Mission
Magnus Mission

The Albertus Magnus Institute is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the promotion of education that is truly liberating. Our namesake, St. Albert the Great, is known as the Universal Doctor. A renaissance man before the Renaissance, he mastered and taught each of the arts and sciences in a way that has echoed throughout time, preserving, strengthening, and conveying the great Western Tradition. He understood that authentic human freedom is accessible only through another sort of learning, one that is universal. He understood that these arts are called liberal because they alone can liberate.
Sadly, this notion has become totally foreign to modern ears. The place once occupied in the Tradition by authentic liberal education has been usurped by an imposter calling itself by the same name. The fruits of this modern counterfeit are manifold: students are given over to a lifetime of indentured servitude through debt, and the culture is disintegrating. Schools have ceased to be places of education and become places of manipulation. In short, we seek to disrupt this system and ransom the captives. We seek to offer an education that is at once free and freeing: to bring all men to the truth. Omnes ad Veritatem.
St. Albert the Great
1200-1280

With the help of our faithful benefactors, our mission is carried out through three main initiatives.
The Magnus Fellowship:
A full-scale online school offering live and interactive coursework that is rooted in the great books tradition. The Magnus Fellowship is an academy in the classical sense – designed to unite students (Fellows) in every place, of every age, with an ageless, living tradition under the light of great texts and through the tutelage of great teachers (Senior Fellows).
Magnus Institute Press:
A traditional publishing outlet dedicated solely to printing books that humans will still be reading in 100 years. As such, our limited edition Magnus Hardbacks are exquisitely crafted by our partner, the finest printer in Italy, and are sold with a 100 year guarantee, so your progeny can continue to read them long after your noble death. Focusing on quality over quantity, Magnus Press only prints titles that the Great Book aficionado can’t afford not to own. Our first title ships Fall, 2021.
The Magnus Podcast:
Beyond soundbites or the fleeting debates of the day, there is an eternal conversation beseeching the attention and response of the modern listener. Always substantive, sometimes entertaining, the Magnus Podcast brings great minds to you through in-depth discussions, lectures, and interviews.
The first episodes have been well-received and downloaded thousands of times in dozens of countries. The Magnus Podcast is available to download now with new episodes released regularly.
Board and Staff:
Steven A. Cortright, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors
Degrees from University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s College of California. Professor of Philosophy and Tutor in the Integral Curriculum of Liberal Arts at Saint Mary’s College of California.
Brian A. Long, Jr., Treasurer/Secretary and Director for Operations
Degree from Saint Mary’s College of California.
Andrew Seeley, Director-at-Large
Degrees from Thomas Aquinas College and University of Toronto. Tutor at Thomas Aquinas College. Co-founder and Director of The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education.
Lucas Shimizu, Esq., Director-at-Large
Degrees from Saint Mary’s College of California and UC Hastings.
John Johnson, Executive Director and Host of the Magnus Podcast
Degrees from Saint Mary’s College of California and the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology.
Ernest S. Pierucci, Esq., Advisor and Chairman of the Board of Regents
Degrees from Saint Mary’s College of California and The Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America.
Nicole Martin, Fellowship Support Coordinator
Degree from Thomas More College of Liberal Arts.
Anna Kate Moore, Executive Assistant
Degree from Thomas More College of the Liberal Arts.
Larissa Craft, Content Coordinator
Degree from University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Eva Moorman, Director of Mission Advancement
Degree from Thomas More College of the Liberal Arts.