College History
A New Campus
As the years went by, the need for a larger campus became more pressing. Increasing enrollment, limited expansion options, and the ongoing vision of the Program of Studies fueled a bold new initiative: relocation.
On May 6, 1988, the Board of Trustees voted to relocate the College and during the following year College officials searched for a new home. In September 1989, the College purchased a 135-acre property in Warner, New Hampshire. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new campus were held on May 23, 1990, and an aggressive construction schedule was initiated.
The faculty, staff, and students, moved to the new Warner campus on March 17, 1991, just ten months after groundbreaking. Later that same year, on the Feast of St. Mary Magdalen, the Most Reverend Leo E O’Neil, Bishop of Manchester, consecrated the altar of sacrifice and the Chapel during the Dedication Mass. Bishop O’Neil then blessed the six other newly constructed buildings on the campus.
The new campus permitted the full implementation and integration of the Program of Studies, and Dr. Stanciu, Tutor and Academic Dean, engaged the entire faculty in revising The Program of Studies to reflect the new realities of the College. The updated document, which defined and described the academic mission, objectives, and pedagogy, was completed in the winter of 1992. It was subsequently revised in 1996.
“The essential mission of the Program of Studies has not changed,” commented Dr. Stanciu after the release of the revised document in 1992. “Rather, if has become a more integrated whole, focused on the first principles of human nature and cultural formation.”
Among the more notable changes to the Program were the extension of the academic week to six days (Monday through Saturday), and the initiation of the Leisure Activities Program. In 1994, another important change occurred when the Holy See published the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church; the Catechism was incorporated into the College catechetical program that same year.
Also, to enhance the full integration of the Program of Studies into all aspects of student life, new College staff positions were created: Residence Life Directors (RLDs). These College employees assist the Dean of Students in administering the daily activities in the residences and on campus.
On August 22, 1998, the College celebrated its silver jubilee with over 300 friends, alumni, and benefactors. After twenty–five years of great sacrifice and hard work Magdalen College had become a well-established and thriving Catholic institution of higher learning, and in the late 1990s the founding generation of leaders at the College began to pass the torch to a new generation.
Founder John Meehan retired as President in 1998, and the Board of Trustees appointed Executive Vice President Jeffrey Karls to succeed him. In 2001, George Stanciu retired as Academic Dean and was succeeded by Dr. David Hayes, who was then succeeded in 2003 by Dr. Patrick Powers.
From 1998 to the present time, with the Program of Studies firmly established and with a more suitable campus from which to operate, Magdalen College began to focus on articulating and promoting its Program more clearly.
As the College journeys into the future, she gives thanks for the vision of the founders and the generosity and courage of many who have been involved in establishing this Catholic institution. The Board of Trustees, faculty, and staff continue to reflect upon and refine the Magdalen College Program of Studies, ensuring the College’s effectiveness in preparing young people to answer the baptismal call to holiness in the third Christian millennium.
