At 88, Tom Monaghan, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, still has unfinished work to do

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (OSV News) -- Even as he approaches his 90s, Midwestern entrepreneur and philanthropist Tom Monaghan said he still has some unfinished work as he looks back on his business successes and philanthropic projects in Catholic education, media and investing.

Especially close to the Michigan native's heart is Legatus, an international organization for Catholic business leaders, now with 96 chapters in 37 states, plus Canada and Mexico, and a total of some 5,500 members.

"There is a lot of untapped territory and I think we can have upwards of a couple of hundred chapters in North America and maybe about 8,000 members," said Monaghan, who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

In a recent phone interview with OSV News, Monaghan, who founded Domino's Pizza, in 1960, touched on some of the past and ongoing projects associated with the American entrepreneur and philanthropist.

Monaghan founded Ave Maria University and Ave Maria School of Law, and is a past owner of the Detroit Tigers, a Major League Baseball team. He still owns the Domino's Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor Charter Township in Michigan, and he is in the process of selling his personal Michigan estate on 30 acres near Ann Arbor.

Monaghan said that as a result of his business success and his well-known Catholic identity and charity work, he soon became inundated with philanthropic proposals, which led him to conclude that his focus was best placed in supporting Catholic education and Catholic radio.

Monaghan founded Legatus in 1987 to help form Catholic leaders where it might most have an impact; Legatus is officially described as an international organization of lay executives whose mission is to study, live, and spread the Catholic faith in their business, professional and personal lives.

It is a network of CEOs, presidents, managing partners and founders who aspire to be faithful ambassadors for Christ and lead as many other souls to heaven as possible. Their next annual summit is set for Santa Barbara, California.

"I am hoping that this is motivating the people who, as a group, have the most influence on society and that they can have influence on the church -- and that is happening a lot," Monaghan told OSV News.

"We hear of members who were minimal practicing Catholics when they joined and who catch fire and the next thing you know they are starting apostolates and getting on boards of good Catholic organizations," he said. "It is life changing for many people and it was for me too because of all the people I have met."

Legatus members that he said have subsequently inspired him include California businessman Tim Busch, founder of the Napa Institute and a benefactor of Catholic education initiatives, and the late Joe Canizaro, a New Orleans real estate developer and philanthropist whom Monaghan said helped establish many adoration chapels in New Orleans-area parishes.

"He was already an active Catholic and I am sure Legatus helped naturally increase that," Monaghan said of Canizaro, who died in June of this year. "Louisiana now has probably our deepest penetration of any population per capita of any state in the country."

The average age of Legatus members is about 62, which the group's leadership says seems to be a sweet spot where a Catholic business man or woman has been successful in business but also at that age when you reach a half time; when you move from success to significance by getting more involved with family and faith and take the faith more seriously.

The South continues to be a membership growth area, perhaps in keeping with trends in Catholic population growth overall. The Great Lakes region, the Midwest, Louisiana and Texas remain strongholds for Legatus.

Asked if successful businessmen can also be fully successful in their Catholic ethics and faith life, he said, in jest, that he was tempted to respond that it's "a stupid question."

"I think the idea of being a good Catholic is a foundation for being a good businessman because it is a people business: customers, suppliers, your staff and employees. You treat them well and that translates into being successful."

Monaghan, who sold Domino's Pizza in 1988, said he left the business world before technology had become so integral to work life and certainly long before anyone thought about artificial intelligence applications, although he does say that AI is something that Ave Maria University is being forced to address.

The Southwest Florida-based Ave Maria University established within a unique development model near Naples, Florida, and now boasts some 5,500 private homes with a total of 11,000 additional new homes projected for the future.

There are dormitories for the student body, and Monaghan said he strongly encourages students to live on campus to get the full academic, spiritual and social benefits on offer at Ave Maria.

A liberal arts education is still the best foundation for adaptable business men and women of the future and Monaghan said he always preferred hiring people with liberal arts or law degrees over those with business degrees.

"I believe in educating students to learn to think, not training them. As a business owner I have always preferred liberal arts students. You learn to think, you are more flexible, jobs change, industries change and you have that solid core."

Likewise, the mission of Ave Maria School of Law, which is located in Naples proper, fits with Monaghan's ongoing goal to form future Catholic leaders given that so many top law makers and business people have a background in law.

He said he wanted to start a law school with a strong Catholic identity and now points out that Ave Maria is the only school of law endorsed by the Cardinal Newman Society's Newman Guide.The society's mission "is to promote and defend faithful Catholic education," its website says.

Monaghan hopes that someday an Ave Maria graduate will take his or her place on the U.S. Supreme Court.

"There are attorneys in every boardroom of every public company and probably the most dominant person in the room, so it is a very effective position. And some 97% of law faculty in the United States (identify as) Democrats so there are probably not a lot of pro-lifers there, including at many Catholic schools."

Finally, there is a renewed thrust at Ave Maria University to foster religious vocations, and Monaghan reports that some 23 men are currently discerning the priesthood from among a student body of 1,300 undergraduates.

There are no plans to grow the school larger and larger, preferring instead to emphasize quality over quantity in a similar way that Hillsdale College in Michigan has been punching above its weight in terms of influence.

"They have shown you can have a big impact with that amount of students. Most people might think that Hillsdale has five to 10 thousand students -- they have (almost) 1,600. And by staying small they can stay a lot more selective."