Augustine College
{{Infobox university
|name = Augustine College
|image_name =
|motto = Credo ut intelligam
|motto_lang = la
|mottoeng = "I believe so that I may understand"
|established = 1997
|type = Private
|endowment =
|administrative_staff = 10
|faculty = 10
|president = John Patrick
|provost =
|principal =
|rector =
|chancellor =
|vice_chancellor =
|dean =
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|head =
|students = 10 to 22
|undergrad =
|postgrad =
|doctoral =
|profess =
|address = 152 Metcalfe Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 1N9
|coordinates = {{coord|45.4011|N|75.6884|W|display=inline,title}}
|campus = Urban
|colours =
|free_label =
|free =
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|fightsong =
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|affiliations =
|religious_affiliation = Non-denominational Christian
|footnotes =
|website = {{URL|https://www.augustinecollege.org/|augustinecollege.org}}
|coor =
|logo =
}}
Augustine College (AC) is a private ecumenical Christian liberal arts college in Ottawa, Ontario. Augustine currently offers two semester-long programs focused on the histories of science and the humanities in late and classical antiquity and in the modern era, respectively. AC operates on an unincorporated basis and without program accreditation,{{cite news |author=Elizabeth Payne |title=Augustine College secure despite change to charter, administrator says |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/augustine-college-secure-despite-change-to-charter-administrator-says|access-date=July 8, 2014|work=Ottawa Citizen|date=July 7, 2014}} but maintains transfer credit agreements with several other postsecondary institutions in North America.
History
AC was founded in 1997 in Ottawa by a group of university professors "disgruntled" by the fact that traditionally Christian ideals of education were "strangely missing from the curriculum of colleges and universities."{{cite web |title=Our History |url=https://www.augustinecollege.org/about/history/|access-date=June 30, 2021|website=Augustine College}} The group included John Patrick, then Associate Professor in Clinical Nutrition in the Department of Biochemistry and Pediatrics at the University of Ottawa (now retired), who currently serves as AC's President.{{cite web |title=About John Patrick |url=https://www.johnpatrick.ca/about/|access-date=June 29, 2021|website=JohnPatrick}} Other local university faculty at one time associated with AC have included Edmund Bloedow (University of Ottawa){{cite web |title=Edmund Frederick Bloedow |url=https://www.arbormemorial.ca/capital/obituaries/edmund-frederick-bloedow/29295|access-date=June 29, 2021|website=Arbor Memorial |type=Obituary}} and David Stewart (Trent University){{cite web |title=Trent University Saddened to Learn of the Passing of Dr. David Stewart on September 21, 2014 |url=https://www.trentu.ca/newsevents/newsDetail_old.php?newsID=8168|access-date=June 29, 2021|website=Trent University}} (both deceased), as well as Dominic Manganiello (University of Ottawa) and David Lyle Jeffrey (Baylor University), who co-edited the volume Rethinking the Future of the University shortly following AC's inauguration.{{cite book |editor=David Lyle Jeffrey |editor2=Dominic Manganiello |jstor=j.ctt1cn6t6p |title=Rethinking the Future of the University |date=1998 |publisher=University of Ottawa Press|doi=10.2307/j.ctt1cn6t6p}} AC drew media attention when its academic dean, Andrew Bennett, was appointed Canada's Ambassador of Religious Freedom in 2013.{{cite news |title=Christian college dean to head religious freedom office |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/christian-college-dean-to-head-religious-freedom-office-1.1351056|access-date=June 29, 2021|work=CBC |date=February 19, 2013}}
Academics
AC's promotional material frames the school's vision "to grow in wisdom and in virtue by exploring the riches of Western culture" as a response to perceived deconstructionist trends in mainstream academia, which "is often marked by suspicious attitudes and deconstructive approaches to the content of Western tradition."{{cite web |url=https://www.augustinecollege.org/about/vision/|access-date=June 29, 2021|website=Augustine College |title=Vision|date=March 2018 }} President John Patrick has elsewhere criticized contemporary universities for fostering what he sees as an increasingly "toxic environment" for religious students.{{cite news |author=Deborah Gyapong |title=Augustine College fighting the 'toxic' tide |url=https://www.catholicregister.org/features/item/23400-augustine-college-fighting-the-toxic-tide|access-date=|work=The Catholic Register|date=October 23, 2016}} Though AC does not "condemn critical engagement with ideas" as such, its programs are intended to present "the legacy of Western culture as something to be learned from, not only about."
According to its website, AC currently offers two separate, consecutive programs of study. The first of these runs from September to December and is focused on the "Ancient World." Students take courses on the histories of philosophy, science, literature, art, and Christianity, spanning the period from antiquity to the Middle Ages.{{cite web |title=The Ancient World: Programme I |url=https://www.augustinecollege.org/academics/programme-1/|access-date=June 29, 2021 |website=Augustine College}} The second program, running from January to April, is focused on the "Modern World." The historical focus of the courses remains the same and traces their subject matter from the period of the Renaissance down to the present day.{{cite web |title=The Modern World: Programme II|url=https://www.augustinecollege.org/academics/programme-2/|access-date=June 29, 2021 |website=Augustine College}}
AC does not operate under a provincial or territorial charter and is not listed as a member of Universities Canada. As such, its programs do not lead to the conferral of a degree and most North American universities do not count AC courses toward the requirements of an undergraduate degree. AC does, however, have individual credit transfer agreements in place with several universities in North America. These include Redeemer University,{{cite web |title=Transfer to Redeemer |url=https://www.redeemer.ca/admissions-and-financial-aid/transfer/|access-date=June 29, 2021|website=Redeemer University}} Saint Paul University,{{cite web |title=College Credit Transfer: Augustine College |url=https://ustpaul.ca/college-augustine-en-new?year=2019|access-date=June 29, 2021|website=Saint Paul University}} and Trinity Western University.{{cite web |title=Transfer Credit Tool |url=https://www1.twu.ca/undergraduate/admissions/transfer-students/credit|access-date=June 29, 2021|website=Trinity Western University}}
Weston Lecture
AC hosts an annual public lecture in Ottawa by a well-known Christian intellectual. The lecture series is funded by the Weston Family Foundation.{{cite web |title=The Weston Lecture |url=https://www.augustinecollege.org/news-events/the-weston-lecture/|access-date=June 29, 2021|website=Augustine College}} Past Weston Lecture speakers have included Peter Kreeft,{{cite web |title=Boston College professor tackles God's existence – and its proof |url=https://www.pressreader.com/canada/ottawa-citizen/20070330/282780647055931 |newspaper=Ottawa Citizen |access-date=June 29, 2021|date=March 30, 2007 |via=Press Reader}} Michał Heller,{{cite web |author=Aleksander Maciej Jabłoński |author2=Richard Sokoloski |author3=Jolanta Leśniak |title=Sprawozdanie z Działalności Oddziału Ottawskiego Polskiego Instytutu Naukowego w Kanadzie |url=https://halecki.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/2008-2009.pdf |website=Instytut Naukowy im. Oskara Haleckiego w Kanadzie |language=pl |access-date=June 29, 2021|date=2009}} John Behr,{{cite web |title=CV |url=https://frjohnbehr.com/cv/|access-date=June 29, 2021|website=FrJohnBehr}} and R. R. Reno.{{cite magazine |author=R. R. Reno |title=While We're at It |url=https://www.firstthings.com/article/2015/05/while-were-at-it-1 |magazine=First Things |access-date=June 29, 2021|date=May 2005}}
See also
{{Portal|Ontario}}
References
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External links
- [https://www.augustinecollege.org/ Augustine College]
- [http://augustinecollegeus.org/ Augustine College U.S.]
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Category:Christianity in Ottawa
Category:Universities and colleges in Ottawa
Category:Private universities and colleges in Ontario
Category:Unaccredited Christian universities and colleges
Category:1997 establishments in Ontario