Michael Novak Papers
1933
Born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania; oldest of five children
1947
Entered Holy Cross Seminary of the Congregation of Holy Cross at the University of Notre Dame
1951
Graduated from Holy Cross Seminary; chose the newly formed Eastern Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross; entered novitiate at North Dartmouth, Massachusetts 1952 Entered Stonehill College, North Easton, Massachusetts
1956
Graduated (Summa Cum Laude) from Stonehill College (B.A., Philosophy and English)
1958
Graduated (Cum Laude) from the Gregorian University in Rome (B.A., Theology) Continued theological studies at Catholic University
1960
Left Congregation of Holy Cross; went to New York City to write; entered Harvard in September
1961
The Tiber Was Silver, the first of two novels, published
1963
Married Karen Ruth Laub
1963-64
Served as journalist for Time and other publications covering the Second Vatican Council in Rome
1964
Mr. Novak’s younger brother, Father Richard Novak, C.S.C, killed in January during Hindu-Muslim riots in East Pakistan
Returned to Rome for Third Session of Vatican Council, September-October
The Open Church published
1965
Belief and Unbelief, published (new ed., 1994)
1965-68
Became Assistant Professor of Humanities at Stanford, voted one of two “most influential professors” by senior class two out of three years
1966
Received an M.A. in History and the Philosophy of Religion at Harvard University
Became associate editor at Commonwealth magazine
1968-1976
First Catholic contributing editor to Christianity and Crisis (now known as Crisis magazine)
1969-1972
Taught at the newly formed experimental College at SUNY Old Westbury
1970
The Experience of Nothingness, published (new ed., 1994) Naked I Leave, second of two novels, published
1972
The Rise of the Unmeltable Ethics, published (new ed., 1996)
Speechwriter for George McGovern, Sargent Shriver, Presidential Campaign
1973-74
Launched new humanities program at the Rockefeller Foundation
1976
Accepted a tenured chair as University Professor and Ledden-Watson Distinguished Professor of Religion at Syracuse University The Joy of Sports, published (new ed., 1994)
1976-1980
“Illusions and Realities” twice weekly column, syndicated nationally
1978
Selected by American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) to become resident scholar in religion and public policy
The Guns Of Latimer, published (also in 1996)
1979
Received the Freedom Award of the Coalition for a Democratic Majority
Pulitzer finalist
1979-86
“Tomorrow and Tomorrow” column appeared monthly in National Review
1981-82
Served as Ambassador of U.S. Delegation to United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva
1982
The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, Mr. Novak’s masterpiece, was published
1983
Wrote Moral Clarity in the Nuclear Age, a lay Catholic letter
1984
Received the George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedom Foundation
Joined the Board for International Broadcasting (private corporation that governs Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Wrote Toward the Future with the Lay Commission on Catholic and Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy
1985
Received the Award of Excellence, Religion in Media, at Eighth Annual Angel Awards
Became the first U. S. member, Argentina National Academy of Sciences, Morals and Politics
Member of the Presidential Task Force on Project Economic Justice
1986
Received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor
Served as head of U.S. Delegation to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (monitor of the Helsinki Accords)
Will it Liberate? Questions about Liberation Theology published
1987
Wrote The Consensus on Family and Welfare with a scholarly committee
Named director of social and political studies at American Enterprise Institute
1987-88
Held the W. Harold and Martha Welch chair as Professor of American Studies at the University of Notre Dame
1989
Free persons and the Common Good, published
1989-94
“The Larger Context” column appeared in Forbes magazine
1991
The Hemisphere of Liberty: A Philosophy of the Americas, published
1992
Received Antony Fisher Prize for The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, presented by Margaret Thatcher
1993
Wrote The Catholic Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
1994
Received the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, awarded at Buckingham Palace; delivered the Templeton address in Westminster Abbey
Received the Institution for World Capitalism International Prize with Milton Freidman and Vaclav Klaus
Received Weber Award for contributions to the Catholic and Social Thought in Essen, Germany
1996
Edited To Empower People: From State to Civil Society
Business as a Calling, published
Received the highest civilian award from the Slovak Republic: “Double White Cross Order II”
1997
The Fire of Invention, published
1998
Receive the Bratislava Medal
Received Cézanne Medal form the City of Provence, also in 2001
Tell Me Why: A Father Answers His Daughter’s Questions About God, written with his daughter Jana Novak, was published
1999
On Cultivating Liberty, published
Received the Boyer Award
Received Catholic Culture Medal of Bassano del Grappa in Italy
Received Ludwig von Misses Award in Mexico City
2000
Received the Economics Medal from the Institute of Italian Managers and Entrepreneurs (IDI) Received the Masaryk Medal, presented by Vaclav Havel by the Czech Republic Edited A Free Society Reader
2001
Received the 2001 Award of the Liberal Institute in Prague
Received Cézanne Medal from City of Provence, also in 1998
Wrote On Two Wings: Humble Faith and Common Sense at the American Founding
Gold Medalist, The Pennsylvania Society
2004
The Universal Hunger for Liberty: Why the Clash of Civilizations Is Not Inevitable, published
2006
Washington's God, published
Requests for information can be submitted via email to the College Archivist, Nicole Casper at ncasper@stonehill.edu