Global InformationInstitutum Divi Thomae information
The Institutum Divi Thomæ (later called the St. Thomas Institute for Advanced Studies) was a graduate research school of science based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The institute operated from 1935 to 1951 as part of the Athenaeum of Ohio, the higher education arm of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and closed in 1988. It was closely associated with its only director, George Sperti. At its peak, the institute's faculty and students published hundreds of scientific and technical papers and developed commercial products, attracting the attention of religious and secular press.[1]
The institute was a response to concerns that fewer Catholics entered science compared to Protestants. In an attempt to reconcile religion and science while avoiding secularism, Sperti and Rev. James A. O'Brien, a lecturer at the institute, promoted the teleological argument as a foundational principle. The institute focused on cancer research in an era before the war on cancer brought government funding to major research universities.[2][3]
The institute admitted no more than 30 students at a time, through competitive examinations. The majority of the students were nuns from various orders, but lay students were also admitted.[4]
- ^ Heitmann 2002, p. 704.
- ^ Heitmann 2002, pp. 704–705, 709.
- ^ Rieselman, Deborah. "Secrets of Sperti Ointment revealed: The Whole Story". University of Cincinnati Magazine. University of Cincinnati. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
- ^ "Guide to the Institutum Divi Thomae". OhioLink Finding Aid Repository. Columbus, Ohio: OhioLINK. Retrieved February 25, 2023.