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Welcome

The University of Dallas is dedicated to the pursuit of wisdom, of truth, and of virtue as the proper and primary ends of education. In Principes, I take up that mission each month, and consider what it asks of us now.

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President Jonathan J. Sanford, PhD

Jonathan J. Sanford, Ph.D., is the 10th president of the University of Dallas and a tenured professor of philosophy. Since assuming the presidency in 2021, he has led UD with a conviction at the heart of its founding vision: that the pursuit of truth, wisdom, and virtue forms men and women capable of assuming responsibility for the common good. A scholar of moral philosophy and virtue ethics, Sanford writes and speaks frequently on higher education, Catholic intellectual life, moral formation, and culture.

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Speeches & Writings

President Sanford writes and speaks regularly on the purpose of the university, the formation of leaders and the place of Catholic higher education in American life.

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Education Is Not a Commodity

Universities sitting on billion-dollar endowments are cutting the humanities and blaming finances. The real cause is treating education as a product to be purchased rather than a formation to be undergone.

  • First Things
  • Oct 14,2025
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Course One
What Is Academic Freedom For?
  • The Wall Street Journal
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Higher Education Needs a Reset

Public trust in universities has collapsed for reasons universities earned. They will regain it only by returning to their proper work — truth, virtue, and responsibility for the country.

  • National Review
  • Apr 27,2025
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Course One
AI Is No Substitute for Liberal-Arts Education
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Course One
AI Is Revolutionizing Business, but It Can't Form the Leaders We Need

Artificial intelligence has transformed how business is done. Judgment, character, and the capacity to lead other people are not things it can produce.

  • The Dallas Morning News
  • Dec 22,2025
Course One
Can Catholic Higher Education Be Saved?

A conversation on whether Catholic universities can recover their purpose, and what it costs an institution to be Catholic without apology.

  • Catholic Herald