Catholic University was founded as the place where the Church in America could do its thinking. To this day it boasts the nation’s premier ecclesiastical faculties in philosophy, theology, and canon law.

Today, our commitment to research and creative work has expanded to the limits of human experience. Our faculty and students track the impact of space weather events on the Earth’s climate; search for the tiniest building blocks of our universe; study the complexity of all human relationships; and look for ways to break cycles of sexual violence.

Through an increased commitment to scholarship, research, training, and engagement, Catholic University seeks to raise its profile as a research university. Additional endowed chairs, graduate scholarships and fellowships, and improved research support programs will enable Catholic University to continue on its path of discovery.

$120 million in new investments

To sustain faculty excellence, Catholic University will: 

  • Attract more of the brightest scholars from all disciplines with the establishment of new endowed chairs; undertake and support innovative research; advance global solutions for a changing world.
    Key investments: $39 million endowed professorships and distinguished visitors-in-residence
  • Expand graduate scholarships and research fellowships; create research opportunities for undergraduate students.
    Key investments: $30 million for graduate scholarships and research fellowships, and student research fellowships
  • Pursue scholarship that applies the timeless principles of the Catholic intellectual tradition to the pressing social, environmental, moral, and metaphysical issues of contemporary life.
    Key investments: $51 million for research centers and institutes and The Catholic Project

Impact through research and scholarship

Throughout Light the Way: The Campaign for Catholic University, up to $120 million in new investment will be realized to help sustain and grow our Faculty’s Excellence, creating broader impact for our research and scholarship.