Tom has led over 125 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.
Tom has a B.A. with majors in Mathematics and Philosophy (Eastern Michigan Univ.); B.Phil. (Sacred Heart Major Seminary); M.T.S. and Grad. Cert. in Scripture (St. Meinrad School of Theology); and Ph.D. in Education and Social Change (Bellarmine Univ.)
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, Bellarmine University, and Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology.
Recognition:
2024
- 10/8 - Moderator: Tuesdays with Merton
- 11/22 - Workshop: Cardinal Dulles and the Models of the Church, Archdiocese of Louisville Diaconate formation, Flaget Center, Louisville, KY
2025
- 1/18 - Workshop: Day, Merton, King, and Lincoln, Archdiocese of Louisville Ministry Formation (co-presenting with: A. Zoeller)
- 2/17-2/21 - Intensive Course: Intro to Youth Ministry - St. Meinrad School of Theology
- 3/24 - Workshop: Thomas Merton and Pope Francis, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, Louisville, KY
- 3/27-3/29 - College English Association Conference
- 4/28 - Workshop: Christus Vivit: Pope Francis and Young People, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, Louisville, KY
- 7/11-7/13 - Retreat: Diocese of Owensboro Catechists, Whitesville, KY
Truth and Reconciliation: Exploring Servant Leadership within Divided Nations
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
Seeking Peace during Global Violence: Thomas Merton and the Spirituality of Non-violent Resistance
Emerging with Grace: Exploring a Post-Pandemic Pastoral Ministry and Spirituality of Hope
Doctoral
o Academic Writing & Leadership Theory
o Identifying and Analyzing Organizational Issues
o (Co-taught) Leadership Seminar: Ed.D. Capstone 1
o (Co-taught) Leadership Seminar: Ed.D. Capstone 2
o (Co-taught) Research Methodology and Problem Solving
o (Guest Lecture) Qualitative Methodologies
Graduate
o Adolescent Spirituality
o Becoming a Religious Educator
o Evangelization and Catechesis
o Introduction to Youth Ministry
o (Guest Lecture) A.I., Education, and Philosophy
o (Guest Lecture) Philosophy of Education
o (Guest Lecture) Storytelling and Learner Diversity
o Christian Marriage & Family
o The Church
o Faith & Justice
o Introduction to the Catholic Liturgy
o Introduction to the New Testament
o Introduction to the Old Testament
o Ultimate Questions
o (Guest Lecture) Storytelling through Original Musical Composition
o Christian Scriptures
o Christology
o The Church
o Hebrew Scriptures
o Philosophy
o Sacraments
o Statistics
Experience, the Art of Human Encounter: Eisner, Pedagogy, and a Response to Bullying [paper]. San Francisco, CA. 2020. adapted to virtual access due to COVID-19. http://tinyurl.com/ra7j74c
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. 2024.
A nonviolent response to tragedy: Learning from the 16th Street Bombing through the lens of King and Merton [paper]. Birmingham, AL. 2022.
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. 2023.
Secret Path – Using poetry as a catalyst for reconciliation in response to national tragedy [workshop]. Virtual. 2021.
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. 2019.
From heart to missionary zeal: Using language and lessons from athletics to aid adolescent catechesis in the New Evangelization [workshop]. Cincinnati, OH. 2018.
co-presenter: A. Zoeller
Media literacy & Scriptural exegesis: Essential skills for 21st century religious educators [workshop]. St. Louis, MO. 2017.
co-presenter: A. Zoeller