CDU Blog

Gala Fun!

Posted by Catholic Distance University on Sun, Mar 08, 2020 @ 02:24 PM

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The Gala on November 16, 2019, at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., was a huge success. We are thrilled that you celebrated with us. More than 250 of our friends and supporters gathered to honor The Most Reverend Christophe Pierre, the Diocese of Brooklyn, and our graduates.

If you missed seeing the photos, visit here. You can download photos without charge. Call Annie at 443-257-6022 for assistance.

We hope you are making plans to join us at our 2020 Gala. Look for the “save the date” announcement soon.

New Part-time Staff Members Are Welcomed

Posted by Catholic Distance University on Sun, Mar 08, 2020 @ 02:20 PM

Please join us in welcoming Mrs. Kathleen Mallow-Sager, who is now assisting CDU part-time in graphic design and website support. Kathleen holds an MFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MA in Teaching from Mount St. Mary’s University.

“CDU prepared me well to serve the New Evangelization,” she says.

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Mary McKay, a 2018 CDU MA in Theology graduate, is now engaging and supporting our students as an additional student life coordinator. Married for almost 43 years, Mary has 4 adult children and 6 grandchildren and volunteers in a variety of adult faith formation endeavors at two different parishes.

Dr. Gara’s Biology Course Promotes Faithful Teachings

Posted by Catholic Distance University on Sun, Mar 08, 2020 @ 02:13 PM

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We are excited to welcome Dr. Catherine Gara to the faculty as an undergraduate biology professor. Dr. Gara holds a doctorate in biology from The Johns Hopkins University. She is a freelance science writer who specializes in “translating” scientific research into lay language. She also has a broad range of professional and volunteer teaching experience from the elementary to undergraduate levels. In March 2019, Dr. Gara will teach General Biology, a course that will combine an exploration into the order and complexity of living beings by studying the continuum of life’s components from molecules to organisms. She will do this in a manner that is mindful of the dictum of Augustine and Aquinas that God is known not only through the Book of Revelation but through the book of nature as well. Appropriate attention will be given to the theological ramifications of topics, including evolution and assisted reproductive technologies. Students who complete this course will be able to apply their knowledge to better understand their moral dimensions and gain a new appreciation for the world around them.

CDU Pursues ATS Accreditation

Posted by Catholic Distance University on Sun, Mar 08, 2020 @ 02:09 PM

Catholic Distance University is hosting a comprehensive evaluation visit for initial accreditation by the ATS Commission on Accrediting from March 16 to 19, 2020. The purpose of this visit is to verify that the school meets all applicable Commission Standards of Accreditation.* Comments regarding how well the school meets those standards and/or demonstrates educational quality may be sent to the ATS Director of Commission Information Services (accrediting@ats.edu or 412-788-6505) at least two weeks before the visit. Comments may also be sent to Mary Kate White, Director of Communications (mwhite@cdu.edu or 304-724-5000, ext. 717). All comments will be shared with the onsite evaluation committee.

To read the standards, click here. 

Course Update

Posted by Catholic Distance University on Sun, Mar 08, 2020 @ 02:04 PM

SCRPT 662 The Synoptic Gospels has been updated with newly written lectures, audio lectures, and online discussions. This course, taught by Father John Worgul, offers an in-depth study of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke that present the life, Passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus. The course also explores the differences in these three gospels. CDU is committed to continuously improving curriculum for its students.

Dr. Marie Nuar Promoted to Faculty Chair

Posted by Catholic Distance University on Sun, Mar 08, 2020 @ 02:01 PM

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In January, faculty member Dr. Marie Nuar returned from Rome to begin working at CDU full time as faculty chair, a role that combines teaching and administrative responsibilities. Dr. Nuar has spent over 11 years overseas, living mostly in Rome and Cairo and Old City Jerusalem. She holds a doctorate in Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome, an MA in Theology and Christian Ministry from Franciscan University of Steubenville, an MA in Jewish Studies from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and an STL in Missiology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Dr. Nuar also has a license in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome and is proficient in Arabic.

 

“I really like the interaction and sharing what I have learned with students. To me, learning information without sharing it is like a lake that has an inflow but no outflow. It becomes stagnant and in the extreme, dead, like the Dead Sea,” 

 

Dr. Nuar taught as an adjunct professor of theology at St. John’s University, Rome campus and as an adjunct professor for The Catholic University of America’s Rome campus. She also enjoyed working as a guide for the excavations beneath St. Peter’s Basilica. With expertise in Judaism, Islam and Christianity, she says, “the details can make a large difference. For instance, all three religions would posit that the world and humans are created by a benevolent God, that there are objective standards that he puts forth for what is right and wrong, that human beings have freedom to follow these standards or not, but that they will be judged accordingly.”

“The difference lies in Christianity’s belief in the Incarnation,” she explains. “’The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that He, made man, might make men gods” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Opusc. 57, 1-4.) She adds, “And that makes all the difference.”

Faculty Members Attend Conference

Posted by Catholic Distance University on Sun, Mar 08, 2020 @ 01:53 PM

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Four faculty members, Dr. Peter Brown, Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Dr. James Kruggel, and Prof. Steven Najera, traveled to lovely San Diego, California, to attend the annual joint conference of the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Academy of Religion. The conference provided an opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, friends, and peers from other universities and to hear presentations from professors all around the world on the latest developments in Biblical and theological scholarship.

Pronto Takes Communication to the Next Level

Posted by Catholic Distance University on Sun, Mar 08, 2020 @ 01:49 PM

To facilitate communications between students, faculty, and alumni, CDU is adding Pronto, an app that works with Canvas, to move discussion forums directly to smartphones. Pronto is an interactive application that can function like text messages, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Periscope live-streaming all rolled into one.

CDU students will soon also be able to form their own interactive groups for focused communication in particular areas of interest.

Dr. Josh Hood Named Digital Humanities Fellow

Posted by Catholic Distance University on Sun, Mar 08, 2020 @ 01:41 PM

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Congratulations to long-time Greek and Latin professor Dr. Josh Hood for being named a partial fellow in the Digital Humanities at Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute for the upcoming semester. Dr. Hood received the fellowship for his excellence in teaching ancient languages and skill in teaching online. Digital Humanities is a long-running, many faceted project to use modern computing, databases, and interactive software to improve and modernize teaching and research in humanities and humanities- related fields including theology, philosophy, and ancient languages.

CDU Ranks Among The Best!

Posted by Catholic Distance University on Sun, Mar 08, 2020 @ 11:49 AM

According to Online Schools Report released in January 2020, online education is getting bigger and better—and giving traditional college campuses a run for their money. Leading education researchers have predicted that online education will surpass traditional learning within a decade.

In addition, theology is a popular online degree. There are over 50 bachelor’s and 50 master’s degrees offered online. Online Schools Report ranked the top MA theology degrees available today using six data points to determine the quality of the online program. Three data points focus on the quality of the school, and three focus on the quality of the individual program. OSR included these programs in the ranking because their students graduate with minimal debt and have a great support system while in school. These schools are dedicated to delivering a quality theology degree online.

Out of all the accredited Christian theology schools, CDU’s MA Theology degree ranked #11. CDU is the second top Catholic theology program offered online. CDU is ranked before University of Dallas (#17), Liberty University (#19), St. Joseph’s College of Maine (#23), and Franciscan University of Steubenville (#31).

Out of all the accredited Christian theology schools, CDU’s MA Theology degree ranked #11.
CDU is the second top Catholic theology program offered online.