CDU Blog

Dr. Christine Wood organized an exhibition titled “Miraculous Events: Science
Tests Faith” for the Archdiocese of Hobart in Australia from June 15 to 26, 2022.
Evidence from miraculous events that have occurred around the were explored and discussed by medical experts. The event included interactive and documentary-style presentations of more than 20 miracles, including eyewitness testimonies and findings from scientific investigations.

Wood, director of the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, says, “The miracles include inexplicable healings from deafness, blindness, cancer, paralysis, and even death. It’s a fascinating tour-de-force of God’s personal engagement in the world today and man’s response to God.”

For more information about this exhibition, visit https://hobart.catholic.org.au/miraculous-events-science-tests-faith/.

I was recently invited to speak on behalf of CDU at the International Federation of Catholic University’s General Assembly, which is held every three years on various continents. In 2022, Boston College will host the event. I will participate in a panel on August 3 on how Catholic universities serve the common good.

We have a great opportunity to highlight our mission to provide the world with knowledge and study of Catholic doctrine, simply through access to the internet. Our low cost tuition enables students of all faiths and no faith to earn academic credit through high-quality, inspiring courses taught by renowned faculty at a
very affordable cost. In addition, CDU has a growing robust prison ministry program using digital tablets approved for use in state and federal prisons. In addition to awarding noncredit certificates, CDU has awarded bachelor’s and master’s degrees to qualified inmates with appropriate credentials. They have been some of CDU’s most talented graduates, earning academic credentials through our paper-based academic curriculum that is used only in prisons across the USA.

Another example of CDU’s commitment to the common good is our mission scholarship program that awards scholarships to qualified candidates in mission dioceses to assist bishops without adequate financial and academic resources. A number of Catholic dioceses do not have Catholic institutions of higher education or the resources to educate their students at Catholic universities. CDU offers full mission scholarships for the CDU graduate program to prepare leaders to serve in these dioceses.

In addition, CDU is committed to military personnel worldwide who serve in remote and dangerous parts of the world to defend our country and help those in need. Tuition reductions and partnerships with the Department of Defense and the Veterans’ Administration make CDU’s education affordable and accessible.

CDU’s latest initiative for the common good is a new curriculum in Catholic Social Teaching to serve the growing number of Hispanic Catholics who will be the future majority of the Catholic Church in 2030. CDU will develop a new AA curriculum with a concentration in Catholic Social Teaching as well as a graduate certificate in Catholic Social Teaching for ordained and lay ecclesial ministers. This $1.4 million dollar program is partially funded by the Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative available through CDU’s Graduate School of Theology, which is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools.

CDU is creating a library web presence that is accessible to prospective students, and librarian Stephanie Garrett is participating in industry events. Both of these efforts are strengthening CDU’s position as a top provider of high-quality online theological education.

CDU’s new online library redesign and infrastructure will launch on July 1. Users will find it easier to navigate and search new interactive resources, new content and databases, and tutorial guides. Going forward, the library will not only be accessible from the Canvas Learning Management System but also from the cdu.edu website, making it possible for the library to play an active role in attracting prospective students. Integration of Worldcat Discovery enables CDU to participate in reciprocal borrowing programs with other academic institutions and theological library consortia as well.

On June 1st, the librarian presented a virtual Lightning Talk at SCELC’s Colloquium 2022. “Online Library Services to Distance Education Students 50+” was focused on best practices for providing library support and instruction to digital immigrants. Garrett also won a grant to represent CDU at the American Theological Library Association’s 2022 Annual Conference in Baltimore in June, which is a highly regarded professional development event for theological librarians from across North America and around the world.

CDU alumna Kathleen Cos and current students Maritza Mejia, Vincent Estevez, and Don Sinak enjoyed a class discussion with Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio  at the Dead Sea during the Holy Land Pilgrimage, which had record attendance this year. Don’t miss out on the next inspirational journey.

 Watch your email for news about future pilgrimages.

The Honorable Susan R. Malone, distinguished member of the CDU Board of Trustees, is being honored on July 17th and 18th at Quantico and then at FBI headquarters for being one of the first two female FBI agents. She is being recognized on the 50th anniversary of her start date as an agent at the FBI. Congratulations!

On April 28th, noted art historian and speaker Amy Giuliano explored the theological and liturgical meaning of Michelangelo’s masterpiece, the Pietà. She holds degrees in Art History from Yale University and Theology from the Angelicum in Rome. If you missed her fascinating talk, view the recording at https://youtu.be/_PNTHrNQG8Q.

Making the Case for Christ, offered August 8–29, 2022, will help Catholics strengthen their faith and develop objective and persuasive reasons for belief, which are valuable for sharing with those who may doubt the historical reality, divinity, or resurrection of Jesus. This continuing education seminar will help attendees better perform the Spiritual Works of Mercy to “counsel the doubtful” and “instruct the uninformed.” Making the Case for Christ is one of six online Apologetics seminars offered. Students who complete all six will earn a Non-Credit Basic Certificate in Apologetics.

The course instructor, Steven R. Hemler, is President of the Catholic Apologetics Institute of North America (CAINA). He is author of a trilogy of apologetics books, The Reality of God: The Layman’s Guide to Scientific Evidence for the Creator, Search No More: The Keys to Truth and Happiness, and Catholic Stories of Faith and Hope: How God Brings Good Out of Suffering.

Learn more and enroll today at https://www.pathlms.com/cdu/courses/42287.

Jason Eugea, of Groom, Texas, is CDU’s Outstanding Student of the Year. Each year CDU’s accreditor, the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, recognizes an outstanding graduate from each of its member institutions. Jason graduated summa cum laude in 2021 with a BA degree in Theology and a GPA of 4.01. Distance education helped Jason to earn his degree while working full time. He originally started the program because of his passion for Christ, but he also
knew it would give him a head start when beginning deacon formation in the Diocese of Amarillo, where he is currently an aspirant for deacon candidacy. He is on track to be ordained in December of 2025. After graduation, Eugea left his factory job in Amarillo to begin working for Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ Ministries (see crossministries.net). He performs maintenance tasks, runs the gift shop, and best of all, gets to talk to people about his faith all day.

Rev. Asadur M. Minasian (MA in Theology, 2021) was ordained to the Sacred Order of the Priesthood in the Armenian Catholic Church on December 19, 2021. Father Minasian is the Pastor of St. Mark’s Armenian Catholic Church in
Philadelphia. He said that Dean Dr. Peter Brown specifically and the CDU staff were a big part of this joyous occasion. “CDU was the final step in my educational journey to achieve this,” said Father Minasian.

We welcome Mike Grasinski to the faculty. Grasinski, President of Evangelization for the Ruah Woods Institute, has spent years becoming immersed in the intellectual and spiritual riches of the Church. Grasinski is a BA in Theology graduate of Catholic Distance University. He earned his MA (Philosophy) at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, and is working toward his Ph.D. in Philosophy at St. Patrick’s Pontifical College, Maynooth, Ireland. Specializing in Philosophy, Christian Anthropology, Phenomenology, and Metaphysics, he will be teaching the undergraduate course PHIL 235 Philosophy of the Human Person.

CDU welcomes Dr. Tamra Fromm, who will be teaching RELED 560 Principles of Catholic Education and directing the MA in Theology and Educational Ministry practicum. Dr. Fromm holds a doctorate from Maryvale Institute/Liverpool Hope University in the United Kingdom. Her professional background with the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Detroit includes service in seminary administration, diocesan marketing for Catholic schools, and young adult ministry. In addition to teaching for CDU, Dr. Fromm is an instructor of the Old Testament with the
Catholic Biblical School of Michigan. She is also an associate lecturer on catechesis and research methods with Maryvale Institute, where she supervises deacons and lay students involved in parish research projects. Previously, Dr. Fromm taught various courses on Theology and Sacred Scripture for Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. Dr. Fromm is the author of Pre-Evangelization and Young Adult “Native Nones”: A New Paradigm for Reaching the Unchurched (Pickwick Publications) and numerous articles on John Henry Newman, evangelization, and Scripture for academic journals and blogs.

We congratulate Cynthia Stalcup (MA in Theology, 2020), who is now serving as Director of Continuing Education.

Brian Maher has been appointed Treasurer and Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees. We are grateful to Trustee Harry Wilkins for his years of service as Board Treasurer.

Paul Schott Stevens has been appointed Vice Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee.

CDU strives to remain the most affordable option for online Catholic higher education. A Church Ministry Grant is available to current undergraduate and graduate students accepted into an academic degree or certificate program who are actively working or volunteering in church ministry in their parishes or dioceses. These per credit hour discounts are available through the end of the 2022-2023 academic year.

The application fee will be waived through the end of the year to encourage more students to apply. And, to celebrate our approaching 40th anniversary, new academic students completing a first course in fall 2022 will receive a $40 discount on their next course.

Contact admissions@cdu.edu for more information.

“Professor Harvey’s class, ENG 111, was perhaps one of the best college
classes I have taken in my life. The reading selection was outstanding, and
not only did it make me further appreciate some classics I already loved,
his class introduced me to new and beautiful works. Professor Harvey set
up the class in a way that bridged the distance between classmates and
teachers. It’s because of great teachers like him and schools like this that I feel truly blessed.”
--Shawn Davila, BA in Theology

The number of prisons CDU serves through digital courses has doubled to 223, but not all prisons have access yet. Several hundred incarcerated students each year access the faith through paper correspondence courses offered by CDU... and they are grateful.

“I must express my gratitude to you for everything CDU has done and
continues to do for my own spiritual growth via the Advanced Catechist Correspondence Program in which I am enrolled. Your program is an integral part of my journey to grow the seed of faith planted in me and to truly submit
my will to the will of the Father through Christ and His Church. My faith is
deepened through the intellectual growth that the study of the truths of our
Catholic faith produces. I am an undeserving, yet loved recipient of His grace
through your efforts. I thank you for your willingness to serve the least among
us.” --D.D., Louisiana, 2022

Your support makes a positive difference in prisoners’ lives every single day. CDU is blessed to serve free, faithful courses to 1,100 incarcerated brothers and sisters daily because of the generosity of The Order of Malta Federal Association, The John C. Fricano Foundation, and donors like you. Thank you!