and Som Pourfranzeh of the Center for Islamic Studies of the GTU. The panelists discussed the relationship between human rights and responsibilities and explored ways that religions can dialogue with groups who educate and advocate for human rights in the Bay Area, throughout the country, and around the world.

The program guests also shared how the Interfaith Coalition for Human Rights would help to generate creative discourse about human rights by inviting representatives of various constituencies such as social organizations, action groups, faith communities, seminaries, and academic institutions, to continue the study and dialogue about human rights issues and concerns. The panelists noted that the coalition has identified three important next steps:

1. Invite other faith communities, social organizations, theological centers, and academic institutions to help plan and participate in the coalition.

2. Foster a sense of community among these groups as we investigate human rights issues together and coordinate action steps to educate the public and advocate for human rights.

3. Continue the activities begun with the 2009 Interfaith Project, and seek ways to broadcast these events through various forms of social networking on the internet.

KPIX-TV will rebroadcast this MOSAIC program on August 9, 2009 at 5:00 a.m. and a follow-up interview with Fr. Michael and Sr. Marianne will take place on November 8, 2009.

A Sabbatical Experience: Fr. Michael Dodds, OP

Fr. Michael Dodds, OP, is completing a sabbatical year, which included visits to the Dominicans at Blessed Sacrament Priory in Seattle; Blackfriars Hall in Oxford, England; the Albertinum in Fribourg, Switzerland, and San Esteban Priory in Salamanca, Spain.

Though Seattle was having one of its snowiest winters in many years, he braved the blizzards to visit family and give three lectures. He spoke to the G. K. Chesterton Society on "Evolution's Causal Chain: Could Chesterton Be the Missing Link?" At Blessed Sacrament Parish, he talked on "Minds, Brains, and Human Wholeness," and at St. Joseph's Parish in Issaquah, he gave an evening reflection on "Finding Christ in Advent." A version of the Blessed Sacrament talk was published as "Hylomorphism and Human Wholeness: Perspectives on the Mind-Brain Problem" (Theology and Science 7 (2009): 141-62).

The snows continued at Oxford, but didn't keep him and his sister, Teresa, from seeing the sites of the city. He stayed there from January to April and was invited to give two lectures, titled "Aquinas, God and Time," and "Unlocking Divine Causality: Aquinas, Contemporary Science, and Divine Action." The latter was published in Angelicum 86 (2009): 67-87.

In Fribourg and Salamanca (where all was sunny and mild), he continued working on his basic academic project for the year, a book tentatively titled, "Unlocking Divine Action: Contemporary Science and Thomas Aquinas," which he hopes to have ready for publication by the fall.

Joan Underwood Anthenien (1927 - 2009)

by Fr. Richard Schenk, OP

One of the most esteemed members of DSPT’s community of scholars died on June 5 at her home in Orinda after a long illness. Joan Underwood Anthenien had worked in various administrative capacities during decisive years of the transformation and development of the DSPT’s presence in Berkeley. In 1992 she was awarded the degree of Doctor honoris causa in humane letters from DSPT in recognition of her many and profound contributions to the academic life of the school.

Joan had been a neighbor of St. Albert’s Priory and an active member of the Dominican Laity since she and her husband had moved into the Rockridge neighborhood with their growing family in the mid-1950’s. After St. Albert’s College joined the Graduate Theological Union in 1964 as its first Roman Catholic institution, the administrative responsibilities associated with the studium had increased sharply. The Regent of Studies, who still exercised the duties of the President, was provided with the help of a secretary. Joan assumed these duties as secretary to the Regent in 1971. In 1976 the administrative offices and classrooms were moved from the Oakland campus to Berkeley, and the offices of Regent, Dean, and President were soon distinguished. Joan became the Registrar and later the Dean of Students at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, as it was known from 1978 on.

Joan contributed in vital ways to the establishment and expansion of the Berkeley campus, its increasing involvement in the GTU community, and its growing incorporation of non-Dominican faculty and students. Her unique combination of hard work, amicable service, academic interest, Christian faith and genuine humanity facilitated greatly the success of this transition. During these years Joan also found time to finish the degree at the University of California at Berkeley in English Literature that she had begun prior to the births of her six children. The Doctor honoris causa corresponded to the end of Joan’s active service at DSPT, but she remained connected to the school by many bonds of friendship and by frequent participation in academic events. Her Requiem was celebrated by friars, family, friends and colleagues at St. Albert’s Priory Chapel on June 12.

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Joan Underwood Anthenien’s Commendation for her Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa

Loving mother, faithful wife, woman of faith, student of life and letters, sterling model of dedication and generosity, helper and guide to students and faculty, loving friend of the Dominican School. The Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology at the Graduate Theological Union salutes and thanks you.

Since your first encounter with the Dominicans in 1956 until this very hour you, and indeed your whole family, have been a vital part of the lives of many who wear the habit of St. Dominic. In 1971 you began a lasting relationship with the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, then St. Albert's Collage. First as secretary to the then Regent, Fr. Janko Zagar, your responsibilities grew as the school itself became not only a House of Studies for the Western Dominican Province but also a Center of Studies embracing a wide spectrum of students, both women and men, lay and religious. As Registrar, you rendered invaluable service to the school during its years of growth as a member of the Graduate Theological Union through your efficiency and meticulous attention to detail. Diplomat as well as mother in your work as Dean of Students, your warmth and personal concern for each student made all feel welcome, cared for, listened to, and loved. Your understanding and encouragement, your friendly advice and ready humor have seen many-a-student through their arduous academic work and many-a-teacher and administrator through their sometimes laborious tasks.

Our presence here this evening, and the spiritual presence of so many more who treasure you as one of the bright memories of their years at the school, bear ample witness to our esteem for the counsel you have provided, the dedication you have shown, and the example you have given not only in your work but more profoundly in your life as mother, wife and committed laywoman in and for the Church. In the words of one of our recent graduates, "Joan is a great woman of God!”

So it is this evening, the Dominican School takes pride in recognizing your tireless dedication, your inspiring gifts, and loving example. In gratitude and joy then, in virtue of the authority invested in me by the Board of Trustees of the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, I am happy and honored to confer on you, Joan Underwood Anthenien, the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Sponsorship Opportunities: 2nd Annual DSPT Golf Tournament – Tee It Up For Truth

Each one of our students has a unique vocation - a life-long work they are called to - and it is our mission to provide them with a solid academic foundation so they can fulfill that work. Support our mission today by sponsoring the 2nd Annual Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (DSPT) Golf Tournament on Monday, September 21 at the Oakland Metropolitan Links. Sponsor the event or gather your friends for 18 holes, a great meal and the fellowship of a community that makes a difference for our future.

Your sponsorship will promote your business to hundreds of people from the greater Bay Area as you broadcast your logo at the event. Sponsorship levels range from Table Sponsor for $250 to Title Sponsor for $5,000. Registration is $150 per player. Substantial discounts are available for 2 or more foursomes. Please visit us at http://www.dspt.edu/ or call 510-883-2085 for more details.

New Program Survey: Master of Theological Studies (MTS)

The Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology is looking for people to participate in a survey intended to evaluate the current demand for a possible new graduate program – Master of Theological Studies (MTS).

The MTS degree is designed for women and men who have professional experience (a minimum of two years in their chosen field) and seek to enhance their contribution to Church and society by augmenting their primary profession with theological study. The program is intended to provide students with a foundation in interpretive skills so that they can integrate their professional experience with the mission and tradition of the Church. The MTS will, like all programs offered by DSPT, be grounded in official Church doctrine and based on traditional Dominican heritage. The program will not require a thesis, but rather a pre-approved, alternative project will be accepted for evaluation.

If you are interested in participating in the survey, please visit www.dspt.edu for details or contact the Academic Dean, Fr. Chris Renz, OP, at crenz@dspt.edu.

New at DSPT: On Facebook? So is DSPT!

The Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology has a new presence on the social networking site Facebook (www.facebook.com). You can now “become a fan” of DSPT’s page, making it easier for you to be updated about exciting news and events at DSPT. Once you become a fan, you can also leave comments on DSPT’s “wall,” post your own photos from DSPT events or tag your friends in the photos we post, start or participate in discussions with other “fans,” or post links that you think would be of interest to the DSPT community.

Become a Fan of DSPT today!

July 2009: Faculty and Alumni News

From May 26 - 28, Fr. Richard Schenk, OP, professor of philosophy and theology at DSPT, attended the annual meeting of the Academy of Catholic Theology in Washington, D.C. The ACT was founded in 2007 as a theological society seeking to foster discourse among representatives of the various theological subdisciplines and neighboring philosophical inquiry. The ACT currently has about 70 members, of whom Fr. Richard is the only member teaching at a school west of the Continental Divide. Fr. Richard was also the founding president, followed first by Bruce Marshall (Southern Methodist U.) and now by Robert Sokolowski (Catholic University of America). The theme of this year’s discussion was "The Trinity and the One God," with presentations by Bruce Marshall, Gary Anderson (Notre Dame), Denis Farkasfalvy (U. of Dallas), Robert Wilken (U. of Virginia), Brian Daley (Notre Dame), Sandra Keating (Providence College), Gregory LaNave (Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C.), Robert Barron (Mundelein), and Robert Sokolowski. Fr. Richard presented the laudatio for Professor Robert Spaemann (Munich), who received the ACT’s annual John Henry Newman Medal for Distinguished Achievement.

Fr. Bryan Kromholtz, OP, assistant professor of theology at DSPT, is assisting with preaching and sacramental ministry at Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage from June 12 to July 10. He was previously Parochial Vicar at Holy Family Cathedral from 2000 to 2002. He recently offered the “Dominican Forum” there for two evenings of lecture and discussion on the Resurrection of the Dead, including a talk on June 16 titled, "Already or Not Yet? The Moment of the Resurrection of the Dead," and another on June 23 called, "Finally Raised: Resurrection on the Last Day according to St. Thomas Aquinas."

From June 22 to 25, Fr. Albert Paretsky, OP, adjunct professor of theology at DSPT, offered a series of seven talks titled “The Voice from the Whirlwind” at the Vallombrosa Retreat Center in Menlo Park, California. The talks were sponsored by the Office of Ongoing Formation for the Clergy of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The individual talks were titled: “Creation and Salvation: God’s Word and man’s response. From first disobedience to restoration of Israel,” “Creation and Law: Community and Covenant. The People are the locus for the holiness of God and the Decalogue is the sign of his presence,” “Psalms: What is man that you are mindful of him? Israel returns the Word to God in prayer,” “Proverbs and Sirach: The feminine mystique. Holy Wisdom is the manifestation of God’s better half,” “Amos: ‘A Famine of hearing the words of the Lord.’ Humanity having abandoned Grace confronts the raw power of God,” “Elijah and Job: The Voice from the beyond the World. Problem of theodicy and God’s absence,” and “Jeremiah: ‘You seduced me, God.’ The vicarious suffering of the impassible God.”

Fr. Hilary Martin, OP, emeritus professor at DSPT, has returned to Melbourne in Australia for the following semester. He will be teaching at the Yarra Theological Union and will continue his ongoing study of Aboriginal religion. The "Message Stick" placed in our chapel in May is a reminder of DSPT's connection with the Aboriginal people of Australia. Fr. Hilary will be visiting an Aboriginal community with a long and interesting history in the Northern Territory. He can be contacted at hilary@australia.op.org or at 816 Riversdale Rd, Camberwell, Vic. 3124, Australia.

Do you have some news to be reported in the “Faculty and Alumni News”? Send an e-mail to advancement@dspt.edu.

Alumni Profile: Fr. Bernhard Blankenhorn, OP, M.A. in Philosophy (2002), M.Div. (2006)

After two years of full-time parish ministry and one year of doctoral studies at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, I have come to a deeper appreciation for my intellectual formation at DSPT. Two aspects of that education stand out as unique to DSPT.

First, I learned to read St. Thomas Aquinas through his biblical and patristic sources, and to situate him in the context of the 13th century. This historical reading of Aquinas brought his texts alive. Rather than simply learning a set of doctrinal conclusions, I came to recognize his unique place in a living theological tradition. This historical approach to Aquinas also enabled me to place him in conversation with contemporary thinkers, from Martin Heidegger to Karl Rahner and Hans Urs von Balthasar. Aquinas became a resource to engage new philosophical and theological ideas.

Second, DSPT prepared me to minister as a Catholic priest and theologian in the secular world. On the one hand, the school’s curriculum immersed me deeply in one philosophical and theological tradition (that of St. Thomas Aquinas), thus giving me a set of theological tools to attain a fuller understanding of the mysteries of the faith (the Trinity, Christ, creation, divine providence and human freedom, etc.). On the other hand, DSPT’s Berkeley setting exposed me to the secular academy. My electives at UC-Berkeley put me in contact with non-Christian philosophers and historians. This interchange pushed me to translate classical philosophical and theological ideas into language accessible to outsiders. I also came to a better comprehension of the hopes, questions, struggles and doubts that can lead to faith or be obstacles to it. My intellectual formation left me with deep theological convictions, the instruments to articulate them, and a desire to learn from those who do not share them. For all of that, I am most grateful.

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July 2009: A Culture of Philanthropy

2008-2009 Annual Fund Recap

The 2008-2009 fiscal year has come to a close, and it is with heartfelt gratitude that we acknowledge our benefactors, alumni, students, faculty, staff, families, friends, Dominican communities and parishes, and long time DSPT supporters who have made contributions through the 2008 Annual Fund, Sunday in Spain Auction, Golf Tournament, and the Alemany Dinner. As of June 30, 2009, through the fundraising efforts this year and the support from the Western Dominican Province, the school brought in a total of $617,121.76 in unrestricted and restricted gifts.

The past academic year has been exciting and your support has helped bring many blessings to us and to the DSPT community as a whole. 13 lay students graduated this May, moving on to do good work in the world. Two Dominicans were ordained priests and will serve the Church. The Human Rights Symposium initiated a critical dialogue that is addressing Human Rights Concerns in our communities and around the world. We are happy to report that we have increased our donor base and have made significant technological and branding improvements that have strengthened the school’s marketing and outreach efforts. Your support has made it possible for us to sustain low tuition rates, provide outstanding academic programs, offer scholarships, and provide tuition assistance for students in financial need.

Thank you isn’t enough to recognize all that you have done for us. Look to our growth and progress and know that we are steadfast in our efforts to put your generous gifts to work and are grateful for your prayers. The collaborative efforts of the entire DSPT community will be reflected in our 2008-2009 Annual Report.