President Hibbs on Rome

When considering the Rome Program, President Thomas S. Hibbs, Ph.D., BA ’82 MA ’83, has reflected on St. John Henry Newman’s trip to the Mediterranean, which was an occasion for Newman to think about the ways in which travel can provide an education that complements the reading of books.

“For Newman, the most important thing was that we not become mere tourists in our travels, that we not just fill our minds and imaginations with ideas and images without taking our bearings in relation to our own learning and in relation to the places we visit,” said Hibbs.

At UD, we similarly use travel to complement books. Our students, like Newman, are not simply tourists; travel is a part of their curriculum and their education. Moreover, along with the formal education students receive while in Rome, they contemplate their futures and the ways in which this education can shape these futures.

“Our vision for the Rome campus is certainly that students should fill their minds with texts and with ideas and images, but also that they should have occasion to think about and ponder their own callings, the way in which their education can form them as professionals, as citizens, as members of families and churches,” said Hibbs.

However, Hibbs acknowledged, there is a gap between what we want students to do and what they and their families are able to afford. This gap is growing. This is why scholarships that enable students to participate in the Rome Program are so important. Currently, the University of Dallas has several endowed Rome scholarships, to which anyone may contribute; here are five of them.

First Rome class boarding their plane, August 1970.