Richard Ludwick, new St. Thomas president, talks English and philosophy controversy, enrollment

Richard Ludwick began as president of the University of St. Thomas this week. Richard Ludwick began as president of the University of St. Thomas this week. Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Richard Ludwick, new St. Thomas president, talks English and philosophy controversy, enrollment 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Richard Ludwick officially took the helm of the University of St. Thomas last week. The new president mcomes to Houston after leading the Independent Colleges of Indiana, a group of that state's 31 private, nonprofit colleges and universities.

St. Thomas has had a tumultuous year. Alumni and faculty questioned if administrators were emphasizing science, technology, engineering and math over the university’s liberal arts core as former president Robert Ivany withheld contracts from tenured English and philosophy faculty. Faculty later received contracts after protest from graduates, students and professors.

Ludwick spoke to the Houston Chronicle about that controversy, bolstering enrollment, financial aid and the role of a Catholic university in Houston on Thursday in the historic Link Lee building. Excerpts of his interview with Chronicle higher education reporter Lindsay Ellis follow:

Q: Ideally, what is the University of St. Thomas’s role in Houston? How do you get to that point?

A: I see the University of St. Thomas in Houston as a community leader. That means we lead in ways by example. For instance, when you walk across our campus, you see reflected the face of Houston. You also see a call to conscience that’s infused with Catholic social teaching. We honor life and we honor the dignity of each person. We do so in a benevolent and loving way, calling people to at least understand the core principles of the university: goodness, knowledge, discipline and community. Those are all elements we think are appropriate to society regardless of whether you’re Catholic or not. That’s an important role for us to serve.

Q: What segment of the population are you looking to educate?

A: I would say look out the window. That’s really it. When you look at our institution, as a Catholic institution, the word Catholic means universal. That’s really the kind of student we’re interested in. It’s more about, are the students really serious about finding within themselves that which they are. We can help them be that. We can help them be that. It really is about helping students find themselves.

Q: Do American universities still have the luxury of helping students find themselves?

A: That’s one of the things that makes St. Thomas really distinct. If you look at the outcomes of our students in terms of the rates of going to medical school, to law school, and the success that they have, it’s clear that they are prepared for the next destination well. But … those jobs are going to be changing and evolving. It’s the inner core, the human element, the dignity of each person, which we hope our core course load helps develop.

This is not a new conversation. But we have a distinct way of balancing the two that not only honors the two competing interests, if you will, but also accelerates them. We don’t make that choice. We put them together and we say, this is the right way. You can get a good education and skills in a lot of places. But what is unique about the University of St. Thomas is that you get that good education, those skills, but you also get so much more. That’s what our students find so rewarding. They’re ready for that job market but they’re also prepared for a life that is very full.

Q: How do you go about enrollment growth?

A: It’s not a sales job. It’s not a numbers game. It’s about the human person and how we are successful in communicating with them. When the student finds resonance with what we say, then there is a match. And the really good part about that is the affordability piece that we know is so critical really works out well for students who make a choice for a private nonprofit college. The reality is the experience that students get a St. Thomas or a college like it is significant. The cost is far exceeded by the benefit and the experience that happens here.

Q: Is it sustainable to subsidize tuition across the student body?

A: What is sustainable is finding the future business model for this institution. We have a really good start on that. The numbers look very strong for our incoming class this year, in terms of number of students. And the work that the board and the prior administration has done in terms of fiscal question really puts on a footing that lays out a plan so that we’re going to be stronger in the future.

Q: What’s the pitch? How do you say, St. Thomas is the right fit for you?

A: It’s hard for me to really capture the essence of that. It’s one of those things that students will know it when they see it and they will feel it. I’ve been at a lot of colleges. I know about transformational experiences. But when you do that in the context of a 2000-year intellectual tradition in the Catholic church… that is a richness that permeates this institution and makes it distinct among institutions of higher learning. It’s going to resonate. The other piece of that, the practical piece, the money – that is something that’s well worth the money and it’s more affordable than you can understand.

Q: How have you been approaching the debate as to English and philosophy departments last spring?

A: I was 1,000 miles away when all of that was unfolding. I only saw what was in the media. Even the conversations I had with the prior administration weren’t detailed in any real way. What I can tell you is that philosophy is integral to our kind of education and English certainly is. I ask people what is the most used tool of the world. It’s the English language. That is the way that business gets done. That is the way that people communicate.

In one sense I’ve been around higher education a long time. I’ve seen a lot of different institutions. That kind of a conversation is one that happens frequently. I think the intensity of that conversation here is a strength of the institution because it shows that there is that passion. And it shows that there is an opportunity for people to express their opinions. That’s something that I think is behind us. Faculty have their contracts. We move forward. And what we move forward to is really exciting, and that’s the vision we put in place for the future. We will build on the past. And we will carve out for ourselves a new way forward that the community will inform.

Q: Clearly the conversations last spring touched a nerve. How as an institutional leader do you help different constituents through those kinds of questions?

A: Change is something that continues all the time. If you don’t change you’re probably dying. That doesn’t mean that you leave your core principles at all. In fact, I think change has to be driven by your core principles. As I look forward to these conversations with faculty and with alumni and frankly our friends and our donors – I think that’s what will guide us. Our principles, goodness, discipline and community – they will form the foundational core of how we express it in this age, really for the foreseeable future for St. Thomas. Everyone will have a voice in that conversation. It must be so.

Q: Faculty had been wondering whether the Center for Thomistic Studies -- the only U.S. graduate philosophy program focused on St. Thomas Aquinas' thought -- would continue within the philosophy department.

A: As far as I know, there isn’t any plan to do anything else. I certainly don’t have any plans for that.