Join us for our second lunch seminar this seminar with Dr Reba Luiken, Executive Director, Allen Centennial Garden and Lecturer, Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences.
Abstract:
The Institutum Divi Thomae was the graduate school of science research for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Founded in 1935 by Dominican Archbishop John T McNicholas and placed under the direction of an eccentric and charismatic leader, Dr. George Speri Sperti, its primary objective was to demonstrate that science and Catholicism were not in opposition. It did this through its educational program, which primarily awarded master’s degrees to Catholic nuns. It also made an impact through its research on applied topics including cancer, malaria treatments, and the invention of aspercreme.
However, I argue its broadest immediate influence was through its prolific presence in public media. Through press releases and other network connections, stories about Institutum Divi Thomae highlighted the ways its research served both Catholic and American interests in print, at academic conferences, and on the silver screen. Dr. Sperti and other Institutum leadership successfully crafted a compelling visual narrative using nuns in full habit as eye-catching ambassadors for Catholic science through the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. The Institutum also leveraged their research foci to gain government contracts and consumer support for the products they commercialized from their research. The result was a continued influence on public perception of Catholic science in both Catholic and secular media.