Spring Quarter 2009 Visitors. On April 27th, Nelson Gayton Executive Director and Lecturer at the Entertainment and Media Management Institute within the UCLA Anderson School of Management talked on 'ENTERTAINMENT MANAGEMENT IN THE NEW MEDIA AGE'. Nelson specializes in entrepreneurship in media, technology and entertainment.

On April 28th, Fr Martin Latiff, a priest of the Miles Christi religious order conducted a day-long retreat for students, faculty and staff.

Senior Class - at last This Spring quarter, JP Catholic University has its FIRST senior class - a major milestone. The senior class, who will become our first graduates on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dec 12th, 2009, began as our first freshman class on September 21st, 2006.

Europe Study Trip 30 Sophomore and Junior students spent 2+ weeks in Europe during March as part of our study abroad program. Students spent a week in West Cork, Ireland where they examined the rapidly changing Irish culture, and a week in Rome where they attended Pope Benedict's general audience and explored some of Rome's finest Catholic art with Prof Barber. Many students opted to spend 2 additional weeks roving around Europe. Read a student's blog on the trip.

Winter Quarter Visitors. On Feb 18th, Bishop Brom celebrated Mass for students. Dr George Delgado, a Physician with the Culture of Life Family Services, spoke to students during the monthly 'On-Mission' event of the challenges of being a pro-life doctor in a pro-abortion culture. He detailed the shocking implications of the pending FOCA legislation, which he described as FOKA - Freedom to Kill Act.

Dean Batali, executive producer for “That 70’s Show,” and writer for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” told students during a lunchtime lecture of the challenges facing Christians in Hollywood today. Monsignor Jim Lisante, a regular contributor to Fox News Channel and ABC Eyewitness News and current host of an annual NBC Special called Personally Speaking, celebrated Mass for students and urged them to use the media for good.

Announcing a new Graduate School of Biblical Theology. JP Catholic has launched a Graduate School of Biblical Theology that will begin offering a Masters of Arts degree starting in September 2009. The program offers a unique integration of the various branches of theology with a heavy concentration in the study of Sacred Scripture. Read more details...

Rob Long shares his thoughts on Old Media, New Media Rob, a writer and producer who served as co-executive producer in the final season of 'Cheers', has received two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe awards, and is a contributing editor of National Review, shared his thoughts on the rapidly growing field of New Media and his experiences in the dying field of Old Media with JP Catholic students during a recent lunchtime lecture. Listen to Rob's talk.   Read Rob's Blog.

Student Video Tops 125,000 views on YouTube. A video, produce by sophomore Matt Connors, entitled Catholics Appalled at Anti-Mormon Slur has been viewed over 125,000 times, and is very highly rated and discussed within YouTube's 'Nonprofits & Activism' category. It features Prof Michael Barber commending fellow Christians on their stand in support of the passage of Proposition 8 and condemns anti-religious bigotry.

New degree programs. JP Catholic University will offer its first graduate degree - an MBA with an emphasis in Entrepreneurial Business starting in the Fall of 2009 and a BS degree in Technology with an emphasis in Computer Engineering starting in the Fall of 2010. Both new programs are critical components of the university's plan to educate students to build businesses that will impact the culture for Christ.

Students for Life of America (SFLA) 1st Annual Video Activism Contest winners include second place finisher Mollie O'Hare for her video 'You became you' and an 'honorable mention for Creativity' going to Chris Kaiser for his 'Make the choice' video.

San Diego's Channel 6 (Fox News) interviewed students Tim Evans and Steve Marshall on their efforts in support of Prop 8. This video may not show up in some browsers. WARNING: We are not responsible for the content of the commercial served up during the first 18-seconds of this clip - watch at your discretion.

TV viewers across California see JP Catholic produced ads supporting Sarah's Law. The 'Yes on 4' 'Stop Child Predators' and 'Bubble Parody' ads, which are airing now on multiple California TV stations, were produced by Professor Tom Dunn and our students. The 'Stop Child Predators' ad won first place in the Sarah's Law YouTube contest. Other winners included: Matt Salisbury with second place for his video “Control Freaks”; Mollie O’Hare and Patrick Lyon with honorable mentions for their “Bubble Ad Parody” and “Holly’s Story” videos, respectively.

LA Times interviews students. See the The Los Angeles Times, in an October 2, 2008 article entitled 'YouTube videos debate Proposition 8', describes the efforts of JP Catholic students in producing videos to support the passage of Proposition 8. The videos mentioned in the article are 'Four Men In Black', and 'Marriage Rights'. View various student videos on our YouTube channel now....

Personhood Amendment in Colorado is helped by student produced videos 'You became you' and 'Baby Blanket'. The effort seeks to amended the Colorado constitution to clearly establish 'personhood' from the moment of fertilization, giving the pre-born equal protection under the law.

Third academic year begins. A new class of freshmen are now on campus with our current sophomores and juniors to begin Fall quarter classes on October 1. Our student body comes from 20 states across the US, from San Diego to New Hampshire and from Washington to Florida.

Our Sunday Visitor, in their Sept 21 issue, features JP Catholic in an article entitled 'New Catholic colleges have lay foundations' . Read the article now....

JP Catholic President Guest on 'Christopher Closeup'

Dr. Connolly was a recent guest of Tony Rossi on his 'Christopher Closeup' show heard on the Catholic Channel on Sirius Radio. The Christopher's, founded by Fr. James Keller, encourage people of all ages and from all walks of life to use their God-given talents to make a positive difference in the world. Listen to 'Christopher Closeup' interview now....

Europe Study Abroad program will begin in Winter 2009. Read more about the intensive program in Ireland and Italy....

'Scullery' wins top awards at the first JP Catholic's Guisseppe Awards film festival. The short film was produced by AJ Kuenamann, directed by Michael Rossi, written by Jason Robles, and edited by Juan Pablo Ramirez. The student team had one week to write, one week to film, and one week to edit. Their initial logline, given by the student organizers, was 'A burrito is on the run from the authorities'. View the short film.... and be sure to watch Part II

JP Catholic President guest on EWTN Live

Dr. Connolly, JP Catholic President, was a recent guest of Fr. Mitch Pacwa on his 'EWTN Live' show. An archived audio of the interview is now available for listening (it requires 'Real Player').

Listen to EWTN Live interview now....

National Catholic Register article features JP Catholic. Read the article now....

Pope Benedict XVI tells Catholic University Presidents that 'fostering personal intimacy with Jesus Christ and communal witness to his loving truth is indispensable in Catholic institutions of learning.' Read more ....

New Media Lab complete

At its core, JP Catholic's mission is to form minds to shape the rapidly evolving and highly culture-impacting field of New Media, and to influence the global secular culture for Christ. Our students must learn to imagine, create, and produce the very best of content. JP Catholic has just completed acquiring state-of-the-art camera and editing equipment for its two core media labs. We are grateful to the extraordinarily generous benefactors who made this possible. We continue to seek funds to hire new faculty. Read more details....

Video Greeting to Pope Benedict XVI

Prof Tom Dunn and JP Catholic students created a 90-second video greeting on behalf of the Diocese of San Diego, which was shown before Pope Benedict's April 17th Mass in Washington, DC. View the film clip on YouTube....

Worldwide Adoration Project

Almost 100 people participated in the Worldwide Adoration Project in commemoration of the third anniversary of the Pope’s death. The one hour of Eucharistic Adoration was led by Deacon Jim Vargas at the JP Catholic campus on Wednesday evening, April 2nd, 2008.

Commemoration Scholarship Essay Competition

JP Catholic University is pleased to announce it will be awarding a total of $220,000 in scholarships to new, incoming JP Catholic students in honor of the third anniversary of our beloved pontiff John Paul the II’s death. To apply for these scholarships, please fill out this form and return it to our Admission's department. Note: these scholarship may not be combined with other JP Catholic awarded scholarships.

Ave Maria Radio features JP Catholic

Teresa Tomeo, host of 'Catholic Connection' in her February 12 show discusses JP Catholic with Dr Connolly, President. Listen Now....

JP Catholic adopts year round structure for its academic degree programs starting July 2008

Students will now finish their degree program in 3 years rather than the traditional 4 years. Read more details....

JP Catholic named one of 21 recommended Catholic colleges

JP Catholic University, only in its second year of operation, has been named one of 21 recommended Catholic colleges and universities in The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College: What to Look For and Where to Find It. The book is published by the Cardinal Newman Society. According to Guide editor Joseph Esposito, 'JP Catholic University has greatly impressed us with its strong Catholic identity, substantial core curriculum and 21st century niche majors that include business entrepreneurship and the New Media. We expect wonderful things from this institution, and we heartily recommend it to parents, students and guidance counselors.' Read more details....

Steve McEveety, distinguished producer, talks to JP Catholic students. Steve has produced The Passion of the Christ, Braveheart, We Were Soldiers, Airborne and many other hugely successful box office hits. He described many powerful moments during the production of the Passion and hand of God in the creation of this true masterpiece of film.

JP Catholic hosted the California Premieres of two new documentary films

The Champions of Faith: Baseball Edition is a groundbreaking documentary film that showcases the intersection of sports and faith in Major League Baseball by profiling many of the most accomplished and devout figures in the game both on and off the field.
The Call of the Entrepreneur is a documentary film that tells the stories of three entrepreneurs. Join Fr. Robert Sirico, Michael Novak, George Gilder and other experts in exploring how entrepreneurs shape our world today. Endowed with particular natural talents, the entrepreneur is the primary agent of economic progress in the modern world.

Gospel of Matthew - Prof. Michael Barber, the JP Catholic Professor of Theology, Scripture & Catholic Thought will teach a bible study this Spring Quarter on the Gospel of Matthew. The series is free and open to the public.

Visiting JP Catholic. Recent visitors to JP Catholic included:

1. Fr Mitch Pacwa, famed EWTN host, challenged our student body to prepare diligently to combat the secular media's battle agains the message of Christ.
2. Mercedes Wilson, President and Founder of Family of the Americas Foundation and a Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, shared with JP Catholic friends and students, her insights into the global Culture Wars and stories of her friendship with the Pope John Paul II.
3. Petr Peterka from Motorola talked with our Business majors on 'Digital Rights Management' and IPTV

Alejandro Monteverde award winning director talks to JP Catholic students. He directed and co-wrote Bella, which won the 'Peoples Choice Award', at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival - an award previously won by such films as Chariots of Fire, Life Is Beautiful, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hotel Rwanda. President Bush invited him to sit in the First Lady’s Box during his 2007 State of the Union Address as a shining example of the great contributions of immigrants to American society.

Prof. Michael Barber's new book Genesis to Jesus, co-authored with Kimberly Hahn, opens the door to a deeper understanding of Scripture. The book overviews salvation history painting the 'big picture,' the single plot that runs through all of the Bible.

Spring Quarter is underway at JP Catholic.

New Instructors this quarter include:

Fernando Alessandri
Fernando is currently a producer with Once Upon A Time Films, Ltd. As an Independent Producer, he is currently developing an animated film project at Disney Channel entitled, Shadow Thieves, based on the book by Anne Ursu. He obtained an M.F.A. in Film and Video Production at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and a B.A. in Political Science is from The University of Notre Dame. He also wrote, produced and directed several short films and documentaries for corporate clients. Read more about Fernando ....

Chris Riley
Chris, a seasoned screenwriter and a veteran of the Warner Bros. script department will teach two film courses to JP Catholic freshmen Spring quarter. Chris is the author of The Hollywood Standard: The Complete and Authoritative Guide to Script Format and Style. Since 2005, Chris has served as director of the acclaimed Act One Writing Program in Hollywood, which trains Christians of all denominations for careers as writers and executives in mainstream film and television.
Read more about Chris ....

JP Catholic hosts 350 at private screening of Bella. JP Catholic along with Metanoia Films hosted a private screening of Bella on Jan. 25th in Poway, CA. After the movie, Eduardo Verastegui, the lead actor in Bella and Leo Severino the movie producer (both are partners in Metanoia films) discussed the powerful movie with our students and friends. The audience raved about the movie, which won the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival's “Peoples Choice Award”.