Graduate Institute 50 Years Anniversary

In the summer of 1967, on the three-year-old St. John’s Santa Fe campus, the Graduate Institute came to life as the Teachers Institute. The GI, as we know it during this 50th anniversary, offers a master of arts in liberal arts on both campuses year-round. In 1994, Santa Fe established a master of arts in Eastern classics. History

Celebrating 50 Years

The St. John’s College Graduate Institute offers a life-enriching master’s curriculum studying great books. Read how this education has shaped GI students and alumni.

Homecoming

Alumni, students, faculty and friends celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Graduate Institute during Homecoming in Santa Fe.

Alumni

As the COO of world-renowned arts company Meow Wolf, Sean Di Ianni (SFGI13) wants to democratize the arts experience and create a financial support structure for artists.

Homecoming

Hundreds of alumni and their families descended on St. John’s in Annapolis for Homecoming weekend.

Alumni

Natalie Goldberg (SFGI74) is a best-selling author whose life was affected profoundly by her time in the Graduate Institute.

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Alumni

David Diggs (AGI91) will receive an Alumni Association Award of Merit at Homecoming for his work toward ending child slavery in Haiti.

Ariel Winnick Santa Fe Graduate Institute St Johns

Alumni

Ariel Winnick (SF11, EC12) is studying medicine at Ben-Gurion University’s Medical School for International Health in Israel.

Alumni

Patrick and Tianlu Redmon bonded over The Odyssey and are now on a journey together.

Alumni

Daryl Breithaupt (SF13, EC14) has maintained a lifelong interest in education, and it continues with his work as a substitute teacher in Arkansas.

Alumni

Graham Gordon (AGI13) is a site supervisor for Habitat for Humanity in Tennessee.

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Alumni

Mary-Charlotte Domandi (SFGI91) is an award-winning broadcast journalist known for interviews that dive deep.

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Summer Lecture Series

Joseph Trullinger will speak at St. John’s College in Annapolis on June 28 as part of the Summer Wednesday Night Lecture Series.

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Summer Lecture Series

Alumnus Ian Blaustein (A05) will return to St. John’s June 21 to deliver a lecture titled “The Self-Deception Problem” as part of the Summer Wednesday Night Lecture Series.

Convocation

Sixteen new students joined the Graduate Institute in Annapolis and Santa Fe during recent summer Convocation ceremonies.

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Summer Lecture Series

Matthew Reiner (A05) will kick off the Summer Wednesday Night Lecture Series in Annapolis with a lecture on Thomas Aquinas.

Alumni

As the co-director of the Marchutz School of Fine Arts, John Gasparach (SFGI03) has changed the life trajectories of many Johnnies.

Annapolis Graduate Institute Students St. John's

History

The St. John’s College Graduate Institute is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017. Started as the Teachers Institute in Santa Fe, the program has evolved to offer two master’s degrees.

Annapolis Graduate Institute Alumni David Hysong St Johns

Alumni Profile

St. John’s College alum David Hysong (AGI11) has been named one of Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30” for his efforts in cancer therapy development.

Ann Bigham Graduate Institute Annapolis Alumni St Johns

Alumni Profile

The Ann Bigham Annual Scholarship was established recently to provide support for high school teachers or administrators to pursue their master’s degree at the St. John’s College Graduate Institute.

Student Profile

St. John’s College student John Felis is studying the great books, not textbooks, at the Graduate Institute in Annapolis.

Student Profile

St. John's College Graduate Institute student Eva Marie Haine is satisfying her desire to study the great books.

Student Profile

St. John’s College Graduate Institute student Bryan Canter is a retired Army veteran doing research for work on historical fiction novels.

Student Profile

U.S. Army veteran Matthew Nicholls is enrolled in the Graduate Institute at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, and hopes to become a public defender.

Alumni Profile

Retired U.S. Army Maj. Jeff Conover came to St. John’s College in Annapolis in a search for something deeper.

Graduate Institute 50th Events

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Graduate Institute (GI), events were held during the 2017 Homecoming festivities.

Annapolis

A reunion party for all GI alumni was held at the Barr-Buchanan Center. This event featured remarks about the first years of the GI from retired tutor Elliott Zuckerman, who was instrumental in its founding and took over the directorship in 1968.

Two GI alumni seminars took place during Homecoming weekend:
- Seminar: “Grecian Urn” and “To Autumn,” by John Keats, led by David Townsend
- Seminar: Abraham Lincoln’s “The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions: Address before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, January 27, 1838,” led by Eva Brann (H89)
There was also an all-college GI 50th Anniversary Celebration with opening remarks from Emily Langston, associate dean for graduate programs. The keynote address was given by retired tutor and honorary alumnus Geoff Comber, whose efforts in the late 1970s brought the GI to the Annapolis campus.
During the Alumni Association Awards Banquet, GI alum Ben Sasse (AGI98) was honored with the Award of Merit.

Santa Fe

Three GI alumni seminars took place during Homecoming weekend:
- Seminar: “Burnt Norton,” first poem in The Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot, led by Philip LeCuyer
- Seminar: the film “Cool Hand Luke” by Stuart Rosenberg, led by David Carl
- Seminar GI Eastern Classics: Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings, Chapters 1-3, translated by Burton Watson, led by Michael Wolfe (SF94)
There was an All-College GI 50th Anniversary Celebration with a welcome from President Mark Roosevelt, opening remarks on the current state and future plan for the GI from Associate Dean David McDonald, and a keynote speech by tutor Cary Stickney.
During the Alumni Association Awards Banquet, GI alum Jason Viseltear (SFGI96) was presented the Award of Merit.