In 2022, the ACTC Undergraduate Conference was sponsored by St. Vincent College and held on their beautiful campus in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. St. Vincent College was founded in 1846 as the first Benedictine college in the United States.
According to their mission statement, “Saint Vincent College is an educational community rooted in the tradition of the Catholic faith, the heritage of Benedictine monasticism and the love of values inherent in the liberal approach to life and learning. Its mission is to provide quality undergraduate and graduate education for men and women to enable them to integrate their professional aims with the broader purposes of human life. The programs, activities and encounters that make up student life at Saint Vincent College encourage the intellectual gifts, professional aptitudes and personal aspirations of students to mature harmoniously.”
Twenty-Five undergraduates gathered at St. Vincent for our conference. They came from American University, Ashland University, Baylor University, Concordia University – Irvine, Mercer University, Mississippi State University, St. John’s College, and St.Vincent College.
In addition to the conversations about core texts and education that we foster through our formal sessions, undergraduate students who attended the 2022 conference had an opportunity to visit the Benedictine Abbey, enjoy cultural events on campus, explore the natural beauty of the Alleghenies.
Our plenary speaker was Zena Hitz, tutor at St. John’s College Annapolis and author of Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life.
Our host at St. Vincent was Professor Michael Krom of the department of Philosophy.
In 2023, ACTC’s Undergraduate Conference will sponsored and hosted by Assumption University in Worcester, MA. For inquiries please contact Charlotte Thomas (Thomas_cc@mercer.edu).
