Langley, British Columbia, Canada
www.rpcollege.bc.ca
Overview
In the 2007 Newman Guide we were pleased offer Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy as a faithful Canadian alternative to Catholic higher education in the United States. This year we are delighted to also recommend a western Canadian institution, Redeemer Pacific College—a one-of-a-kind Catholic college embedded within an evangelical Christian university.
Located outside of the small city of Langley, British Columbia, Redeemer Pacific is an “approved teaching center” within Trinity Western University. RPC is one of several constituent parts of the 47-year-old Christian university, the others of which are typical faculties or colleges such as business and education.
Trinity Western offers undergraduate degrees in 40 majors and post-graduate work in 16 fields. This private institution draws about 21 percent of its 2,700 undergraduate students from the United States, whose border is less than a half-hour south. It is located within the Vancouver, British Columbia, metropolitan area and is about 45 minutes from that major city.
TWU is a member of the well-respected U.S.-based Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. The mission of the CCCU, according to its website, is: “To advance the cause of Christ-centered higher education and to help our institutions transform lives by faithfully relating scholarship and service to biblical truth.” Aside from theological differences, Catholic families will be pleased with the emphasis of CCCU institutions on authentic Christian identity and attention to students’ moral development.
Redeemer Pacific College, founded in 1999, provides a program of Catholic studies within Trinity Western University. The college offers more than 25 courses for students dually enrolled at the college and university. The college is housed in one building, which includes a classroom, faculty offices, student lounge, supplemental library and a chapel.
“The mission of Redeemer Pacific College,” as explained on its website, “is to develop dynamic Catholic leaders through higher education. Men and women committed to lifelong Christian growth and intellectual formation who strive to bring to all whom their lives touch into vital relationship with the Lord and his Church.”
Among its core values are a commitment to Jesus Christ, support for scriptural authority and developing Catholic and evangelical ties. Perhaps it is not surprising that Redeemer Pacific academic coordinator Dr. Robert Stackpole has written, “Paradoxically, we can actually become better Catholics by humbly learning from devout, grace-filled Protestants!”
Entering its 10th year, Redeemer Pacific president Tom Hamel says the college “is still small and personal!” The 2008-2009 enrollment was 60 students, and there were five faculty members. About one-fifth of the students are from the United States, mostly from the West Coast.
In addition to its affiliation with TWU, Redeemer Pacific also has an “associate college” partnership with Franciscan University of Steubenville. This is as a result of its participation in Franciscan’s Christus Magister Foundation for start-up colleges. Two Franciscan faculty members serve on the RPC board of governors.
RPC does not offer its own degree, but courses can be applied to a degree from Trinity Western. Also, the college offers three certificates—liberal arts, theology and education—and its courses can be used to satisfy a new minor in Catholic studies in TWU’s religious studies department. We understand that the student retention rate is about 80-85 percent.
In addition, Redeemer Pacific provides coursework for a Catholic Teacher Education Program, in conjunction with Trinity Western. The program was described by Archbishop J. Michael Miller, C.S.B., Archbishop of Vancouver and former secretary of the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education, as “a wonderful opportunity to prepare teachers for our Catholic school system… in an environment which is Christian and within a context of a Catholic understanding of the philosophy of education.”
President Hamel proudly states that his institution is “the only Catholic college that is an affiliate of an evangelical university anywhere in the world.” And by all evidence, this seems to be a good and mutually supportive relationship.
There’s an added advantage for Americans: given a favorable exchange rate with Canada, Redeemer Pacific offers an attractive price. Total tuition, room and board in 2009-10 was C$26,250, or $24,124 in American dollars as of August 2009.
Governance
The college’s 10-member board of governors includes Monsignor Dennis Luterbach, a Vancouver archdiocesan official and former vocations director. The two Franciscan University members are Dr. Stephen Milectic and Dr. Andrew Minto, both professors of sacred scripture. Another board member directs faith formation for a parish in Mercer Island, Washington.
There also is a five-member advisory board, including a Trinity Western University dean. Dr. Scott Hahn, a convert to Catholicism, prolific Catholic writer and Franciscan University professor, serves as a special advisor.
Tom Hamel, 59, is the founding and only president of the college. A former recording artist and businessman, Mr. Hamel received his undergraduate degree from Trinity Western and did graduate work in theology at Franciscan University. He and his wife Diane have four children.
The chief academic officer is Dr. Robert Stackpole. Appropriate to the college’s unique circumstances, Dr. Stackpole is a former Anglican pastor who converted to Catholicism in 1994, then earned a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. As president of the John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy based in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, he is a leading authority on the Divine Mercy message and devotion initiated by St. Maria Faustina Kowalska.
Public Identity
The college notes that it “adheres to the authority of the Catholic Church in matters of faith and morals in accordance with Canon Law and the ‘General Norms’ of the Vatican document of 1990 Ex corde Ecclesiae.” Staff and faculty uphold the Magisterium and profess an oath of loyalty, and professors of theology have received the mandatum.
Former Archbishop Adam Exner of Vancouver was a pivotal supporter of the college in its formative stages. One of his successors, Archbishop Miller, said at a June 2008 dinner for the college, “It’s really a great blessing for us to have RPC in our midst as a Catholic college which is doing the Lord’s work. I pray that it will continue in the years ahead to mature, to grow in stature, to grow in wisdom, to grow like our Lord in grace. My God bless its every endeavor.”
Among other recent speakers are Dr. Peter Kreeft, the noted philosopher and popular writer from Boston College; Catholic evangelist Mark Shea; and Father Raymond De Souza.
Redeemer Pacific publishes a scholarly ecumenical journal, Fideles, focused on scripture, metaphysics and theology. Fideles also sponsors an annual symposium. The third symposium, held in March 2009 and entitled “The Roots of Western Culture,” brought scholars from throughout North America. The keynote speaker was Dr. David Walsh of The Catholic University of America, who spoke on “Socrates Meets Kierkegaard.”
Academics
Redeemer Pacific College classes are held in one building adjacent to the Trinity Western University campus. Through its “First Year Core Curriculum Program,” students can take four RPC courses each semester of the freshman year to meet the core requirements for a TWU degree. These courses emphasize “the Catholic heritage of faith and culture.”
To qualify for a minor in Catholic studies, students need to take 24 credits in religious studies courses such as those on the Old and New Testament, “Catholic Spirituality” and “Theology of the Body,” and philosophy courses, including those on St. Thomas Aquinas. The college consults with Franciscan University on Catholic content in courses.
The Catholic Teacher Education Program helps students study Catholic perspectives on the philosophy and practice of education, as part of the Bachelor of Education program at TWU.
Beyond the Catholic formation provided by Redeemer Pacific College, students complete their studies in TWU courses. TWU offers a wide range of majors in schools of the humanities and social sciences, natural and applied sciences, professional studies and performing arts, business, education and human kinetics (focused on physical fitness and coaching). TWU has a semester-long program at its Laurentian Leadership Centre in Ottawa for students studying Canadian government and a variety of study abroad programs.
All Redeemer Pacific professors make an annual oath of loyalty to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. Three of the five faculty members teach theology, and they have the mandatum. Among these are Dr. Stackpole and Christopher Morrissey, a specialist in Aristotelian Thomism.
Catholic students are awarded several scholarships. These include the Christifideles Laici Award, Father Gordon McKinnon Education Award, Christus Magister Award and Dr. Gordon and Annette Cram Award. The Pier Giorgio Frassati Pro-Life Scholarship, which commemorates a 20th-century beatified Italian, is given for pro-life contributions.
Spiritual Life
Redeemer Pacific has a 22-seat chapel where a Dominican chaplain offers several Masses during the week, hears confessions and leads monthly First Friday Adoration. Additional Masses are available at two area parishes, St. Nicholas in Langley and St. Joseph’s in Walnut Grove. Combined, these two parishes offer 12 daily Masses, two Saturday vigils and six Sunday Masses.
Students also go via shuttle bus to a Benedictine abbey, the Abbey of Saint Joseph of Westminster, at the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission, British Columbia.
TWU also offers a chapel and active Christian ministry, including a variety of guest speakers and musicians. Catholic families will want to prepare students to make good judgments about what activities are consistent with Catholic teaching and practice, but many students will find these ecumenical encounters to be uplifting and a healthy addition to the Catholic ministry.
Student Activities
Social activities at Redeemer Pacific include recreational events, such as informal games nights, scavenger hunts and cookouts. Students and faculty mingle at the sports activity called Bowlin’ with the Profs. Overall, there is an attempt made to foster a sense of community for the RPC students as a supplement to student activities at Trinity Western.
Students, though, are able to participate in university-wide activities, including a variety of clubs that are mostly related to academic disciplines, student government and campus media. The Spartans field men’s and women’s basketball, soccer and volleyball teams. There are also the typical diversions such as those reflected in Theatre at TWU, Jazz Night and intramural sports.
The campus is set in the shadow of the North Shore Mountains, offering opportunities for skiing and hiking. The 157-acre campus includes 60 acres of protected natural forest and a lake circled by hiking trails.
Residential Life
Redeemer Pacific students live in Trinity Western housing. Fewer than a third of TWU students (about 850) live on campus, although the university encourages it. One residence hall is set aside for first- and second-year female students; the remaining halls are co-ed, with men and women separated by floor or in suites with separate bathrooms.
Policies are said to support Catholic moral teachings. TWU requires all students to sign a statement, “Community Standards,” “that excludes premarital sex, the use of alcohol and other detriments to academic and spiritual life from their college experience,” according to Mr. Hamel.
The Community
Langley, with a population of 115,000, is less than one hour from the city of Vancouver and about 20 minutes from the Pacific Ocean. Among sites of local interest are the Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation, Fort Langley National Historical Site and the Langley Centennial Museum.
Major roads connect Langley with Vancouver. The Vancouver International Airport is a large and modern facility which served 18 million passengers in 2008.
The Bottom Line
Redeemer Pacific is guided by dedicated Catholics who seek to provide intellectual ballast to young men and women who want to live and share their faith in the world. It certainly helps that they draw inspiration and advice from Franciscan University of Steubenville.
The personal attention students receive is uncommon and refreshing among today’s colleges and universities. For all these reasons, Redeemer Pacific College is yet another affordable alternative for Americans seeking a solid Catholic education.