St. Thomas Aquinas College, located in Sparkill, New York, has been awarded a generous two-year grant of $229,624 from The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. This grant will facilitate the establishment of The St. Thomas Aquinas Institute for the Study of Loyalists in the American Revolution.
President Ken Daly of St. Thomas Aquinas College expressed gratitude to The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation for their support in launching this historically significant initiative. The institute’s aim is to provide students with hands-on experiential learning opportunities, collaborating with distinguished experts in the field, to bring history to life and engage the community.
In anticipation of the Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) of the Declaration of Independence, the institute will involve the efforts of faculty, students, and external academic partners in creating an online educational resource and digital center. This digital center will feature extensive text and images related to the American Revolution, as well as a searchable database containing information on thousands of loyalists from the greater New York City metropolitan area, with a particular focus on the Lower Hudson Valley and Long Island.
St. Thomas Aquinas College students will serve as Research Associates, actively participating in the research and development of the database, visiting historical collections across the region, and gaining skills in archival research and transcription. Courses such as XLAB and Communications Arts will engage students in digital humanities, allowing them to create interactive story maps, data visualizations, and video vignettes.
Heading this initiative are co-directors, St. Thomas Aquinas College’s Dean of Arts and Social Sciences Heath Bowen, Ph.D., and external academic partner Christopher F. Minty, Ph.D., FRHistS.
Kathryn Curran, the Executive Director of the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, expressed support for research on this often overlooked topic—the role of New York’s loyalists in the American Revolution. She noted the direct links many Long Island families and communities have to this aspect of divided loyalty and emphasized that the project would provide valuable insights into the political, economic, and emotional climate of that era.
The project is currently in progress, with the research and development phase expected to last about two years. It is scheduled to be officially launched in advance of the Semiquincentennial in July 2026.
About St. Thomas Aquinas College:
St. Thomas Aquinas College is an independent liberal arts college situated on 76 acres in Rockland County, NY, offering undergraduate and graduate education. With a diverse student body of approximately 2,000 full and part-time students, the College provides over 100 majors, minors, and specializations across four Schools: Arts & Social Sciences, Business, Education, and STEM. It has received recognition from U.S. News & World Report as a Top-Tier Regional University and from Colleges of Distinction for Business, Education, and Career Development in its New York edition. The College is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, with its School of Education accredited by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) and its School of Business accredited by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE). Learn more at stac.edu.