Tom has led over 150 professional presentations, including scholarly papers and workshops at the College English Association, International Thomas Merton Society, and National Catholic Education Association conferences. He serves as a consistent presenter for ministry formation with the Archdiocese of Louisville and St. Meinrad School of Theology.
Beyond serving as faculty in the College of Education and the Director of the Ed.D.: Leadership program at Spalding University, Tom has also served as an adjunct lecturer at: Brescia University (Theology), Bellarmine University (Theology), and Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology (Pastoral Studies). He also serves as a frequent academic guest lecturer on topics such as: A.I. and education, bullying/classroom, educational philosophy and practice, qualitative methodologies, and storytelling in the arts for courses in Liberal Arts, Education, and Psychology.
Tom is an active member and has served as a peer-reviewer for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the International Thomas Merton Society (ITMS). He is also a member of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), College English Association (CEA), and The Thomas Merton Society of Great Britain & Ireland (TMS-GBI).
Recognition:
2025
- 4/28 - Workshop: Christus Vivit: Pope Francis and Young People, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, Louisville, KY
- 6/3 - Workshop: Introduction to Scripture, Archdiocese of Louisville Summer Institute
- 6/3 - Workshop: Women of Faith in the Old Testament, Archdiocese of Louisville Summer Institute (co-presenting with: A. Zoeller)
- 6/10 - Workshop: The Advocate: Exploring the Role of the Holy Spirit in the Church and Our Lives, Archdiocese of Louisville Summer Institute
- 6/10 - Workshop: Pilgrims of Hope: Embracing Reconciliation and Forgiveness in a Year of Jubilee, Archdiocese of Louisville Summer Institute
- 7/11-7/13 - Retreat: Diocese of Owensboro Catechists, Whitesville, KY
- 7/22 - Workshop: Introduction to Scripture, Archdiocese of Louisville Summer Institute
- 7/22 - Workshop: Women of Faith in the New Testament, Archdiocese of Louisville Summer Institute
- 9/16 - Workshop (w/ A. Zoeller): Laudato Sí, Sacred Heart Academy, Louisville, KY
Assessment, Dialogue, and A.I.: The Role of Higher Education in the Technological Age
Hollywood or History? World Religions Volume #5
Thomas Merton's novel My Argument with the Gestapo as an example of early North American magical realism: A confluence of surrealism and traumatic imagination
Thomas Merton & Pope Francis: Voices for Change in a Culture of Unrest
Doctoral
o EDD901 Academic Writing & Leadership Theory
o EDD907 Identifying and Analyzing Organizational Issues
o (Co-taught) EDD908 Research Methodology and Problem Solving
o (Co-taught) EDD920 Leadership Seminar: Ed.D. Capstone 1
o (Co-taught) EDD921 Leadership Seminar: Ed.D. Capstone 2
Graduate
o 44:430 Adolescent Spirituality
o 44:435 Becoming a Religious Educator
o 44:300 Evangelization and Catechesis
o 40:420 Introduction to Youth Ministry
o TH101 Introduction to the Old Testament
o TH105 Introduction to the New Testament
o TH241 Introduction to the Catholic Liturgy
o TH302 Christian Marriage & Family
o TH318 Faith & Justice
o TH320 The Church
o THEO200 Ultimate Questions
o Christian Scriptures
o Christology
o The Church
o Hebrew Scriptures
o Philosophy
o Sacraments
o Statistics
2020 - Experience, the Art of Human Encounter: Eisner, Pedagogy, and a Response to Bullying [paper]. San Francisco, CA. adapted to virtual access due to COVID-19. http://tinyurl.com/ra7j74c
2025 - Thomas Merton's novel My Argument with the Gestapo as an example of early North American magical realism: A confluence of surrealism and traumatic imagination [paper]. Philadelphia, PA.
2024 - Art as the voice of authentic human resistance in an era of algorithms: Revisiting Thomas Merton's Message to Poets and Answers on Art and Freedom [paper]. Atlanta, GA.
2022 - A nonviolent response to tragedy: Learning from the 16th Street Bombing through the lens of King and Merton [paper]. Birmingham, AL.
2023 - My Argument with the Gestapo: Exploring Merton’s traumatic and imaginative narrative through the lens of magical realism [paper]. St. Mary’s College Notre Dame, IN.
2021 - Secret Path – Using poetry as a catalyst for reconciliation in response to national tragedy [workshop]. Virtual.
2019 - No one is an island: Experiences of using themes from the writings of Thomas Merton as a response to adolescent bullying in a Catholic school [paper]. Santa Clara University, CA.
2018 - From heart to missionary zeal: Using language and lessons from athletics to aid adolescent catechesis in the New Evangelization [workshop]. Cincinnati, OH. co-presenter: A. Zoeller
2017 - Media literacy & Scriptural exegesis: Essential skills for 21st century religious educators [workshop]. St. Louis, MO. co-presenter: A. Zoeller
An essential component for authentic catechesis is to include real-life, pertinent, and culturally relevant examples within the theology course activities (Catechesi Tradendae, 1979; Instrumentum Laboris, 2012; Evangelii Gaudium, 2013). Jesus exemplified this by teaching through parables to relate to his audience...
Helping students engage and remember Church history can be very overwhelming and is often abstract. The following cards offer a quick template that can assist students to quickly label, compare, and contrast specific factors of heresies, schisms, and various creeds that differ from the tenets of Roman Catholicism...
Racism is a deeply embedded and terrible part of the American consciousness. Since its inception the Americas have been plagued by the commodity of objectifying other human beings, buying and selling them for a price. It is essential to reclaim and acknowledge the dignity of the human person in the midst of aggression and violence that continue today.
During his 2015 address to Congress, Pope Francis spoke of four great Americans that stood as witnesses of the dignity of the human person and advocated for social justice for all: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, and Thomas Merton...
Although icons are often associated with the Eastern Church, the rich history and spirituality of these sacred images can help students better understand abstract theological concepts. It should not be forgotten that art helps develop cognitive and analytical skills in student development (Eisner, The Arts and the Creation of Mind, 2002)...
Thomas Malewitz