Greenville, South Carolina, a scenic city in the foothills of North Carolina’s Saluda Mountains, is growing rapidly. And so is the Catholic population in the area, as local parishes swell with new members, both with converts and those who have relocated from around the country.
Seeing a need for a tradition-oriented Catholic college in the Upstate of South Carolina, four Catholic leaders have announced plans to launch Rosary College, a two-year college in the Benedictine tradition, with classes to begin in September 2024.
Fr. Dwight Longenecker, pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Greenville and author of twenty books, first introduced the idea. Fr. Longenecker, a convert from the Anglican church, has a wife and children; his teenage son Elias was able to complete several college courses while still in high school, allowing him to begin his college career at the College of Charleston in the second semester of his sophomore year.
“Wouldn’t it be great,” Fr. Longenecker thought, “if students in our Catholic high school could follow that path, earning college credits even before their high school graduation?”
A friend of Fr. Longenecker, well-known author Joseph Pearce, agreed. The two brought together other friends: Dr. R. Jared Staudt, director of content for Exodus 90 and instructor at St. John Vianney Seminary, and Dr. Michael Shick. Dr. Shick, who has assumed the title of Rosary College’s President and Chairman of the Board, brings a wealth of experience in the military, academia, and project management, as assistant professor of project management at Western Carolina University and as founder of Rosemet LLC, a company which helps individuals and organizations to achieve project excellence.
Goals and first steps
Dr. Shick talked recently about the developing plans for the new school, and about Rosary College’s commitment to provide a spiritual vision rooted in the liturgy, community, the prayerful study of Scripture, and work. “Our primary objective,” he said, “is to ensure that Rosary College is an authentically Catholic school with a strong Catholic identity, offering a rigorous education at an affordable price.”
Beyond that, Dr. Shick emphasized the need for objective truth. “There seems to be a push [in society today] for subjectivity as holding primacy over objectivity. It’s one thing if we’re talking about our favorite color; but it’s something else when it comes to objective truth. Someone can truly believe that gravity doesn’t exist–but if he takes a step off the wrong spot, he learns very quickly that gravity is a real thing.”
Students at Rosary College will begin their college studies with a foundation based on Catholic tradition, including the wisdom of the early Church Fathers and the great thinkers from all of time. This fall, the college will start off the semester with a Benedictine styled conference/orientation, helping students in the local area to better understand the Benedictine charism.
In the months leading up to the official opening, Dr. Shick reported, Rosary College is finalizing its curriculum, opening its enrollment process, and establishing its relationship with the diocesan Presbyteral Council, with the Dean of the Greenville Deanery Fr. Jay Scott Newman, and with the local parishes.
The curriculum includes 60 credit hours, leading to an Associates Degree of Catholic Studies in Integrated Humanities. The plan is to offer for-credit courses, as well as an auditing option for adult learners. While still in the planning stage, Rosary College has reached agreements with Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, Florida, and with the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
Both four-year universities have signed articulation agreements with Rosary College to accept transfer credits which can be applied toward a four-year bachelor’s degree.
The goal, Shick explained, is to share their curriculum with other Catholic colleges which are listed in the Newman Guide, the directory of faithful Catholic colleges published by the Cardinal Newman Society, and to reach agreements with other schools, as well. At the same time, an effort has begun to apply for inclusion in the Newman Guide.
Admission Is now open
Dr. Shick reported that the admission process for September 2024 has already begun, and interested applicants can complete the necessary paperwork via the college’s website.
“Right now, we’re opening it up to high school students to take courses,” Shick reported. “This is a particularly good fit for home-schooled high school students. We plan, too, to offer an on-line option, by which people from all over the U.S.–those who don’t necessarily have access to an authentically Catholic program in their local communities–can register and attend online.”
Even before the admission process was activated, Shick reported, they had received emails from Texas, Washington State, and other places. While admission is in the early phase, Dr. Shick anticipates that they can attract students, ranging from high school age through adulthood and even the senior years, from around the country and even from other countries.
Another plan the founders hope to put in place is the option of dual enrollment. That is, students may be able to earn credits for high school and college concurrently. Dr. Shick reported that they are moving toward an agreement with Our Lady of the Rosary’s classical school, and hope to discuss the possibility of dual enrollment with other Catholic schools in the Greenville area.
There is much to do in the launching of a new college and most of the work, Dr. Shick reported, has been undertaken at a grass-roots level by lay members of the community who are reaching out to their friends, helping to spread the word about this exciting new effort, enlisting volunteers, web design, and fundraising.
Rosary College does not yet have a brick-and-mortar campus where students can gather. In its first semester, some classes may be offered at Christ On Main, a new Catholic information center which is opening on Main Street in downtown Greenville. Classes which attract a larger enrollment may seek meeting space in a local parish or other available location.
Tuition for classes at Rosary College, Dr. Shick reported, will be $450 per credit hour. That means, Shick says, that a student will be able to earn an Associates Degree for around $27,000. There will also be scholarship opportunities, such as programs for large families and tuition grants awarded to students with high grades.
Potential students, parents, and others who would like more information can learn more at the college’s website, or by email at contact@rosary.college. Those who would like to help support the energetic new project can make a donation here.
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….. Grace abounds!
Catholic Education in Solidarity with the Poor
“A preferential option for the poor” should be maintained in our Catholic schools and colleges. If we find that we cannot afford to keep our schools open to the poor, the Church should be ready to use its resources for something else which can be kept open to the poor. We cannot allow our Church to become a church primarily for the upper classes while throwing a bone to the poor. The priority should be given to the poor even if we have to let the middle-class and rich fend for themselves.
Practically speaking, the Catholic schools and colleges must give up general education in those countries where the State is providing it. The resources of the Church could then be focused on Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and other programs which can be kept open to the poor. These resources could then be used to help society become more human in solidarity with the poor. Remember, the Church managed without Catholic schools for centuries. It can get along without them today. The essential factor from the Christian point of view is to cultivate enough Faith to act in the Gospel Tradition, namely, THE POOR GET PRIORITY. The rich and middle-class are welcome too. BUT THE POOR COME FIRST.
I wonder what the tuition will be? Since they are just starting, they don’t have an endowment or wealthy alumni to provide funding for financial aid. Perhaps some rich Catholics could step in?