Ave Maria University
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Ave Maria University

Ave Maria University
PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS
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Thomas S. Monaghan, Chancellor

Just a few miles from the site of Ave Maria University's permanent campus and the new town of Ave Maria, Florida, students are living and learning in an environment that nurtures their spiritual growth and development in the Catholic Faith while enabling them to pursue academic excellence.  These students at our interim campus and the supporters who have helped us take this first step in our important journey are truly pioneers.  They will forever be a part of the legacy of Ave Maria University, the next great Catholic university.

Our mission is two-fold:  to provide a first-rate, genuinely Catholic, affordable education for generations of students, while bringing together, in a single university setting, the very best and brightest Catholic scholars, writers, scientists, theologians, philosophers and creative artists of our time.  While we have barely begun I'm proud of the progress we have made to date.  The number of students enrolled at our interim campus has more than tripled since our opening in 2003, and we have greatly expanded our under-graduate and graduate programs.  However, much work remains as we continuously expand and strengthen our academic and spiritual programs, and we need your help to continue to make this vision a reality.

Every Catholic who is committed to God's truth has an opportunity to help us shape our future faithful leaders, mentors and educators.  I invite you to become a significant part of our legacy.  There are as many giving opportunities as there are avenues of interest for our donors and friends.  Your gifts will not only help ensure the creation of a community synonymous with excellence, with Catholic truth as its core, but will also make a difference in the lives of generations of students who will benefit from your generosity and examples as they build their own legacy of faith.

BIOGRAPHY 

 

Although best known as the founder of Domino's Pizza and former owner of the Detroit Tigers baseball franchise, Thomas S. Monaghan is currently devoting his attention full time to non-profit endeavors, specifically focused on underwriting Catholic higher education. This support primarily flows through the Ave Maria Foundation, which he founded in 1983 and for which he serves as chairman of the board.           

In 1998, Monaghan provided the impetus for a major initiative in Catholic higher education with the founding of Ave Maria Institute in Ypsilanti, Michigan (which later became Ave Maria College), a Catholic liberal arts institution designed to prepare students for leadership in academics, professional occupations, and service to the greater community.  He serves as chairman of the school's board of trustees.

Ave Maria College, established in 1998, was the predecessor to Ave Maria University, which was founded in 2003 and which is located in Ave Maria, Florida.  Monaghan serves as the University's chancellor.

In addition to supporting the university and college, the Ave Maria Foundation provided the initial funding for Ave Maria School of Law, a Catholic law school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan (for which Monaghan serves as chairman of the board of governors).  The Foundation also helped establish the Thomas More Law Center, a public-interest law firm that provides legal counsel to organizations and individuals whose religious and other freedoms are threatened.  In 1987, Monaghan founded Legatus (Latin for "ambassador"), an international organization of Catholic business leaders committed to studying, living and spreading their faith through their professional and personal lives.

Tom Monaghan was born in Ann Arbor in 1937.  His father died four years later, ushering in a childhood spent largely in an orphanage and a succession of foster homes.  After graduating from Ann Arbor's St. Thomas High School in 1955, and enrolling at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan, Monaghan enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1956.  Honorably discharged three years later, he returned to Ann Arbor, where he enrolled at the University of Michigan.

While still a student, Monaghan founded Domino's Pizza.  He and his brother, James, borrowed $900 to buy a small pizza store called DomiNick's in Ypsilanti.  He later bought his brother's share of the business, and opened additional stores in Ann Arbor and Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.  By 1998, Domino's had 6,250 stores, and ranked as the world's largest pizza delivery chain, pioneering a number of industry innovations inspired by Monaghan.

The story behind Domino's Pizza (including the many obstacles and setbacks Monaghan overcame and the path he took to success) was compiled for the first time in his 1986 autobiography, Pizza Tiger, published by Random House.  He sold Domino's Pizza in 1998 to Bain Capital, Inc., leaving behind its day-to-day operations, which he had overseen for 38 years.

Monaghan has received honorary degrees from twelve universities around the country, and in March of 2000, he was named an Honorary Fellow of Magdalene College within Britain's University of Cambridge.

Monaghan and his wife have four daughters and eight grandchildren.