John Singleton, C’86, MBA’87, has authored and published a coffee table book on the history and ethos of Mount St. Mary’s University, titled The Meaning of Mount St. Mary’s. He will come to the Mount on Tuesday, September 12, to deliver a lecture on the title, hosted by the AEI Executive Council.
Singleton, who lives in Annapolis with his wife and three sons, wrote the book as a chronological sample of the Mount’s history, beginning with the story of founder Father John Dubois and ending with the current president, Timothy E. Trainor.
Each chapter focuses on a key figure or element in the story of the Mount, such as the National Shrine Grotto, Monsignor Hugh J. Phillips, and Blessed Stanley Rother, with the overall message of the book being the importance of the Blessed Mother to the Mount, and the Mount’s premier role in American Catholic education. The artwork of Mount alumnus John La Farge, C’1853, is prominently featured throughout the book.
“The Mount’s history has been hidden in plain sight for a long time,” said Singleton, noting the richness and vibrancy of the more than two centuries of Mount history. “Unlike some other Catholic colleges, which are tied to a religious order that compiles and interprets the history of the college, the Mount doesn’t have any natural group to record the history. So, I aimed to compile and interpret our story.”
Singleton was largely inspired by his own experience as an undergraduate student. Although he majored in business and has since gone on to work in telecommunications and technology, he was deeply impacted by the liberal arts core courses that he took at the Mount. “The [Mount’s liberal arts curriculum] has been indispensable to me as a husband and a father,” Singleton shared. He observed that these classes have helped him to live a full and meaningful life and embrace his vocation.
“Ultimately, I hope readers get a sense of the Mount’s importance in American and Church history, Mary’s role as the hero of the Mount, and the Mount’s role in forming and shaping students, then and now,” he stated.
The Meaning of Mount St. Mary’s is available for purchase on the Mount St. Mary’s Bookstore’s website. Singleton’s talk, also titled “The Meaning of Mount St. Mary’s,” will be held on September 12 at 6:30 p.m. in Knott Auditorium, with a Q&A session to follow.