A Prestigious Legacy
Upon his retirement in December, Theodore Vitali, C.P., Ph.D., (GRAD A&S ’74, ’76) left a legacy of excellence at Saint Louis University. From the students he formed to the department he built and the future he will help SLU attain, his lasting impacts will continue to be realized by future generations of Billikens.
During his tenure as chair of the Department of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences, a role he held from 1989 to December 2024, Vitali elevated its reputation and established it as one of the country's most respected units of its kind. That success continues today.
“The department went from barely holding on to accreditation 36 years ago to being ranked in the top 10% in the country today,” said Vitali. “We needed to come back, and we have. We’re different. We’re prestigious.”
Revitalizing the philosophy department required vision and ongoing financial support. Vitali said he believes that endowments are crucial in sustaining great universities, allowing top institutions to attract leading scholars worldwide. Committed to restoring the Department of Philosophy to the exceptional status it held in the 1950s and 1960s, he acted on his convictions. In 2018, Vitali made planned-giving arrangements for his retirement savings, valued at approximately $2 million, to establish a scholarship for a full-time undergraduate or graduate philosophy student from the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, also known as the Passionists, and support the Theodore R. Vitali, C.P., Ph.D., Endowed Chair in Philosophy. In 2019, Daniel M. Haybron, Ph.D., was formally invested with the title.
“I believe in this institution,” Vitali said. “The senior-level faculty set the standards of your discipline, department and culture. I knew that when I got here. Your majors go on to top-rung programs because of the established prestige of your department. It also affects your hiring. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
One of Vitali’s priorities upon assuming his leadership role was to recruit top-tier endowed chairs. He hired two renowned philosophers, Eleonore Stump, Ph.D., and John Greco, Ph.D., and promoted James Bohman, Ph.D., to full professor with an endowed chair. Their influence and expertise have helped propel the department to the forefront, and the impact of that decision is poised to continue for years to come.
Philosophy at Saint Louis University
Vitali’s connection to SLU began in 1972, three years after he was ordained a Passionists priest. Hailing from the Washington, D.C.- Boston corridor, he aspired to continue his graduate-level education at an Ivy League-caliber school. However, according to Vitali, he didn’t score high enough on his GRE to be accepted into schools like Yale University or the University of Notre Dame.
“Saint Louis University gave me a chance that the other schools didn’t,” Vitali said. “I went from a ‘charity case’ where no prestigious schools would accept me, to becoming one of SLU’s graduate student leaders. I proved myself.”
Vitali earned his master’s degree in philosophy from SLU in 1974 and his doctorate in 1976. After leading the philosophy department at Bellarmine University from 1980-1989, he was invited to join SLU in 1989 by James Bundschuh, Ph.D., the then-dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
“Fr. Vitali is a devoted professor,” Bundschuh said recently. “He has many qualities that stand out, but as I observed from the beginning, he never talked down to anyone, whether colleagues or students.”
Vitali understood that to develop a strong program, he needed to start by asking faculty members, “What do you want to do? My job is not to tell you what to do but to make it happen,” Vitali said. And he has done just that.
“Fr. Vitali consistently modeled servant leadership, which showed me how to take the department forward into its next phase of life,” said Clyde “Scott” Ragland, Ph.D., current chair of the philosophy department. Ragland and others were recently asked to share their memories of Vitali, who will be celebrated at a retirement event this spring.
In recent years, SLU’s Department of Philosophy has gained national and international recognition in epistemology, medieval philosophy, philosophy of religion, action theory, and social-political philosophy. The department also houses the journal Res Philosophica, one of the oldest philosophy publications of its kind in the United States.
As a Jesuit university, every major at SLU is founded upon a core curriculum that includes theology and philosophy, prompting students to explore questions such as: What is the meaning of life? What is real? What is human society? Philosophy is a unifier, especially in a diverse universe, according to Vitali. It embodies human reasoning that seeks understanding and appeals to the logical reflection of the human experience.
The future lies in the generation that follows this one line: As community members, you have to lead with a vision of excellence. You have to believe in what this excellence can be. It’s there for the taking. It’s right here.”
Theodore Vitali, C.P., Ph.D., (GRAD A&S ’74, ’76)
For Leeza Kabbendjian (AS ’22), the lessons she learned at SLU allow her to ponder the existential questions posed by her former professor.
“He told our class, ‘To be loved is to be seen.’ Those are words I think about a lot,” she said.
Vitali’s hope for his students in his final semester is that they commit to living reflective lives and strive for professional excellence. He said he wants them to be capable of thoughtfully considering moral questions and recognizing the importance of moral character in shaping society.
“The future lies in the generation that follows this one line: As community members, you have to lead with a vision of excellence,” Vitali said. “You have to believe in what this excellence can be. It’s there for the taking. It’s right here.”
Contributing to Fr. Vitali’s Legacy
Contributions to the Theodore R. Vitali, C.P., Endowed Scholarship, can be made online in honor of Fr. Vitali’s retirement. For more information, email giving@slu.edu.