Rob Neal and his wife Berni pose in front of his Ferrari race car, which features decals from Catholic University and St. Thomas Aquinas College. (Photo: Kevin Swartout/Vital Speed)
Academics and ‘Catholicity’
In his new role at CUA, Neal is eager to kick things into higher gear.
He said Catholic University is already “really the best in many areas.” He pointed to the university’s schools of law, engineering, arts and science, theology and religious studies and philosophy, as well as The Busch School of Business.
The university is rising to the top in the sciences in particular, joining an elite group of four Catholic universities recognized for scientific research, Neal said.
“One of the things I’m really excited about is next year, and perhaps even this year, we will become what’s known as an R1 university, a tier-one research university. There are only three other Catholic universities that are R1 in the United States. We’ll be the fourth,” he said.
“I think it’s that school out in South Bend, Indiana, Boston College, Georgetown, and then there will be Catholic University of America. I think this is super important because that is our peer group as we see it, and I’m excited about that,” he said.
For Neal, it is as important for CUA to be faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church as it is for it to earn accolades in academics.
“We have a really specific responsibility to speak to this inherent linkage between our Catholic faith and the desire for knowledge — our Catholic faith in obedience to the magisterium,” he said.
“It’s just a question of whether we have the fortitude, the internal intestinal fortitude to be able to follow the teachings faithfully, I would dare say, religiously,” he said. “That is what The Catholic University of America was formed for.”
Neal commended hiring decisions made in recent years, saying they have been essential to ensuring that the school stays faithful to the teachings of the Church.
“Our provost, Aaron Dominguez, like our president [Peter Kilpatrick], and so many of the management are extraordinarily faithful Catholics, faithful to the magisterium,” he said.
Neal noted that Dominguez has hired 150 new faculty members, who he said are “absolutely obedient” to the Church and its teachings.
“Their understanding of our Church, its intellectual legacy, and the dictates of our faith is complete. That’s a big part of why they were hired. They’re the best in their field, but they’re absolutely faith-filled, and that process will continue. We’re on that every day. Every day,” he said.
The university administration’s “internal intestinal fortitude” was put to the test in January 2024, when a visiting professor who brought an “abortion doula” to class to speak to the students was swiftly fired after the incident was made public. Neal told the Register it was “the right thing to do.”
“I would dare say that at many schools she wouldn’t have been terminated. But not at Catholic,” he said.
Another recent change that Neal touted as reflecting the “Catholicity” of the school is the renewal he sees in the practice of faith on campus. In 2022, Dominican priests of the Province of St. Joseph took over the university’s Office of Campus Ministry — headed by Dominican Father Aquinas Guilbeau, university chaplain, director of campus ministry and vice president for ministry and mission, who also served as cohost of EWTN’s coverage of the National Eucharistic Congress — and the students have been “delighted and energized” by their leadership, according to Neal.
“They’re so good with the kids — the kids respond to them. There’s a great intellectual tradition with the Dominicans — they’re nobody’s fool, and they don’t take a back seat to anybody intellectually. The kids get that, too,” he said.
Looming Speed Bumps
The biggest challenge facing Catholic University, Neal said, is something affecting every other college and university in the country: There are fewer students going to college today, and the trend shows no sign of stopping.
“There is something called a demographic cliff that is facing higher education. Since 2010, there are roughly 3 million kids less nationally that are going to colleges and universities than there were.”
He believes that sharing the school’s mission to be the national Catholic university in practice as well as in name will give students a reason to go to college — and give CUA an edge over the competition.
“CUA is responding to that by making it clear to more people who we are and what we stand for,” he said.
Back on Track
Out on the race track, Neal makes it very clear where he stands.
In recent years, he has had to take a break from the sport due to health issues related to his vision, but this April, on his 65th birthday, Neal was back behind the wheel at the Ferrari Challenge, a Formula One race in Austin, Texas.
Along with stickers for motor oil, his new red Ferrari 488 EVO prominently displayed advertisements for The Catholic University of America and Thomas Aquinas College.
Rob Neal races on the track.(Photo: Kevin Swartout/Vital Speed)
“They’re sponsorship stickers, but CUA and Thomas Aquinas are not paying me anything for that,” he was quick to add.
It isn’t just the schools he’s promoting. It’s also his Catholic faith, which started out as a means to an end — and now means the world to him.
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Publish date : 2024-09-08 01:28:00
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