Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy is one of only twenty-one Catholic post-secondary institutions—and the only one in Canada—to be listed in the Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College: What to Look for and Where to Find It. The fruit of much painstaking research, the Guide presents Catholic parents and students with detailed information about a core group of colleges in the United States and Canada that are truly Catholic, according to the standards set out by Pope John Paul II’s Ex Corde Ecclesiae.

OLSWA is proud to be recognized by the Newman Society as a post-secondary institution that faithfully imparts the teachings of the Church within a Catholic environment. The Guide is endorsed by such eminent Catholics as Father Benedict Groeschel, Father John McCloskey, and Dr. Peter Kreeft.

For more information about the Guide, to be published this October and jointly marketed with the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, click here.

The following is a press release issued by the Cardinal Newman Society:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 3, 2007 

OUR LADY SEAT OF WISDOM ACADEMY NAMED ONE OF 21 TOP CATHOLIC COLLEGES 

Ontario institution is only Canadian one selected in unique resource 

MANASSAS, VA - Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy of Barry's Bay, Ontario, has been named one of 21 recommended Catholic colleges and universities in <http://www.thenewmanguide.com/> The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College: What to Look For and Where to Find It.  The book, published by the Cardinal Newman Society, will be available in Canada and the United States on Nov. 1.  

According to Guide editor Joseph Esposito, "Although our publication focuses on U.S. institutions, we were so impressed by Our Lady Seat of Wisdom that we felt compelled to include it as well.  The academy has accomplished much in a short period of time, and we look forward to it being an influential force in Catholic higher education.  We are pleased to recommend Our Lady Seat of Wisdom to Canadian and American parents and students."  

The culmination of two years of research and interviews, the unique Newman Guide recommends 21 Catholic colleges and universities which most faithfully live their Catholic identity and provide a quality undergraduate education.  Each college profile examines the school's history, governance, Catholic identity, curriculum, student life and community. 

Those recommended represent the top 10 percent of Catholic colleges in the U.S. based on Catholic identity and cover a wide range of institutions in terms of history, size, location and academic focus. 

Colleges range from Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Md., the U.S.'s second oldest Catholic college, to Wyoming Catholic College of Lander, Wyo., which opened in Sept. 2007. 

Some institutions were founded explicitly to meet the needs of Catholics seeking an authentic Catholic education while several have recently strengthened their identity and curriculum.  

Editor Esposito said, "These colleges and universities represent a unique perspective on higher education.  They are all impressive institutions, offering a wide range of choices from a Great Books curriculum to a degree in motor sports management.  But what sets them apart from others is the day-to-day living of their Catholic identity.  

"This Guide will provide a valuable tool for parents and high school students seeking direction in the college-selection process," he added.  

Esposito, the Cardinal Newman Society's director of research, is a former Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Dept. of Education.  He also has been a full-time writer for Catholic publications and an adjunct history professor. 

The recommended colleges are grouped into three categories: "Joyfully Catholic," "Born from the Crisis" and "Fighting the Tide."   

The first group is characterized by a Catholic identity that permeates all areas of campus life; the second includes institutions founded or expanded in the last few years; and the third group represents older colleges and universities that have succeeded in renewing and strengthening their Catholic identity. 

The "Joyfully Catholic" colleges are:  Christendom College, The College of Saint Thomas More, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Magdalen College, Thomas Aquinas College, The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, University of Dallas, and the University of St. Thomas (Houston, Tex.). 

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The "Born from the Crisis" colleges are:  Ave Maria University, Holy Apostles College & Seminary, John Paul the Great Catholic University; Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy, Southern Catholic College and Wyoming Catholic College. 

The "Fighting the Tide" colleges are:  Aquinas College (Nashville, Tenn.), Belmont Abbey College, Benedictine College, The Catholic University of America, DeSales University, Mount St. Mary's University and St. Gregory's University. 

In addition to in-depth profiles of the 21 colleges, The Guide includes essays from prominent Catholic leaders.  Among the clergymen are Archbishop Elden Curtiss of the Archdiocese of Omaha, Neb., noted writer and spiritual director Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., and author and evangelist Father C. John McCloskey III. 

Prominent lay contributors are philosopher Peter Kreeft, Cardinal Newman Society founder and president Patrick Reilly and Eileen Cubanski, co-founder and executive director of the National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools. 

This Newman Guide is the latest in a series of projects launched by the Cardinal Newman Society <http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/> , a nonprofit organization begun in 1993 to renew and strengthen Catholic higher education.  Among its other initiatives are the Love & ResponsibilityProgram to promote chastity on campuses, the Campus Speaker MonitoringProject, the promotion of Eucharistic adoration and the national campus coordination of the Vatican's International Exposition The Eucharistic Miracles of the World. 

More information on The Newman Guide, including a media kit, the complete table of contents and selected essays is available at TheNewmanGuide.com <http://www.thenewmanguide.com/> .