The College of Saints John Fisher & Thomas More was first established in 1981 as the Saint Thomas More Institute in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1991, it became The College of Saint Thomas More. The founders included Dr. James Patrick, who led the Institute and then the College through all of its first thirty years, and Dr. Judith Shank, who is presently the senior member of the College faculty.
In the beginning, its teaching and learning activities were carried on in living rooms and hospital corridors. A campus in the University Place district of Fort Worth was launched with the acquisition of a house on the corner of Lubbock Avenue and W. Bowie Street in 1985. Over the years, contiguous properties along Lubbock and Merida Avenue were acquired and the campus grew to its present size of 11 buildings on just over one acre.
In January of 1994, the College received Level I accreditation to award an Associate of Arts degree, and in December of 1999 the College received a Level II accreditation to award a Bachelor of Arts degree.
In May of 2012, the College announced that it was adding St. John Fisher as co-patron, to become The College of Saints John Fisher & Thomas More, or “Fisher More College” as it is referred to colloquially.
The adoption of Saint John Fisher as co-patron alongside Saint Thomas More was for the purpose of bringing distinction and clarity to both the identity and the mission of the College.
In its commitment to serve families, Fisher More College is dedicated to the continued formation of young men and women into adulthood, vocation, and career. In its commitment to serve God and His Church, the College is dedicated to a formation of the complete person, “the supernatural man who thinks, judges and acts in accordance with right reason illumined by the supernatural light of the example and teaching of Christ; in other words, the true and finished man of character.” (Pope Pius XI, Divini Illius Magistri).
The curriculum is based on a foundation in the classical liberal arts, the humanities, and the scholastic tradition. For their Bachelor of Arts degree, students may concentrate in one or more of the five academic disciplines: Theology, Philosophy, Literature, History, and Classical Studies. The College will soon seek approval to offer an accredited degree that includes the fundamental principles of commerce and business management.
Campus life at the College is centered around the Sacred Liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, which features the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass daily in the Ancient (Extraordinary) Form of the Roman Rite and includes communal prayer and frequent devotions such as Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament, novenas, honoring of feast days, etc. A communal lunch is served every weekday which brings together students, faculty and staff, and includes spiritual reading. The campus offers a genuinely joyful and welcoming atmosphere of prayer, work, and learning.
