At the most recent meeting of the Philadelphia Society, I was pleased to meet Virginia Arbery, who teaches at Wyoming Catholic College (WCC). We struck up a conversation, and I convinced her to write an essay for the Martin Center about her unique institution. We have just published it, and here’s the link.
The college is academically serious, but also aesthetically serious. Professor Arbery explains that students face a rigorous curriculum that includes Latin and poetry, and also physical challenges of hiking the the Wyoming mountains.
Students must relinquish their cell phones at the beginning of the semester and not one of them spends federal student-aid money. The latter decision was, of course, necessary to protect the school against federal meddling.
Arbery writes,
Our curriculum is the most challenging I have known, requiring eight semesters of theology, six of philosophy, eight of humanities, six of mathematics and science, music, art history, and, yes, Latin. Our enrolled students and graduates include Catholics, Protestants, and other believers, as well as agnostics; all thrive in the intellectual environment cultivated by this curriculum. The great questions of life are asked and addressed seriously and dispassionately.
What does the school cost? Around $33,000 per year in total. Sounds like a very good educational investment.
WCC is a terrific addition to the range of choice available to American students. Let us hope for many more schools that place academic excellence first and shun federal funds.