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The Rise and Fall of Ave Maria

Submitted by Kyle on September 2, 2009 - 2:30pm

Mariah Blake has a great article in The Washington Monthly about Domino’s Pizza founder and Catholic hardliner Tom Monaghan and the disastrous collapse of his Catholic university empire.

You'll have to read the article to get all the necessary background, but here is an explanation of what happened as a result of Monaghan's heavy-handedness and effort to move the law school, which had been very successful while located in Michigan, to Florida as part of the planned right-wing utopia he was trying to build:

Since [Steve] Safranek’s ouster, the law school has been in a freefall. Most of the original faculty have fled or been pushed out, and the quality of the students has tumbled. One current professor told me, “Our student body now is one of the four or five worst in America.” The instability has also wreaked havoc on the school’s reputation: in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report law school rankings, Ave Maria tied for last place in the peer-assessment category, the most important measure in determining a school’s standing. (The school was not officially ranked because U.S. News doesn’t rank schools that land in the bottom tier.) Meanwhile, there are signs that Monaghan’s foundation, which funds the law school and the university, is on the verge of running out of money, in part because Monaghan bet his fortune—and the future of his nonprofits—on the now-crumbling Florida real estate market. Earlier this year, Ave Maria University’s second-longest-standing professor resigned, but not before sending a letter to administrators expressing his alarm at the school’s financial straights. “I fear that all of us (to different degrees) are participating in something that we may later deeply regret,” he wrote, “namely selling to young people and their families [an] educational product that we do not have sufficient reason to believe can be delivered.”

Meanwhile, in June, the U.S. Department of Education reported that Ave Maria School of Law had failed its financial responsibility test, the only law school in the nation to do so. Even more troubling, the school ranked sixth to last among all American institutions of higher learning on the department’s financial responsibility index, thanks partly to its multimillion-dollar deficit. With its finances in disarray, the school has shelved plans for the $50 million building across from Mansion Row. When Ave Maria School of Law finally opened for business in Florida this August, it was in a former retirement home on the outskirts of Naples.

The beginning of the article recounts this interesting anecdote about how Ave Maria Law School got off the ground and established itself as an educational force to be reckoned with:

After the meeting, Monaghan approached Bernard Dobranski, the dean of the law school at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and asked him to head up the new venture, known as Ave Maria School of Law. It was a risky proposition for a seasoned academic— giving up tenure, a generous salary, and the promise of long sabbaticals to take part in a startup venture. But the idea piqued Dobranski’s interest. The following day, he asked his friend, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, to lunch and sought his advice. Scalia pressed him to take the job. The conservative justice was later flown out on Monaghan’s private jet to consult on the curriculum. Scalia was so enthusiastic about the project that he also persuaded his friend Robert Bork, the erstwhile conservative Supreme Court nominee, to join the faculty. Before long other prominent conservatives were lining up behind the project. They were so enamored with the idea, and the money Monaghan was willing to put behind it, that no one seemed to give much thought to the implications of a fast-food mogul wading into the world of higher ed.

As they say, read the whole thing.

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Monaghan's State-Based Focus

Submitted by Kyle on September 23, 2008 - 10:23am

The Naples Daily News profiles Tom Monaghan, the founder of Dominos Pizza and ultra-right-wing Catholic activist behind the Thomas More Law Center and Ave Maria University who even built his own town where he could implement his hardcore beliefs.

Though he is not particularly well-known, Monaghan is a right-wing powerbroker and moneyman who early-on backed Sam Brownback until his campaign ended early in the primary season.  He has since gone on to endorse Romney and ultimately McCain, but this election cycle has focused primarily on financing the state races of candidates who share his right-wing views:

Monaghan and his wife have given $4,600 to Tom Rooney, a 37-year-old Republican running for Congress in Florida’s 16th District, which dances across the state’s middle from Port Charlotte to Port St. Lucie.

Rooney, the grandson of the Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney, is Catholic and anti-abortion. He’s a member of Legatus and Rooney’s brother, Brian, is the national spokesman for the Thomas More Law Center.

Monaghan’s contribution to Rooney came last December, as he was starting out a bitter three-way primary he won by 2 percentage points in August.

“That support was very crucial,” said Jeff Ostermayer, Rooney’s campaign spokesman.

The type of campaign Rooney is in — long, competitive and expensive — exemplifies where Monaghan is spending his money. His three top donations this election cycle are in races expected to be close calls come November: Rooney’s, the open Senate election in Colorado and an open House seat in Northern Virginia.  

But just because he tends to operate behind the scenes doesn't mean he is averse to confrontation or controversy: 

Seven years ago, Tom Monaghan attended the opening of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., a $65 million think tank and museum dedicated to the Catholic faith. Near Monaghan sat Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., whose family has embodied Catholic politics in the United States for more than 50 years.

After the dedicatory speech in which President George W. Bush praised the Pope’s defense of a “culture of life,” Monaghan confronted Kennedy. How, Monaghan asked, could Kennedy be a Catholic and support abortion rights?

“We were walking away from the ceremony and he kind of sat beside me, a little bit behind me,” Monaghan said recently. “I turned around and looked at him. He acknowledged me, so I thought I had to say something. So I said what was on my mind.”

Kennedy, Monaghan said, didn’t respond.

Monaghan “really stuck it to him,” said Deal Hudson, a prominent Catholic Republican operative and longtime Monaghan confidante who witnessed the encounter.

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Ave Maria Crucifix Plans On Hold

Submitted by Chris on July 1, 2008 - 8:17am

Ave Maria University, a right-wing Catholic university near Naples, Florida, had planned to build the world’s largest crucifix, a “60-foot red-tinted glass and aluminum cross with a 40-foot body of Christ,” to go with its “landmark massive Catholic church.” Unfortunately, “even with the church open for worship, the crucifix’s construction appears to be a long way away.” Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino’s Pizza and chancellor of Ave Maria, explains: “There’s still hope for that. The money has to be there.”

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Can Romney Avoid the Noid in Michigan?

Submitted by Ezra on January 10, 2008 - 5:18pm

According to the Washington Times, the Republican primary in Michigan next week will be a “do-or-die” moment for Mitt Romney’s campaign. The candidate is polling ahead in the state, where he launched his campaign and where his father was governor. Hoping for a clean victory, Romney recently shifted resources to Michigan from South Carolina and Florida.

And now Romney can boast the support of a major religious-right force in Michigan: Thomas Monaghan, the billionaire founder of Domino’s Pizza, who created or funded groups such as the Ann Arbor PAC, Ave Maria List, and the Thomas More Law Center, along with Ave Maria School of Law, Ave Maria University, and an entire Ave Maria Town in Florida dedicated to his conservative Catholic vision. Previously, Monaghan had backed Sam Brownback, but the far-right senator dropped out of the race in October.

Although Monaghan has relocated his mini-empire to Florida, he may still carry enough influence to counteract Huckabee-backer Gary Glenn, the head of the American Family Association’s state affiliate, who has been an anti-Romney gadfly for over a year. Indeed, Glenn’s e-mail urging Huckabee supporters to mobilize churches all but cedes Catholics to Romney.

Says Monaghan,

As someone who values the importance of faith in one's life, I recognize in Mitt his deep religious convictions which will serve him well in facing the critical moral issues facing our society. I believe he will stand firm on the pro-life issues and for the traditional family values that our country was founded on and which are so critical to the future of our nation.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Romney, as the head of Bain Capital in 1998, made Monaghan a billionaire when it bought Domino’s.

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Monaghan Endorses Romney

Submitted by Kyle on January 10, 2008 - 10:45am

With Sam Brownback out of the race, Domino's Pizza founder and right-wing money man Tom Monaghan has endorsed Mitt Romney: "Governor Romney is a man of principle. As someone who values the importance of faith in one's life, I recognize in Mitt his deep religious convictions which will serve him well in facing the critical moral issues facing our society. I believe he will stand firm on the pro-life issues and for the traditional family values that our country was founded on and which are so critical to the future of our nation."

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How Do You Solve a Problem at Ave Maria?

Submitted by Kyle on August 22, 2007 - 2:23pm

The National Law Journal reports that the "decision to move Michigan's Ave Maria School of Law to Florida has touched off a firestorm of controversy" and that "three professors have resigned, including one last week. Also, two have taken leaves of absence, and one has been suspended."

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The Opening of Ave Maria

Submitted by Kyle on August 21, 2007 - 2:15pm

The Naples Daily News has been running a series of articles about the opening of the new campus for Ave Maria University, the centerpiece of the Florida development dreamed up by the ultra-right wing founder of Domino’s Pizza, Thomas Monaghan: 

“Ave Maria is not a Catholic town.”

Despite evidence to the contrary, the well-rehearsed line, articulated by town developers Barron Collier Cos., has become ingrained in pitches to prospective home and business owners, and members of the local and national media.

To believe it, visitors to the newly opened 5,000-acre town must ignore the town’s name, Latin for “Hail, Mary.”

Drivers and pedestrians should regard street names, such as Pope John Paul II Boulevard and Annunciation Circle, as clever brand names, adding theme, not tone, to the town.

…

To see past the religious overtones of the town, one must overlook the town’s focal feature. A 100-foot-tall steel-beamed oratory, topped with a 10-foot Celtic cross that is visible for miles, is positioned squarely in the town center, aptly named “La Piazza.”

Students attending the university will have to abide by a strict set of rules and regulations:

Student-led organizations, such as the Chastity Team and Pro-Life Club, will be based in the activity center.

“At Ave Maria, we’re trying to create a culture that faith informs life,” said Dan Dentino, vice president for student affairs. “Our students form friendships for life, because they are grounded in a certain truth and are able to express themselves.

“These are groups that can be controversial, and may be considered strange at home, but here, they can be the people they are meant to be.”

…

Students will be expected to adhere to Ave Maria’s strict housing rules, including limited access to rooms occupied by the opposite sex, no televisions and regulated music selections.

As for those living in the town, while they might not have a supermarket, gas station or bank, they will apparently have a lot of likeminded neighbors:

Jim and Ann Longon, a Philadelphia-area couple who are so enthralled with the Ave Maria concept they’ve bought two homes. Jim Longon, 63, who owned a company that provided outsourced office spaces, learned about Ave Maria through Legatus, a Monaghan-founded organization for Catholic business leaders.

The idea of living in a community where he could take certain shared political, moral and religious values for granted was exciting for him.

“On the golf course all we talk about is whether abortion is OK or not,” Longon said.

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Right-Wing Millionaire Disappointed New City Limited by Constitution

Submitted by Ezra on July 24, 2007 - 3:27pm

Ave Maria Town
Ave Maria town center, with 1,100-seat church at center. Photo from Ave Maria Development

When we last checked in on Ave Maria, the Florida development dreamed up by Domino’s Pizza founder Thomas Monaghan, developers were backing down from early word that the town’s laws would reflect its founder’s moral edicts – such as making contraceptives and pornography unavailable.

"I'm not going to break the law," Monaghan told [The New Yorker]. "We want to be a family town. But if there's an openly gay couple living next door to some family, and those kids would have to be subjected to that, I don't know. In the first place, I don't know how many gay couples are going to want to come live in the town. And if we can't prevent it, well, we'll tolerate it."

The AP caught up with Monaghan, who wistfully recalled the vision he held before U.S. laws intruded:

Monaghan now says that Ave Maria University, the school he is also bankrolling, will follow strict Catholic guidelines, but the town will be largely allowed to grow uninhibited -- except for no adult novelty stores or topless clubs. The developers say they will merely suggest that merchants not sell contraceptives or porn, and cable TV offerings will not be restricted.

Even with that, Monaghan seems disappointed. If he had his way, Ave Maria would be God's town.

"I thought we owned the real estate, so we can lease to whoever we want and put things in the contract, but there are laws and there were lawsuits out there," Monaghan said.

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More on Monaghan's Ave Maria Town

Submitted by Ezra on April 25, 2007 - 5:15pm

Reports from Houston Chronicle, Washington Post, Mother Jones, and New Yorker.

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Right-Wing Donor Ponders What to Do If Gays Move into His New Development

Submitted by Ezra on April 25, 2007 - 2:52pm

The New Yorker recently profiled Domino’s Pizza founder Thomas Monaghan and his plans for an ultra-orthodox community and university in southwest Florida. Monaghan has been a consistent donor to right-wing causes, such as groups like Operation Rescue and the Committee to End State-Funded Abortions in Michigan as well as anti-gay activism. He founded the Ann Arbor PAC, the Ave Maria List PAC, and the Thomas More Law Center; he sits on the board of advisors of the Catholic League; and he’s lent financial clout to presidential candidate Sam Brownback.

The New Yorker article is not available online, but it describes Monaghan’s path from pizza magnate to a philanthropist dedicated to “rescu[ing] the Catholic Church from what he saw as its slide toward apostasy,” whether by fighting Sandinistas, recruiting (via Antonin Scalia) Robert Bork to teach at a start-up law school, or building a city from scratch where, as Monaghan envisioned, “We're going to control the cable television that comes in the area. There is not going to be any pornographic television in Ave Maria Town. If you go to the drugstore and you want to buy the pill or the condoms or contraception, you won't be able to get that.”

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