Catholic students at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) and Texas A&M University-Kingsville will soon have their very own religiously-themed dormitories. Starting next fall, both institutions will begin offering rooms, a chapel and faith-based services for religious pupils.

In December, FIT broke ground on its Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Student Residence and, in October, Texas A&M commenced construction on the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center. The FIT building will reportedly house 140 students, with the Texas A&M initiative accommodating 287 young people.

Read More

Melbourne, Fla.

Catholic students at one secular university in Florida soon will have a dormitory all their own.

In a historic collaboration, Bishop John G. Noonan of Orlando, Fla., Anthony J. Catanese, president of Florida Institute of Technology, Matt Zerrusen, president of the Newman Student Housing Fund, and Salvatorian Fr. Douglas Bailey, chaplain of Catholic campus ministry at the school, participated in the ceremonial groundbreaking for Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Student Residence on Dec. 7.

The ceremony was the second in as many months at a secular university in which housing specifically designated for Catholic students is being constructed.

A similar ceremony took place Oct. 3 at Texas A&M University-Kingsville for St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center, which includes a dormitory and chapel.

The Newman Student Housing Fund is financing the new residence hall at the Florida school. The dormitory will house 140 students beginning in the fall. Once the dormitory is completed, construction of a chapel will begin.

Read More

12/04/2012

Read More

KINGSVILLE (Kiii News) – Monday was one of the greatest days in the history of Texas A&M University – Kingsville; at least, that’s what the university president is calling it.

The excitement is over a partnership between the University and the Diocese of Corpus Christi. The two came together Monday to sign a historic land-exchange agreement. The deals clears the way for the construction of a student center, a chapel and student housing close to campus.

Read Rest of the Story

A land swap between Texas A&M University-Kingsville and the Diocese of Corpus Christi will help the college gain more student housing and allow for expansion of the diocese’s Catholic ministry.

The agreement, approved by the Texas A&M System’s Board of Regents on Thursday, exchanges existing land on and around the Kingsville campus.

The university will get diocese-owned property at 1119 W. Santa Gertrudis Ave. where the St. Thomas Aquinas University Catholic Center is located.

In return, the diocese will receive about 5 acres of undeveloped land at Corral Avenue and Retama Street on the A&M-Kingsville campus near the new Mesquite Village West student housing complex.

Diocese officials plan to build a Newman Student Center and chapel on the site of the undeveloped acreage, which also is planned to include a cafeteria and student housing to initially serve as many as 300 students. A cost for the facility hasn’t been determined, but diocese officials estimated it to be a multimillion-dollar project. A first phase of construction is planned to begin in late summer 2012, and officials hope to open the facility in fall 2013.

Newman centers are named for Cardinal John Henry Newman, diocese officials said.

The Kingsville project will mark the first Newman Student Center in the state to have adjoining student housing, said Nancy Benson, the chief financial officer for the Newman Student Housing Fund, which plans to build the diocese center.

The South Texas project is one of three similar projects the Las Colinas company is working on across the country.

The other two projects are partnerships with private universities in Florida and Alabama, and none of the three projects have broken ground, Benson said.

The fund works with Effingham, Ill.-based nonprofit organization Newman Connection, which identifies potential expansion opportunities within campus ministries across the country, Benson said. Information is passed on to the fund, which contacts a local diocese for further discussion, she said.

University President Steven Tallant said the new student center and campus housing in Kingsville fit into his goal of providing multiple residential options to continue to enhance the community feel on campus.

He said the university has had an increase of about 1,000 students living on campus within the past three years, during which time two student dorms opened.

He said there aren’t many off-campus housing opportunities, but the university is near the Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio, making it an ideal four-year college setting.

“Our goal is students will come here and live in Kingsville,” Tallant said.

The new Kingsville center may help young people find a connection to home and with others with similar interests, Benson said.

“It gives them something they can hold onto,” she said.

Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey said it appears the number of university students practicing the Catholic faith is increasing in Kingsville and the diocese wanted to expand its ministry to accommodate more students.

He said the diocese also needs more space. He added the St. Thomas Aquinas center served a campuswide lunch last week and more than 500 students showed up.

“That center just can’t hold it anymore,” he said.

The diocese also wants to help students as they continue to grow spiritually, intellectually and physically, Mulvey said.

“It’s a special time in their life, and we want to be there to help them,” he said.

Tallant said university officials have discussed turning the existing Catholic center on West Santa Gertrudis Avenue into an alumni center for the college.

Tallant said in the past alumni events have been held at his home and the student union building because there is no building dedicated to alumni.

The university looked at launching a capital campaign for an alumni building, but he said that won’t be necessary thanks to the diocese partnership.

“It’s going to really help,” Tallant said.