Christendom College

Christendom College

Official seal for Christendom College
Motto	Instaurare Omnia In Christo (Latin) To Restore All Things in Christ
Type	Private; lay-run Catholic
Established	September 14, 1977 (September 14, 1977)
Religious affiliation	Catholic Church
Endowment	$28 million
President	George A. Harne
Academic staff	44
Administrative staff	41
Undergraduates	550 (2023-24)
Postgraduates	100
Address	134 Christendom Drive , Front Royal , Virginia , US 38°57′7″N 78°8′45.9″W
Campus	100 acres (0.40 km2)
Founder	Warren H. Carroll
Colors	Blue and white
Sporting affiliations	United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA)
Mascot	The Crusaders
Website	www.christendom.edu
Location in Shenandoah Valley Christendom College (Northern Virginia) Christendom College (Virginia) Christendom College (the United States)

Christendom College is a Roman Catholic liberal arts college founded in 1977 in Front Royal, Virginia, United States.

History

Founding

Meeting of Christendom College Founding Faculty

Christendom College was founded by Warren H. Carroll, a contributor at L. Brent Bozell Jr.'s Triumph magazine. Carroll decided not to accept federal funding at the college, choosing instead to rely on benefactors. Similar to the reasonings at Hillsdale College, Carroll believed that the government might eventually intrude on Christendom's academic and religious freedom.

1980s

Damian Fedoryka with Pope John Paul II

Carroll remained as president until 1985 when Damian Fedoryka was named as the second president. Carroll remained on the faculty, serving as the chairman of the history department until his retirement in 2002.

During Fedoryka's seven-year tenure as president, Blessed Margaret and St. Joseph's Halls were constructed, and the college became fully accredited in 1987. He resigned in 1992 to pursue other educational ventures.

1990s—present

Timothy T. O'Donnell

In 1992, Timothy T. O'Donnell, who had been a professor at Christendom since 1985, was named as the college's third president. During his tenure, the college increased the number of buildings on campus to over 20. O'Donnell's biggest building contribution was the new Chapel of Christ the King, which he promised in his inaugural address as president. Construction began in 1992, and was completed in 1995. Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan donated 19th Century wooden stations of the cross to the Chapel, and it was dedicated by Cardinal Jan Schotte, Pope John Paul II's Secretary-General to the World Synod of Bishops.

The college also acquired the Notre Dame Institute during O'Donnell's tenure. Started in 1969, the Notre Dame Institute was created for teacher training, but began to accept lay students in the late 1970s. In 1983, the Institute was permitted by the Commonwealth of Virginia to grant degrees. In the 1990s, Reverend William Saunders became president of the Institute and moved it to its present location in Alexandria, Virginia, in addition to leading it to full accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 1997, the Institute was merged with Christendom College and became the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College, now the Graduate School of Theology. In 2002, Fr. Saunders left his position as dean, and founding faculty member Kristin Burns took over the position. Under her tenure, the graduate school began offering M.A. in Theological Studies degrees online.

On May 1, 2023, Christendom College President Timothy O'Donnell announced his intention to retire from the college as President at the end of the 2023-24 academic year. On March 25, 2024, President O'Donnell announced that his successor, the 4th President of Christendom College, would be George Harne.

Christ the King Chapel

Main article: Christ the King Chapel (Christendom College)

The new Christ the King Chapel was dedicated in 2023.

Starting in September 2016, Christendom College launched an ambitious project called the "A Call To Greatness Campaign" to raise $40 million for the college's endowment, the annual fund, and a construction project to build a new 750-seat medieval gothic chapel featuring a 130-foot tower and eight prayer altars. The cost of the chapel is estimated to run approximately $13.5 million, with an additional $13.5 million allocated to the endowment and the remaining $13 million going to the annual fund. Within a month of the fundraiser's launch, roughly 70%, or $28 million, had been raised for the campaign. The chapel was officially opened to the public after its dedication by Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge on April 15, 2023.

Student sexual assault and harassment allegations

On January 16, 2018, Catholic blogger Simcha Fisher broke the story of three rape and sexual harassment allegations by students of the college. College President Timothy O'Donnell acknowledged victims in an official statement, saying, "We have failed some of our students. I am grateful to each woman who has come forward with her story. We need to hear you and your experience. Disclosing abuse and its aftermath is painful and difficult, and it takes a tremendous amount of courage. To those students who have been harmed, I am deeply sorry. We will do better." This statement has since been removed from the college website. The college has since updated the apology with a Sexual Misconduct FAQs page that outlines the steps the college takes when cases of sexual misconduct are brought to its attention.

Since the story broke, at least 18 additional allegations of sexual harassment and assault over the past 45 years have been made. In response, a group of alumni called for the school to adopt Title IX policies to better protect students in the future and also called for the resignation of O'Donnell.

By refusing to accept most forms of federal funding, Christendom College is exempt from guidelines like Title IX, is not required to comply with federal regulations on sex-based discrimination, investigations into sexual abuse, or transparency regarding on-campus crimes.

The college has not released the results of this audit to the public.

Additional allegations against staff

Professor Emeritus William Raymond Luckey was arrested on June 25, 2021 on charges of solicitation of a minor younger than 16 years old and two counts of taking indecent liberties with a child." He was released on $50,000 bail on July 12, 2021. In regards to the 2018 sexual assault and harassment allegations, Luckey was one of several staff members that a college administrator mentioned as having been "transitioned out." Luckey was a professor at Christendom College from 1984 until he retired in 2015, according to a statement on the college's website. He has had no interaction with the school since 2015, the college said in an interview with The Northern Virginia Daily, adding that Luckey’s relationship with the school would not continue.

In 2022, Luckey appeared in court and pled guilty in order to receive a reduced sentence of time served, 24 months supervised probation, and must register as a sex offender.

Academics

Christendom College classroom

Christendom College has two schools offering graduate and undergraduate degrees. Undergraduate students combine a liberal arts core-curriculum with eventual upper-level courses in their major field (or fields) of study. Graduates can choose from three theological concentrations: Systematic Theology, Moral Theology, and Catechetics.

Student life

Student body

In 2024, Christendom enrolled 554 students from 39 states and four countries.

Athletics

Men's sports	Women's sports
Baseball	Basketball
Basketball	Cross country
Cross country	Soccer
Rugby	Softball
Soccer	Volleyball

Christendom sponsors nine varsity sports that compete in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) as a member of the Eastern States Athletic Conference and offers a variety of intramural sports. Christendom competes at the USCAA Division II level in men's and women's basketball and soccer and women's volleyball. The USCAA does not have separate divisions for baseball, cross country and softball. Since the USCAA does not sponsor rugby, the men's rugby team competes in National Collegiate Rugby's Small College Division as a member of the Cardinals Collegiate Rugby Conference.

In 2017, Christendom's rugby team won the National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) 7s national championship in its first year of contention. The team defeated St. Mary's College of Maryland in overtime to capture the title, earning the school its first national championship.

In 2021, the rugby team won the National Collegiate Rugby Cohen Cup national championship in Houston, Texas, defeating New Mexico Tech. This was the school's first 15s rugby national championship title.

In 2021, and 2022, the men's rugby team also received the #1 national ranking from National Collegiate Rugby.

Christendom College women’s basketball team won its first national title in women’s basketball defeating Johnson & Wales Charlotte 76-65 in the USCAA DII National Championship game in Petersburg, Virginia, on March 13, 2024.

See also

• WXDM
• WHFW

External links

• Official website