Peter V. Sampo
Encyclopedia
Peter V. Sampo is an educator and college president.
He is a founder of four colleges and was first president of two Catholic liberal arts college
s with curricula built on Great Books
of Western culture, The College of Saint Mary Magdalen
and Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
, both in New Hampshire
. He currently serves as president emeritus of The College of Saint Mary Magdalen.
and earned the Ph.D.
in political science
at Notre Dame
.
In 1974, Sampo, together with former high-school teacher John Meehan and businessman Francis Boucher, founded Magdalen College in Bedford, New Hampshire
(now The College of Saint Mary Magdalen in Warner, New Hampshire
).
Sampo was president of Magdalen until 1977, when he left to start Cardinal Newman College in Missouri. After Cardinal Newman College closed for financial reasons in 1985, he began work on Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
in Merrimack, New Hampshire
, offering a four-year liberal arts curriculum inspired by educators Donald and Louise Cowan. He served as president of Thomas More until 2006.
In 2009 he founded The Erasmus Institute of Liberal Arts, a liberal arts school in Canterbury, New Hampshire
offering the Cowan curriculum formerly used at Thomas More College. In 2011, it was merged into the College of Saint Mary Magdalen as a distinct program.
gave Sampo its Higher Education Excellence award.
The CiRCE Institute for classical education
designated Sampo the 2008 winner of its Paideia Prize named in honor of historian Russell Kirk
.
He is a founder of four colleges and was first president of two Catholic liberal arts college
Liberal arts college
A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
s with curricula built on Great Books
Great Books
Great Books refers primarily to a group of books that tradition, and various institutions and authorities, have regarded as constituting or best expressing the foundations of Western culture ; derivatively the term also refers to a curriculum or method of education based around a list of such books...
of Western culture, The College of Saint Mary Magdalen
and Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts is located in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The college emphasizes classical education in the Roman Catholic intellectual tradition and is named after Thomas More. The school has approximately 100 students.-Founding:...
, both in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. He currently serves as president emeritus of The College of Saint Mary Magdalen.
Life and career
Peter V. Sampo made his undergraduate studies at Saint Vincent CollegeSaint Vincent College
Saint Vincent College is a four-year, coeducational, Roman Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, located about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. It was founded in 1846 by Boniface Wimmer, a monk from Bavaria, Germany. It was the first Benedictine monastery in the...
and earned the Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
.
In 1974, Sampo, together with former high-school teacher John Meehan and businessman Francis Boucher, founded Magdalen College in Bedford, New Hampshire
Bedford, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the Census of 2000, there were 18,274 people, 6,251 households, and 5,125 families residing in the town. The population density was 556.6 people per square mile . There were 6,401 housing units at an average density of 195.0 per square mile...
(now The College of Saint Mary Magdalen in Warner, New Hampshire
Warner, New Hampshire
Warner is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,833 at the 2010 census. The town is home to The College of Saint Mary Magdalen, Rollins State Park and Mount Kearsarge State Forest....
).
Sampo was president of Magdalen until 1977, when he left to start Cardinal Newman College in Missouri. After Cardinal Newman College closed for financial reasons in 1985, he began work on Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts is located in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The college emphasizes classical education in the Roman Catholic intellectual tradition and is named after Thomas More. The school has approximately 100 students.-Founding:...
in Merrimack, New Hampshire
Merrimack, New Hampshire
Merrimack is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 25,494 at the 2010 census, making it the eighth-largest municipality in New Hampshire....
, offering a four-year liberal arts curriculum inspired by educators Donald and Louise Cowan. He served as president of Thomas More until 2006.
In 2009 he founded The Erasmus Institute of Liberal Arts, a liberal arts school in Canterbury, New Hampshire
Canterbury, New Hampshire
Canterbury is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,352 at the 2010 census. Canterbury is home to Ayers State Forest and Shaker State Forest. On the last Saturday in July, the town hosts the annual .- History :...
offering the Cowan curriculum formerly used at Thomas More College. In 2011, it was merged into the College of Saint Mary Magdalen as a distinct program.
Honors
In 2007 the New England Board of Higher EducationNew England Board of Higher Education
The New England Board of Higher Education is an interstate compact founded in 1955 by the six New England governors that promotes greater educational opportunities and services for the residents of New England. The region of New England includes the states of: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,...
gave Sampo its Higher Education Excellence award.
The CiRCE Institute for classical education
Classical education movement
The Classical education movement advocates a form of education based in the traditions of Western culture, with a particular focus on education as understood and taught in the Middle Ages. The curricula and pedagogy of classical education was first developed during the Middle Ages by Martianus...
designated Sampo the 2008 winner of its Paideia Prize named in honor of historian Russell Kirk
Russell Kirk
Russell Kirk was an American political theorist, moralist, historian, social critic, literary critic, and fiction author known for his influence on 20th century American conservatism. His 1953 book, The Conservative Mind, gave shape to the amorphous post–World War II conservative movement...
.