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The Rossi Center for Faith and Culture further supports and integrates the mission of the Newman Catholic Student Center at The University of Iowa to promote development within a faith community and to prepare disciples for the Church and for the world by intentionally providing opportunities for students to learn and discuss how faith and culture interfaces in their daily lives. |
PURPOSELearn it, Live it, Share it
After witnessing a successful model in his hometown of Philadelphia, Dr. Nicholas Rossi had a great passion for creating a similar faith and culture center at the Newman Catholic Student Center at The University of Iowa. Dr. Rossi’s desire was to create an environment where current and future Newman Center students are given the opportunity to learn and discuss how faith and culture interface in their daily lives.
An endowment of $125,000 was established by Dr. Rossi in 2017 to fund two speakers a year. The annual stipend for the Faith Formation: Special Events fellow is paid from an endowed fund Dr. Rossi and his late wife, Helen, previously established at The University of Iowa Center for Advancement. |
Dr. Nicholas Rossi, Emeritus Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery
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2020-2021
Kelsie Tingle, was a pre-pharmacy track, biology major-genetics and biotechnology track- and English minor. 
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2019-2020 Jocelyn Zenner, was a senior majoring in biomedical engineering 
2018-2019 Gabrielle Greco, was a senior majoring in history/pre-law. |
"I’m very thankful to Dr. Rossi and the Newman Center for providing this opportunity to me and my fellow students. This fellowship provided me with the faith community involvement I was looking for during my college years. I valued your trust and enjoyed being the first Special Events fellow.”
Claire Sevenich, 2017-2018 |
John Henry Newman as he appeared in 1844, an engraving from a drawing by George Richmond CREDIT: CHRONICLE / ALAMY
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For Saint John Henry Newman, the ideal university is a community of thinkers, engaging in intellectual pursuits not for any external purpose, but as an end in itself. He envisioned a broad, liberal education, which teaches students "to think and to reason and to compare and analyze." Newman held narrow minds were born of narrow specialization and stipulated students should be given a solid grounding in all areas of study. A strictly vocational education was out of the question for him.
"I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not." |
