Sophia Institute Press Becomes Publishing Division of Two Leading Catholic Colleges

Gareth Genner, President of Holy Spirit College, will serve as Chairman of the Board, while Thomas More College President William Fahey will oversee the day-to-day operations and serve as its President and Publisher.  Sophia's Board of Directors will be comprised of an equal number of representatives from each college."This is one of the most unique and exciting partnerships in modern Catholic publishing," said outgoing publisher John Barger. 

P>MANCHESTER, NH (Sophia Institute Press) - Sophia Institute Press announced Wednesday that Holy Spirit College in Atlanta, GA and the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in Merrimack, NH have formed a collaborative partnership to preserve and oversee the continuing operations of Sophia Institute Press. 

While Sophia Institute Press will remain as an independent non-profit organization, it will now be recognized as the publishing division of these two institutions. 

Gareth Genner, President of Holy Spirit College, will serve as Chairman of the Board, while Thomas More College President William Fahey will oversee the day-to-day operations and serve as its President and Publisher.  Sophia's Board of Directors will be comprised of an equal number of representatives from each college.

"This is one of the most unique and exciting partnerships in modern Catholic publishing," said outgoing publisher John Barger.  "I am thrilled to know that Sophia's mission will maintain its integrity through a partnership between two of the most faithfully Catholic colleges in the country."

The concept of collaboration was the brainchild of Gareth Genner, who has served on Sophia's board for two years.

"It made sense," said Genner.  "In this economic climate, institutions with similar missions must work together to advance their common interests.  In this case, we have three institutions all committed to spreading the Gospel of Christ and promoting the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.  This arrangement allows us to leverage the strengths of each institution and more effectively answer the Church's call for a New Evangelization."

William Fahey agreed, saying, "Gareth and I have collaborated on projects in the past to the fruitful benefit of each institution and its students.  Our collaboration on Sophia is our biggest venture yet, but it has already resulted in putting 32 books back into print, and we have begun to stabilize the press in just a few weeks time."

Both presidents indicated their longstanding affection for John Barger and the mission of Sophia Institute Press.

"John has done a remarkable job publishing so many beautiful Catholic books over the years," said Fahey.  "Sophia's books had a tremendous impact on me and on my own Catholic formation.  I am eager to play a role in keeping these resources available for those who desire to grow in their faith as well as for those who are in the early stages of discerning truth."

"Our culture needs, now more than ever, books that lead souls to Christ and to His Church," said Genner.  "Sophia is among just a few publishing houses that accomplish this in such an organized, aggressive fashion.  I am honored to be a part of its restoration."

Founded in 1983, Sophia Institute Press publishes Catholic classics and new texts by the great and enduring figures of the Catholic intellectual tradition.  Over the last 25 years, Sophia has published over 200 titles and disseminated 2.5 million books worldwide to hundreds of thousands of individuals, bookstores, and educational institutions. 

With the help of Holy Spirit College and the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, Sophia Institute Press will strengthen its marketing department, and extend its reach into bookstores, institutions, homeschool groups, parishes, and other Catholic markets.

Holy Spirit College is an independent, authentic Catholic liberal arts college founded in 2005 as an undergraduate college offering courses in the Liberal Arts to students enrolled at Holy Spirit Preparatory School. Graduates of those courses have gone on to study at many of the finest undergraduate institutions in the United States including Harvard, The University of Notre Dame, Emory University, Vanderbilt University, Duke University, Georgetown University and The Naval and Air Force Academies. In 2009 Holy Spirit College admitted its first class of full-time undergraduate students together with graduate students pursuing a Master's degree in Theology.

The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts provides a four-year undergraduate education which develops young people intellectually, ethically, and spiritually in the Catholic tradition and in faithfulness to the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church.  Thomas More College introduces its students to the central questions of Western Civilization-and to the Church's response.  It teaches students how to reason, engage in academic discourse, and to write.  Students from Thomas More College are shaped into becoming faithful leaders who will be able to pursue the individual vocations which God has given each of them.

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The mission of Sophia Institute shall be to nurture the spiritual, moral, and cultural life of souls and to spread the Gospel of Christ in conformity with the teachings of the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. Sophia Institute shall accomplish its mission chiefly by the use of printed media and works of art but also through cultural projects, charitable activities, information services, conferences, and other means from time to time deemed appropriate by the Board of Trustees.