As the state of universities continues to worsen with leftist ideology becoming entrenched in institutions of higher education, conservative parents are left wondering where they can send their children for education, not LGBT indoctrination. The Washington Stand reached out to a number of prominent conservative educators to ask for their recommendations on the best colleges and universities that educate, enrich, and produce virtuous Americans.
1. Grove City College
This private Christian liberal arts college in western Pennsylvania topped the list of recommendations from conservative educators. The school has a strong focus on a humanities-based core curriculum and offers 60 majors, including in Biblical and Religious Studies, English Literature, History, Political Science, and more, all taught from a conservative Christian perspective.
Unlike many colleges today, Grove City has a focus on honing a fully-formed human, not just a well-trained wage slave. The school also places a strong emphasis on freedom of conscience and its website boasts, “Your freedom of conscience is foundational to the healthy academic community and classroom experience you will find at Grove City College. We hold fast to the belief that all Truth and knowledge begin with Christ, allowing you to rigorously pursue the highest academic excellence.”
Notable alumni include former U.S. deputy attorney general Paul McNulty (now the president of Grove City), conservative economist Peter Boettke, Institute for Justice founder Scott Bullock, and Catholic author and theologian Scott Hahn. Notable professors include author Dr. Paul Kengor, who teaches political science, federal judge Arthur Schwab, biblical scholar G.K. Beale, and theologian Dr. Carl Trueman.
“Grove City is the best.”
— William J. Bennett, former Education Secretary under President Ronald Reagan
2. Hillsdale College
Another private, Christian liberal arts school, Hillsdale comes in at a strong number two. The college bases its educational philosophy on the belief that the Western world is the product of both Greco-Roman civilization and Christian tradition and philosophy. Hillsdale offers a host of traditional majors, including Classical Education, American Studies, Military History and Grand Strategy, and Rhetoric and Public Address, among many others. In the 1980s, both Hillsdale and Grove City chose to opt out of federal funding in order not to be bound to Title IX, which now protects homosexuality and transgenderism.
Hillsdale requires its students to enroll in and complete a core curriculum to accompany their majors and minors. Some of those areas of mandatory study include classical logic, theology, American heritage, science, deductive reasoning, theology, and the Great Books.
“Faithful to the conservative spirit and resolutely independent from federal funding. Hillsdale’s ‘declaration of independence’ from the federal government is an inspiration.”
— Joseph Pearce, author and former literature professor
3. Ave Maria University
A private Catholic university in Florida, Ave Maria has consistently been featured in the Newman Guide and was ranked by College Factual in the top 8% of “Best Colleges for the Money.” The university has made classical thought and Catholic culture a core aspect of its identity. Every dormitory building features a chapel, and the pre-1969 Traditional Latin Mass is offered on campus.
Ave Maria offers 33 undergraduate degrees, including American Studies, Catechetics, Classics and Early Christian Literature, Marriage and Family Studies, and others. Ave Maria also features a law school, which has consistently been ranked the “most conservative” and “most devout” law school in the U.S. The late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia helped develop the law school’s curriculum. Founder Tom Monaghan said his hope is for Ave Maria to become a “Catholic Ivy.”
In 2012, Ave Maria sued the federal government, claiming a Health and Human Services mandate requiring employers to provide birth control would violate the university’s religious freedom. Pornography and contraceptives are banned on campus and the university instructs local shops not to sell pornography or contraceptives, either.
4. Thomas Aquinas College
Another private Catholic liberal arts school clocked in at fourth place on TWS’s list of recommendations. With campuses in both Ventura, California and Northfield, Massachusetts, Thomas Aquinas offers only one degree: a bachelor of arts in liberal arts. The college’s program of study is steeped in Christian philosophy and based on the Great Books, conducted in a seminar fashion. Notable alumni include traditionalist theologian Dr. Peter Kwasniewski and Trump-appointed environment czar Mary Neumayr.
Thomas Aquinas has placed a great emphasis on the beauty of Western art and architecture. The college’s chapel blends early Christian, Renaissance, and Spanish Mission architectural styles and has been described as the “crown jewel” of the campus. The late Pope Benedict XVI blessed the chapel’s cornerstone. The school’s library is also an artistic marvel, featuring a ceiling from a 17th century Spanish monastery.
5. Liberty University
A private Baptist school in Virginia, Liberty University boasts over 700 programs of study and a stringent Christian code of conduct. The university purports to produce “champions for Christ” and has been both hailed and derided as a “bastion of the Christian right.” Liberty features a popular series of online degrees as well as a law school, a business school, an aeronautics school, and more.
The university mandates a code of conduct for students, called the “Liberty Way,” which prohibits premarital sex, cohabitation, alcohol use, and “LGBTQ states of mind.”
Of course, this list is not exhaustive: there are many colleges and universities that have shaped and still do shape bold conservatives, but these are some of the very best, according to prominent conservative educators. As leftism and LGBT ideology continue to invade higher education, conservative institutions will become fewer and fewer. What’s most important is to raise children well, ensuring that their foundational education — intellectual, moral, and spiritual — is a strong one, so that they may face the evils the present age seems to be perpetually producing, and stand firm.
Honorable mentions:
- College of the Ozarks (Point Lookout, Mo.)
- Franciscan University of Steubenville (Steubenville, Ohio)
- University of Dallas (Dallas, Texas)
- Wyoming Catholic College (Lander, Wyo.)
S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.
