A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Our Rich History: The Dr. Thomas A. Coffey years as president of Thomas More, 1982-1985


By David E. Schroeder
Special to NKyTribune

Part 25 of our series, “Retrospect and Vista II”: Thomas More College/University, 1971-2021.

In 1981, Dr. Robert Giroux announced his resignation from Thomas More College. Giroux had only been with the college since 1978, however, his tenure had been tumultuous for the board, faculty, staff and students.

Change was needed, and the board wasted no time in establishing a national search committee to find the college’s ninth president.

A search committee was established consisting of five members of the board, two faculty members, one staff member, one student, a member of the Women’s Guild, and one member of the President’s Advisory Council. The search committee placed a detailed ad in the Chronicle of Higher Education and waited. In time, 118 applicants stepped forward. The months-long task of reviewing applications began. In the meantime, Dr. Joe Connolly, of the English Department, kept the faculty informed.

Dr. Coffey on the Library patio. (Thomas More University Archives)

In the spring of 1982, the search committee narrowed down the pool to three finalists who were each interviewed by the committee. The search committee further narrowed down their search to Dr. Thomas A. Coffey, Dean of the Division of Continuing Education at the American University in Washington D.C., and two others. Following additional interviews, the board of Trustees officially voted to approve the recommendation of the search committee and named Dr. Coffey the new President of Thomas More College in June 1982.

Following Dr. Coffey’s arrival in August 1982, he hit the ground running. Thomas More’s new president had a number of goals to accomplish, and he quickly started making changes. One of the first was the restructuring of the summer session. Dr. Raymond Hebert of the History Department was placed in charge of this project, which proved to be highly successful. Coffey also developed a new continuing education program for adults that he hoped would increase overall enrollment. This program became known as the “weekend college” on campus.

Dr. Coffey recognized the need to better promote the college. A new Marketing Division was created to “Meet the demands associated with publicity, recruiting and admitting students, program development with business and industry, and continuing education” (Utopian, April 5, 1983). Coffey also restructured the Student Life Division which included the creation of a Life Advising Center to determine career paths and to provide a wholistic approach to counseling, health, the co-op program, and the international student advising program. The international student enrollment had increased during this time to a significant number of new students from Saudi Arabia. Finally, Coffey continued the college land development program (which has been covered in previous articles in this series).

In the spring of 1984, Dr. Coffey announced a long-range planning process. The process included input from the general Northern Kentucky community, as well as those working and attending classes on campus. Mark Zalla was given the task to complete the plan. The final product called for students to better understand the world around them, to have better access to cooperative educational experiences, more career related and personal development courses, a new sports and recreational facility by 1994, and more resources for student aid.

Another early development was the creation of a new logo for the college. The logo that had been used for many years was a stylized TM, with the letter M mimicking the roofline of the library building. Dr. Coffey wanted to stress the Catholic identity of the college. His new logo, which was approved by the board of trustees, consisted of a classic image of Sir Thomas More in the shape of a medallion. This logo was used for many subsequent years.

By 1984, Dr. Coffey began discussing the restructuring of the college’s core curriculum. The core had been in place for many years, and there had been calls from both faculty and staff to make changes. In a four-page memo dated September 4, 1984, Dr. Coffey charged the faculty with the task to “review and revise the entire college curriculum,” which would be implemented in the 1986 fall semester.

In the spring of 1985, Dr. Coffey asked Sr. Laurence Budde to present his proposed revised core to the Faculty General Assembly (FGA). The proposed core brought about immediate concern from a significant portion of the faculty. Objections included increased Philosophy requirements from six to nine credits, an overly prescribed curriculum that left few opportunities for students to choose electives, and the introduction of a ‘great books’ component.

Dr. Coffey (Thomas More University Archives)

The remainder of 1985 comprised a back-and-forth series of discussions, and sometimes heated discourse, between Dr. Coffey, the faculty and the board of trustees. Department meeting reports eventually made their way to the Academic Affairs Committee and the FGA. A group of faculty members requested that the implementation of a new core curriculum be postponed until 1987. Many faculty members argued that the process had been rushed and that their opinions had not been heard. The board and Dr. Coffey rejected the request for delay.

Eventually a détente was brokered that resulted in a core which included an English Department writing component, the addition of a speech requirement and senior Theology course, a foreign language requirement (two-semesters) and a multidisciplinary course that emphasized diversity (this ultimately became the two-semester freshmen World Civilization Course HIS 101 and 102). The new core was approved by the FGA on August 23, 1985, by a vote of 43 in favor and 10 opposed. The curriculum went into effect for freshman enrolling in the 1986 fall semester.

Despite Dr. Coffey’s numerous achievements, he was not well liked on campus. He was viewed as authoritarian by many on the faculty and staff. One former student described him as someone who asked for input, “but rarely listened or put what he learned into practice.” Others found him to be aloof. One former faculty member described him as “pompous and unwilling to compromise.” As early as April 1983, a group of students published an underground edition of the student newspaper the Utopian. The edition was entitled “The Special Coronation Issue” and featured a photo of Coffey wearing a bejeweled crown and referring to him as Fred Flintstone.

Dr. Coffey also lost much of the social capital he had built with faculty and board members during the tumultuous curriculum debates. This, coupled with student and faculty dissent, resulted in Coffey’s resignation in November 1985. Bishop William A. Hughes, Chancellor of the College, appointed Michael Bromberg, Vice President of Administration, to the post of Acting President of Thomas More College until a permanent replacement could be found by the board.

Dr. Coffey was subsequently appointed to the position of President of Wayne State College in Nebraska beginning on February 1, 1986. Coffey’s time at Wayne State also proved problematic. By April 1987, the faculty there had voted no confidence in their president. He resigned soon thereafter.

David E. Schroeder is Director of the Kenton County Public Library. He is the author of Life Along the Ohio: A Sesquicentennial History of Ludlow, Kentucky (2014), coeditor of Gateway City: Covington, Kentucky, 1815-2015 (2015), and coauthor of Lost Northern Kentucky (2018).

We want to learn more about the history of your business, church, school, or organization in our region (Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and along the Ohio River). If you would like to share your rich history with others, please contact the editor of “Our Rich History,” Paul A. Tenkotte, at tenkottep@nku.edu. Paul A. Tenkotte, PhD is Professor of History and Women’s & Gender Studies at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) and the author of many books and articles.


Related Posts

Leave a Comment