St. John's College

A St. John’s Reporter article from February 1983 quotes alum Francis Mason (Class of 1943) saying of Annapolis tutor J. Winfree Smith: “It is a matter for universal rejoicing, I think, that he is the author of the history of the St. John’s program which is soon to be published.”

Mason, himself a renowned New York author and dance critic, was referring to "A Search for the Liberal College: The Beginning of the St. John’s Program." Published that September by St. John’s College Press, Smith’s highly anticipated retrospective of the New Program recalled Stringfellow Barr and Scott Buchanan’s dreams of reviving liberal education in America while chronicling the college’s evolution from 1937 through the early 1980s.

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Santa Fe campus in 2024, Smith’s 1983 book was reprinted for the first time in decades by the St. John’s College Press, a project led by Santa Fe librarian Jennifer Sprague. Today, this re-release feels timelier than ever as St. John’s Annapolis looks back at its own history amid the nation’s semiquincentennial while anticipating the New Program’s 90th anniversary in 2027.

🖊 Annie Frost (SF28)

Back In Print: Annapolis Tutor J. Winfree Smith’s History of the New Program In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Santa Fe campus in 2024, Smith’s 1983 book was reprinted for the first time in decades. Today, this re-release feels timelier than ever as St. John’s

Happy birthday, America! This year, we’re collectively marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The observance might feel especially poignant for Annapolis residents: Founded in 1649, the city witnessed key events in the making of our nation’s freedom from Great Britain.

But as many an alum, tutor, and student might tell you, St. John’s College spans centuries while containing multitudes. We not only have 18th-century classrooms, but a rare modernist science building designed by architect Richard Neutra. Several of our residence halls are named after Founding Fathers, but one functioned as a Civil War hospital (and has the ghost stories to prove it). And our distinctive Program of Study stretches across epochs and millennia: sights on campus such as our Ptolemy stone—an ancient astronomical device that measures the sun’s angle and elevation—serve as a reminder that while history occurred in Annapolis during the Revolutionary War, it continues to be studied, and made, by scholars of the liberal arts, conversing with each other throughout successive generations via the written word.

Take our new self-guided campus tour, a stop on Visit Annapolis' “Be Revolutionary” campaign, and travel through time. Feeling extra festive? Check out the other commemorative events we have planned at St. John’s College this summer that celebrate the big 250.

Tour the Annapolis Campus in Historic Maryland | St. John's College Welcome to St. John’s College, the third oldest college in America, founded in 1696 as the King William’s School. Four of the college’s founders signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, George Washington visited the school in 1791, and Abraham Lincoln walked the grounds in 1865. Other n...

Celebrate the July 4th 2026 weekend in Downtown Annapolis, Maryland as we celebrate America's birthday. Free parking all day July 4 and 5 at the Calvert Street Parking Garage at 19 St Johns Street.

The Graduate Institute's annual summer lecture series returns this week!

For the uninitiated, the Graduate Institute in Annapolis and Santa Fe has a tradition each summer of hosting Wednesday evening talks featuring faculty members and visiting scholars from universities across the country. These campus events are free and open to the public; seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

This year’s Annapolis lecture series theme, in keeping with our nation’s observance of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, is “Thinking about America at St. John’s College.” Santa Fe's series, meanwhile, will feature an exploration of religion in the novels of George Eliot, a lecture by sociologist Musa al-Gharbi, a panel discussion on the new Middle Eastern Classics program, and more.

We’ll be kicking off this season's lecture series in Annapolis on Wednesday, June 10, at 7:30 p.m. with tutors Jonathan Badger, Janet Dougherty, and guest speaker Rob Mass, who will co-present their lecture “Where to Begin a Study of American Thought?” On Wednesday, June 24, we’ll welcome tutor Richard McCombs to the podium in Santa Fe for his talk “George Eliot’s Beautiful Atheistic Religiousness." Can't make it in person? All lectures will be posted on YouTube.

View the full lineup below:

St. John’s College Graduate Institute Announces 2026 Summer Lecture Series Lectures, offered in person in Annapolis and Santa Fe and online, are free and open to the public

SHARE ALERT! "Dreams of My Soul" is coming to St. John's College!

This FREE theatrical production by Our Legacy Tours will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 26 & Saturday, June 27, in the Francis Scott Key Theater at St. John's College. Tickets: https://oltannapolis.com/events

Here's a short description of the show:

"Step into the untold history of Annapolis during the revolutionary tensions of 1776. Dreams of My Soul offers a powerful look inside the lives of the "other" families of the era—the enslaved, the indentured, and the gentry. Though divided by circumstance, they are bound by a singular, universal desire: freedom.

Join us for this compelling theatrical production that brings local history and diverse perspectives to life on stage."

There are devoted lifelong learners, and then there’s David Feldstein, who this July will have attended Summer Classics a grand total of 18 times. He shared with us memories of the things he’s learned—and the friendships he’s made—in Santa Fe.

This year’s Summer Classics theme, “The Pursuit of Happiness,” considers the idea of human flourishing (eudaimonia), or a life well-lived. Offered over the course of four weeks starting July 6, our lineup of curated seminar topics encourages reflection on the pursuit of this ideal. Registration closes on June 30.

Questions? Email [email protected] for more information, or read participants' reviews of Summer Classics by visiting the link in our comments section.

David Feldstein Shares Memories From Nearly Two Decades of Summer Classics Feldstein has rarely missed a year of his seasonal pilgrimage to Santa Fe since 2007—and he has no shortage of stories to tell about the books he has read and the friendships he has made along the

Registration for a Year of Classics at St. John's College is officially live! Sign up here:

https://sjc-register.advancementform.com/event/yoc-2627/register

Just two more days! Registration for a Year of Classics, September 2026-May 2027, officially opens on Thursday, June 4.

This year’s theme, “Sea to Shining Sea: An Exploration of America,” offers nine monthly readings that explore our national legacy while commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. What stories create the myths and realities of this beautiful, complicated, and persistent country? Meet in person in Washington, D.C.; at the St. John’s College campuses in Annapolis and Santa Fe; or online from anywhere you may find yourself in the coming year.

Our seminar reading list and class meeting times are now available on the Year of Classics website. For questions or more information, email [email protected].

https://www.sjc.edu/year-classics/theme-reading-list

https://www.sjc.edu/year-classics/seminar-schedule

More than 120 seniors and members of the Graduate Institute received their degrees at Santa Fe’s 2026 Commencement on Saturday, May 23, which included a keynote address delivered by Ben Sasse (AGI98), a former U.S. senator from Nebraska and 13th president of the University of Florida.

“A liberal arts education is never finished,” Sasse said in his speech. “It is a transformation that could [happen] in high school and … can still happen at age 35, 55, 75, 95.

“It is a conversation through the ages available to anyone who would engage big ideas with both humility and curiosity. In a world that increasingly thinks of everything in terms of quantification, the liberal arts teach us that the biggest things in life will always be the qualitative riddles. The liberal arts also teach us that the virtues are not merely intellectual. They also have to be practical. You can never think your way to a good life. You have to live it.”

Read Sasse's five recommended habits for cultivating a good life by clicking on the link below:

Santa Fe Commencement Speaker Ben Sasse (AGI98) Shares His Advice for a Life Well-Lived Sasse, an alum of the St. John’s College Graduate Institute in Annapolis, addressed the transformative power of reading, friendship, travel, and more.

Just two more days! Registration for a Year of Classics, September 2026-May 2027, officially opens on Thursday, June 4.

This year’s theme, “Sea to Shining Sea: An Exploration of America,” offers nine monthly readings that explore our national legacy while commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. What stories create the myths and realities of this beautiful, complicated, and persistent country? Meet in person in Washington, D.C.; at the St. John’s College campuses in Annapolis and Santa Fe; or online from anywhere you may find yourself in the coming year.

Our seminar reading list and class meeting times are now available on the Year of Classics website. For questions or more information, email [email protected].

https://www.sjc.edu/year-classics/theme-reading-list

https://www.sjc.edu/year-classics/seminar-schedule