Going the Distance: Online Catholic University Marks 35 Years - Stephen Beale, NC Register

The country’s first and — perhaps still only — exclusively online Catholic university is marking its 35th anniversary this year, a testament to the role it continues to play in the landscape of Catholic higher education. Marianne Mount, the president of Catholic Distance University (CDU), said the anniversary has focused the school’s attention on its distinctive mission and identity. “Now, in the words of Pope Francis, the CDU is able to reach the peripheries,” Mount said. Catholic Distance University was founded in 1983 by Bishop Thomas Welch of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, who recognized a need for the formation of the laity after Vatican II’s teachings on the universal call to holiness and witnessing to Christ in the world. http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/going-the-distance-online-catholic-university-marks-35-years