History of St Albert's College
THE COLLEGE
The all-male University College , now known as St. Albert 's College, was founded in 1969 and then extended in 1971. In 1976 the College became co-educational and now houses up to 300 male and female residents, including advisors.
St. Albert's is integrated in every way possible with the life of the University and with the other seven Colleges, which are all owned and operated by the University itself. St. Albert 's has always had the freedom to develop its own Catholic character without being separatist or exclusive - it is therefore open to people of all faiths.
The Dominican Fathers filled the roles of Master and Dean and went on to provide academic, pastoral, spiritual and moral support to thousands of university students over the next 33 years. They supplied vision, leadership and management to the College through many difficult and trying times, as well as providing the base of operations for the University Chaplaincy.
During its history there has been four Dominican Fathers who have served as Masters of the College, these were:
- Fr. Tom Fitzgerald, A.O., O.P., (1969 -1977) - the first Catholic Chaplain at the university.
- Fr. Denis Hallinan, O.P., (1978 - 1986 & Semester 1, 2000)
- Fr. Ian Waite, O.P. (1987 - 1989)
- Fr. Kevin Saunders, O.P., (1990 - 1997)
At the end of 1997 the shortage of suitable priests in the Dominican Order saw the position of Master of the College passed onto lay staff. Since then there have been three lay Masters:
- Dr. Paul Thornton (1998 - 1999)
- Mr. Sean Brito-Babapulle (Semester 2, 2000 - 2003)
- Mr Geoff Johnston (2004 - current)
Supporting the Master and the College is the position of Dean of Students. Since 1970 there have been 14 Deans:
- Fr Aquinos McComb,O.P. (1970-1973)
- Fr. Denis Hallinan, O.P. (1974-1975)
- Fr. Jordan Perry, O.P. (1976-1980)
- Fr. Robert Mutlow, O.P. (1981)
- Fr. Roman Carter, O.P. (1984-1985)
- Sr. Patricia Madigan, O.P. (1987)
- Fr. Gregory Davies, O.P. (1988)
- Mr Stephen Lovell-Jones (1989-1990)
- Mr Greg Eddy (1991-1995)
- Mr Stephen Skinner (1996-1997)
- Ms Kate Pigram (1998-2001)
- Ms Shelley Thornton (2002-2003)
- Ms Tania Willis (2003-2004)
- Ms Pip Kneen (2005-2008)
- Ms Rebecca Wood (2009-current)
THE COLLEGE SHIELD
The heraldic shield of St. Albert 's College combines elements of the shields of the University of New England , of the Dominican Order and elements symbolising St. Albert the Great.
In the upper right hand corner is the tudor rose of the U.N.E. and in upper left the black-and-white cross and fleur-de-lis of the Dominican Order. The mitre and twin towers of sanctity and learning symbolise St. Albert the Great as scholar and as Bishop of Regensburg.
The motto is Veritatis Studium Prosequi "To pursue the study of truth".
The College flag, flown on various significant days during the year, features the Dominican cross of alternate black and white with fleur-de-lis points, derived for the crest of the Order and St. Dominic's family and the field quarters bisected with alternating red and green panels in the colours of the College.
THE DIOCESE
On the weekend of 27-28 October 2001, the Dominican Fathers ended their formal association with the College, after 33 years of dedicated service to St. Albert 's College. They handed over the leadership and administration of St. Albert 's College to the Catholic Diocese of Armidale, under the guidance of Bishop Luc Matthys.
The Master of the College now leads and administers St. Albert 's, on behalf of the Bishop, under the guidance of the College Council.
THE DOMINICAN ORDER
Saint Dominic founded the Order of Preachers (O.P.) in 1216, not long after the rise of the first universities. His first friars were sent to the renowned university centres of Paris , Bologna , Valencia and Oxford . Some Dominicans soon became Professors of Theology and Philosophy in these and other centres of learning. Over the next 800 years the Dominican Order became associated with higher learning and tertiary education.
Spanish Dominicans set up universities in the New World and in the East, including the University of Santo Tomas in Manila . In Australia , the Dominicans operate two University Colleges - John XXIII College at the Australian National University , Canberra and Mannix College at Monash University , Melbourne . The Dominican Order also provides the Catholic Chaplains in these two universities.
The association between the Dominican Order and Diocese of Armidale extends back 50 years. In 1954, the Provincial of the Dominican Order, Fr. Cussen O.P., at the invitation of the Bishop, appointed Fr. Tom Fitzgerald to the University (UNE) Chaplaincy. Then in 1966, the Bishop of Armidale, Most Reverend E.J. Doody, invited the Dominicans to establish a University College on the campus.
SAINT ALBERT THE GREAT
Albert was probably born sometime around 1200 and died in 1280. In the course of his long life he made major contributions to a wide range of subjects, as well as carrying out the arduous duties of Prior Provincial of the Dominican province of Teutonia. For two years he was Bishop of Regensburg but he resigned so as to be able to continue his scholarly work. He has been described as the most influential scientist of the Middle Ages. He was canonised in 1931 by Pope Pius XI and declared a Doctor of the Church.
Albert studied in Padua as a young man and entered the Dominican order in 1223. He made his novitiate in Cologne and from 1228 to 1240 lectured in several priories in Germany . From 1242 to1248 he studied in Paris and became Master of Theology, soon became famous as a teacher and again lectured in several German cities. Among his students in Cologne was Thomas Aquinas, called the "dumb ox" by his fellow students for his taciturnity; Albert recognised his ability and declared "one day the dumb ox will be heard by all the world". In addition to his teaching, Albert was frequently called upon to resolve ecclesiastical disputes, and this entailed long journeys on foot.
Albert had an encyclopaedic knowledge of logic, philosophy, theology and the natural sciences, including cosmology and psychology. He was a prolific writer and wrote approximately 70 books including about 22 on the sciences, mostly in the form of extended commentaries on the works of the Greek philosopher Aristotle. He is one of the few persons in history who excelled in philosophy and theology as well as the natural sciences. He was a keen observer, interested in everything in the natural world, the birds and flowers, rocks and minerals, and wrote books summarising all that was known at that time. He wrote on logic, the concept of time, the nature of being and action at a distance.
Many of his scientific writings took the form of extended paraphrases of the works of Aristotle, to which he made many additions to his own. He also experimented on animals to verify what he had read and thus became one of the pioneers of the experimental method. He recognised that logic alone is unable to lead to scientific knowledge; it is necessary first of all to make a large number of careful observations and experiments. Albert's writings are generally less well known than those of contemporary scholastics, but they contain much that is of enduring value that is still being uncovered and discussed by philosophers and theologians today.
As a philosopher, Albert faced the most urgent problem of his time, namely the assimilation of Greek and Arabic learning, then becoming known through new translations, by Western thought and more particularly by Christian theology. He believed that scientific knowledge and philosophical reasoning is good in itself, and must first be understood and then integrated with existing knowledge.
He was a great synthesiser rather than an original thinker and his works contain a detailed and ordered account of the best secular knowledge of the time in the context of the Christian world view. Such was his fame that he was called Albert the Great even before his death and it was most appropriate that he should be proclaimed Patron Saint of Scientists.
Replica of the
seal of Saint Albert