Faculty Spotlight
Dr. David Foote “Extraordinary Teacher” Retires
By KATHRYN WEHR
“[Catholic Studies] is a place where good scholars are
A fter nearly 20 years at St. Thomas and 16 years as part of Catholic Studies, Dr. David Foote is retiring. David and his wife, Gail, will be returning to Florida where they met and still have family. He will be deeply missed by our faculty, staff, and students alike. “We’re never going to find someone who could truly replace him,” says Dr. Bob Kennedy. “He is a thoughtful and generous colleague. There is a depth there.” Dr. Foote had a varied background including graduate studies in theology and business, and years of work in banking before returning to get a PhD in medieval history from the University of California at Davis. After four years teaching history at Mississippi State University, he was hired in 2005 as the chair of the history department at the University of St. Thomas.
unbending, earnestly seeking the truth. He doesn’t give people a pass.” Dr. John Boyle sees this coming from Dr. Foote’s “capacious vision of the whole, of the deepest integrity of things. He communicates it so very effectively to students. Indeed, he enables students to think with ever penetrating insight and depth, opening up the works of great writers so as to see reality yet more fully.” allowed to think of their field in the light of Christ; to know Christ the Word better—joyfully and freely— and understand the world that reflects Him.” - Dr. David Foote
Within a few years of his arrival, he was asked to teach a Catholic Studies graduate class, and this grew to more classes, a shared appointment between history and Catholic Studies, and eventually to a full-time appointment in Catholic Studies in 2013. He not only has taught many hundreds of students over the years, but has also overseen the Rome program, and served as an associate editor of Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture since 2015.
One of the contributions Dr. Michael Naughton appreciates most about Dr. Foote is the "guidance he gave to our graduate students, deepening their thoughts and expanding connections in writing their master’s essay."
Dr. Foote’s favorite classes have included his legendary CATH 101 “The Search for Happiness” for undergraduates, and classes on St. Francis and Guardini for the CSMA program. His “Secularization” course has also become a real turning point for many MA students as
He describes his years in Catholic Studies as “freeing,” saying, “It’s a place where good scholars are allowed to think of their field in the light of Christ; to know Christ the Word better—joyfully and freely—and understand the world that reflects Him.” Dr. Foote has a rare and precious combination, according to Fr. Austin Litke ‘04, OP: “He has an unassuming and gentle demeanor, but when it comes to ideas he can be
they read Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age together.
While the Catholic Studies community is sorry to see Dr. Foote’s retirement approaching, we celebrate and thank him for all the ways he has deepened life at Sitzmann Hall and beyond. As Dr. Boyle says, “Dr. Foote is an extraordinary teacher. He has been a gift to Catholic Studies, to his colleagues and to our students. We will miss him.”
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