Atchison, Kansas
www.benedictine.edu
Overview
Atchison, Kansas, has been known historically for its railroad identity (Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe) and as the birthplace of aviator Amelia Earhart in 1897. It also has long been a center for Benedictine life, hosting separate orders of Sisters and Brothers.
St. Benedict’s Abbey launched a college for men in 1858, and the Benedictine Sisters of Mount Saint Scholastica opened a women’s college in 1923. The two institutions merged to form the coed Benedictine College in 1971. Based on the date of its earlier founding, the college celebrated its sesquicentennial in the 2008-09 academic year.
Nestled along the Missouri River in a town of 10,000 people, this college attracts students from 37 states, Puerto Rico and 19 other countries to study the liberal arts amid a Catholic culture. Undergraduate enrollment for fall 2008 was the highest in the college’s history and represented the 10th consecutive year of enrollment growth.
The college’s vision statement is clear: “Benedictine College’s vision is to be one of the great Catholic colleges in America.” The college’s success is built upon its growing national reputation for academic excellence and a commitment to student formation based on the Rule of St. Benedict. In 2004, the college earned recognition when 1964 alumna Wangari Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize, making Benedictine the only Catholic college in the United States with a Nobel Laureate. In 2007 the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, declared Benedictine the premier Catholic college in the Midwest.
There are 39 majors running the gamut from traditional liberal arts disciplines to athletic training and youth ministry. Three of these majors—international studies, international business and foreign languages (covering two or even three languages and study abroad)—were added in fall 2007. The college also is starting a pre-nursing program in the 2009-2010 academic year and expects to offer a bachelor of nursing degree the following year.
In addition, there are opportunities to pursue many minors and double majors. Graduate programs include business administration and school leadership.
Benedictine Colege’s tuition rates have been slightly higher than average private college tuition in Kansas, but that average is very low compared to other states. Benedictine’s price tag has, in fact, been far below the national average for Catholic colleges and other private institutions. Total average cost for tuition, room and board in 2009-10 was $26,425. Financial aid and a number of merit-based scholarships make this a very affordable option for most families.
Governance
Twenty-five of the 35 members of the board of trustees are lay representatives. Both of the two Benedictine orders have three members on the board.
Stephen Minnis, a Benedictine College alumnus, has been college president since 2004. He was formerly a prosecuting attorney and corporate lawyer, earning his Juris Doctor at Washburn University. He and his wife Amy—also a Benedictine alumna and college professor of math and computer science—have three children.
At his installation, President Minnis was presented by the co-chairs of the board with symbols of the institution’s four pillars: representing Catholicism was a cross; Benedictine heritage, the Medal of Saint Benedict; liberal arts, a copy of Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman’s book The Idea of a University; and residential life, a drawing of a new residence hall with a verse from the Acts of the Apostles.
Public Identity
“The second you step on campus,” one student told us, “you realize it is a Catholic college.”
Benedictine repeatedly refers to its four pillars. For example, as part of the recruitment for assistant professors of English, accounting and chemistry in early 2009, the website notes: “Candidates must support the Catholic, Benedictine, Liberal Arts and Residential mission of the College.”
The college works to create a Catholic culture in its spiritual life, curriculum and student activities. The Benedictine influence remains strong, as is seen by the annual Solemnity of the Passing of St. Benedict Mass on March 21. Bishop Robert Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph was the principal celebrant of the 2006 Mass. College chaplain Father Meinrad Miller, O.S.B., was the 2009 celebrant.
The Catholic mindset starts at the top; among other things, the president holds a morning Rosary group that attracts students. The Benedictine monks are reported to be resurgent, a definite presence and viewed as role models. Faculty and staff attend campus Masses.
A new Marian Grotto opened was recently constructed with concrete that was made with holy water from Lourdes. According to President Minnis, “This Grotto will be a visible, enduring symbol of our gratitude for our Blessed Mother’s special intercession and protection throughout the years.”
The students also make an important contribution to the Catholic environment. After grieving over the death of Pope John Paul II, 300 students held a “Pope Party” to celebrate the election of Pope Benedict XVI in April 2005. Another example is the Lenten tradition where students perform an outdoor Living Stations of the Cross.
Speakers on campus tend to be solidly orthodox Catholics, often part of the John Paul the Great Speaker Series. These include papal biographer George Weigel, FOCUS founder Curtis Martin, Dr. Scott Hahn, Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., and Christopher West of the Theology of the Body Institute. Blessed Mother Teresa visited the campus in 1981.
Benedictine’s 21st annual Social Justice Week in February 2009 featured a well-attended speech by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See’s apostolic nuncio to the United Nations. Also present were three of the four bishops of Kansas: Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas; Bishop Paul Coakley of Salina; and Bishop Michael Jackels of Wichita.
Academics
About 60 percent of the courses that student take must come from various categories the college has designated for its educational plan. There are eight core courses all students take, including classical philosophy and introductory theology.
Students have broad choices from several liberal arts fields in order to fulfill 11 “foundation” courses. They also select eight courses from numerous offerings under the heading “skills and perspectives.”
The theology major attracts nearly 10 percent of the student body. But students can choose from most traditional majors—there are 39 overall, a large number for such a small college. An engineering physics program was added in 2008, and a nursing program is forthcoming.
All those who teach theology at BC are required to receive the mandatum, which prompted one alumnus to tell us, “Everyone is a straight arrow.” This characterization extends to both the theology and philosophy departments. Another student said, “All were excellent men inside the classroom as well as in their personal life.”
Although many of the faculty in theology and philosophy received plaudits, two consistently surfaced in our research: Dr. Mark Zia, assistant professor of religious studies, and Dr. Jean Rioux, the philosophy chair who has been at Benedictine since 1986. Also noted was Dr. Michael King, an assistant professor of business and department chair, who brings Catholic and ethical examples into his teaching. These and many other faculty members and their families participate in student events.
A prolific writer and theologian, Dr. Edward Sri, left the college in 2006 to join the graduate Augustine Institute in Denver, but is currently back as a visiting professor.
The faculty lineup also was enhanced in 2008 when Dr. Susan Orr, a senior official at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, became an administrator and political science faculty member. She has long been a pro-life advocate, inside and outside the government.
Benedictine encourages various international exchange opportunities and a formal study-abroad program centered in Florence, Italy. Here, too, the college emphasizes its four pillars.
The college began a partnership with the University of North Dakota (UND) in fall 2009 to provide students with the opportunity to earn ABET-accredited degrees in chemical, civil, mechanical and electrical engineering while attending Benedictine. Students will obtain two degrees, a liberal arts degree from Benedictine College, which includes the complete core of liberal arts coursework, and an accredited engineering degree from UND.
Since 1990 an Institute for Religious Studies has worked with the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, to provide lay ministry training and formation for teachers in the Catholic schools. Courses are offered in 10 Kansas cities and participants can pursue three separate certificates. The institute was recently “reformed and subsumed” into the Benedictine College School of Faith.
To help ease them into college life, first-year students participate in a two-day advising program in the spring or summer before beginning their studies. The program is called Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR).
Spiritual Life
President Minnis has said, “There are some who say young people don’t care about their faith any more. Let them come to Benedictine College where 150 to 200 of our students attend daily Mass and almost 250 of them participate in voluntary Bible study through the FOCUS [Fellowship of Catholic University Students] program.”
In a 2008 interview with ZENIT news service, Archbishop Naumann said, “I am edified by the number of students at Benedictine who go to Mass daily, receive the sacrament of penance regularly, and spend time in Eucharistic Adoration.”
There are 10 Masses per week at St. Martin’s Chapel. In addition, another 23 Masses are offered at the St. Benedict Abbey Church, the Mount St. Scholastica Chapel and St. Benedict’s, the nearby parish. One student reported, “You have your options from a very conservative Mass [Abbey] to a more charismatic Mass with Praise and Worship [the youth-based campus chapel]. There is nothing irreverent and you can find one that fits your spirituality.”
Mass attendance is high, especially those emphasizing charismatic worship. Students are very engaged in assisting with all aspects of the campus chapel. In addition to serving as Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers and lectors, there also are contingents for distributing fliers (Tack Ministry), working on the website and keeping the chapel clean (Chapel Dusters).
Seven Benedictine fathers are assigned as chaplains or assistant chaplains. Priests and monks are readily accessible for consultation or spiritual direction, and opportunities for confession are available beyond the daily scheduled time. Eucharistic Adoration is held on Wednesdays and Thursdays at St. Martin’s Chapel, Saturday evenings at the Abbey, and perpetual Adoration is offered at St. Benedict’s parish.
Benedictine College has a very active campus ministry. There are an athletes-in-training scriptural study program, prison ministry, social justice programs, targeted events such as Guadalupe Day and Day of the Dead, a weekly Wednesday Skip-a-Meal fasting program, Daughters of the King (Catholic fellowship among women), international mission trips and many other activities.
The FOCUS group involves about one-fifth of the undergraduates. FOCUS, which is an acronym for Fellowship of Catholic University Students, is a national Catholic evangelization organization that started on the Benedictine College campus in 1999. It now sends missionary teams to 39 campuses, most of which are secular. Six Catholic colleges, including Benedictine, have FOCUS chapters.
Retreats are numerous, prompting one student to say, “The joke on campus is ‘Which retreat should I go on this week?’” These retreats include those targeted for men, women and freshmen as well as an Abbey Triduum Retreat during Holy Week. Also prominent are evangelization programs and charismatic initiatives such as “Rave N Worship.”
The St. Gregory the Great vocational discernment group claims more than 30 former members who have entered religious life since 2000. According to Father Brendan Rolling, O.S.B., director for ministry and mission, “Over 30 students and alumni have entered active discernment for the priesthood, brotherhood and sisterhood in the past two years.” On average, each year there is at least one new Benedictine novice.
“There is so much spiritual activity going on at the campus, it is unbelievable,” said one graduate student living on campus—and this is a typical comment of current and former students. One 2004 alumna described her Catholic experience at Benedictine by saying, “Mass, campus ministry, FOCUS—from day one I was like a kid in a candy store!”
Student Life
Students can join 33 clubs. In addition to campus ministry activities, organizations include a Knights of Columbus council and the faith-sharing Koinonia. The Chamber Singers have performed at the Vatican. There is a student government association, student ambassador program and campus activities board.
There also is an active Communion and Liberation Group that meets weekly and a Hunger Coalition organization that serves close to 400 meals to the Atchison community each week.
The Ravens Respect Life group is the college’s second-largest student club. They make visits to abortion clinics, provide baby products to infants and mothers through a Ravens Aid for Moms (RAM) program, and sponsor pro-life speakers such as former Human Life International president Father Matthew Habiger, O.S.B.
Benedictine students also have participated in every March for Life in Washington, D.C., since it was begun in 1974. In January 2009, the Benedictine contingent reached a record number of almost 200. The campus is located 1,100 miles from the nation’s capital, making it an 18-hour bus trip. Students who were unable to attend participated in a 24-hour on-campus prayer vigil.
Ravens Respect Life joined with the FOCUS group in a “150-Day March for Life” in the fall of 2008 and early winter of 2009, in recognition of the college’s 150th anniversary.
The Student Life Office has an annual leadership seminar that seeks to form leaders of character and competence. In February-March 2009, 160 participants were trained to become resident assistants, orientation leaders, ambassadors and ministry leaders.
Students also participate in a vibrant intramural program and club sports such as rugby and ice hockey are available.
The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (N.A.I.A.), and has been a member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference since 1991. The Lady Ravens basketball team won the 2007-2008 conference title. The popular football team has won four HAAC championships. Football is played in a 3,000-seat stadium, recently named for coach Larry Wilcox.
Coach Wilcox’s commitment to the college is noteworthy. He is entering his 31st year as head football coach in fall 2009. Wilcox, who graduated from BC in 1972, donated his salary in 2004 to the building fund for the Amino Center, a sports training facility.
Residential Life
Benedictine has nine residence halls—four for women, four for men and one that is coed. The coed Ferrell Hall, a former 19th-century monastery building, separates genders by floor. There is a liberal visitation policy for all halls, and transgressors are punished with community service.
To assist in the process, chastity talks are given at the beginning of the year and there are groups that support men and women to lead chaste lives. The seven resident directors, one for each dormitory, are trained in Catholic classics, including the Order of St. Benedict and Ex corde Ecclesiae. The residence halls accommodate about 78 percent of the undergraduates.
Benedictine also has a household program, School of the Lord’s Service, where students live together and act and pray as a community. This is a joint initiative of the college, the Archdiocese of Kansas City’s Office of Evangelization and the Minnesota-based ministry of St. Paul Outreach.
The Residence Life Staff provides educational, service, spiritual and social programs each year in the residence halls. These programs are aimed to help foster the individual and community growth and educational goals of the residential pillar of the college. In one year, the residential staff held more than 500 programs.
Students report that sometimes there are tensions between athletes and other students. There also are some reports of drinking problems with students at off-campus parties.
All students have access to a part-time health center with a nurse who tends to routine health matters. A 96-bed community Atchison Hospital is located near the campus. More sophisticated medical care is available in Kansas City, which is about one hour from the town. There also is a counseling center staffed by three professionals.
The Community
Atchison is small-town America. Its charming Victorian houses and trolley tours highlight a low-key lifestyle. A major annual event is the Amelia Earhart Festival, which draws a big regional crowd in July. Crime is significantly below the national average, and violent crime is very rare.
Students have become involved in the community through the Hunger Coalition. Among its activities is the Skip-a-Meal program that allows students to forego a meal that is then donated by the cafeteria and distributed by students to needy area residents. Once a month, students venture to Kansas City.
In addition to Kansas City, students can easily reach St. Joseph, Missouri, which is about 20 miles across the state border. Local road transportation is good, and the Canada-to-Mexico Interstate 59 passes through Atchison.
For those traveling some distance, the principal access to Atchison is by way of Kansas City International Airport, about one-half-hour away.
The Bottom Line
While many Catholic colleges have de-emphasized their religious heritage, Benedictine College celebrates its Benedictine charism. The influence of the Benedictine monks is a very positive one.
The college, with the leadership of a faithful lay president, emphasizes its four pillars of Catholicism, Benedictine heritage, liberal arts and residential life. This permeates an institution where faith is promoted and respected. Perhaps nowhere is this more noticeable than in what appears to us as one of the most impressive campus ministry programs in the nation.
The quality of the key departments, the spiritual vigor and the family-like environment should be enough to encourage a high school senior to give Benedictine College a serious look.