Why Aren't There More?

Guess it's that time of the year when many high school seniors are getting their applications off to different colleges. Speaking of colleges, and putting the issue of orthodoxy aside, I am somewhat amazed that there is only one four year Catholic university in Los Angeles County and a total of 4 four year Catholic colleges/universities in all of Southern California (which I would say runs from Bakersfield down to San Diego). Considering that one of these colleges, John Paul the Great University has basically just started operating and holds all of its classes in an office building, there are really only 3 established Catholic colleges/universities (Loyola Marymount, Thomas Aquinas College and University of San Diego) in the region.

Compare that to the San Francisco Bay Area, where there are a total of 6 established four year Catholic colleges/universities (University of San Francisco, Dominican University, Holy Names University, Notre Dame de Namur University, Saint Mary's College, and Santa Clara University). Throw in the University of Sacramento, which is only about 100 miles from San Francisco, and there are 7 institutes of higher learning in the area with a Catholic identity.

How the heck did such a discrepancy occur?