Year in Review: 2025-26
In a year full of highs and milestones, we return to prayer. Pray that God’s grace and favor would continue to bless the College.
Reflection from Our President
The list of triumphs this year is staggering – but we seldom feel triumphant.
We have the highest average standardized test score out of all Newman Guide colleges and universities. We are two years old; the second youngest university is ten-times our senior. This year, we will be the largest single-location apprenticeship program in the United States. The runners up are billion dollar companies. We are a start-up spending every dollar we have.
Why don't we feel more triumphant?
There is an immensity in everything we do. No matter how big an accomplishment we celebrate, there is yet a larger mountain in front of us that we must summit.
Think about this for a moment: we are designing new courses in electrical, plumbing, HVAC, carpentry, traditional building, theology, philosophy, literature, mathematics. We are identifying, inspecting, and purchasing – not just buildings – but entire blocks of a dilapidated downtown. We are designing, planning, and building labs. We are renovating decaying buildings so that students can live in them (and parents can trust us!). We are reconfiguring the streets and hardscapes of downtown. We are founding a construction company. We are developing a neighborhood. We are launching a plumbing service company. We are working on academic papers and writing groundbreaking books. We are working on new building techniques and researching new methods. We have to hire people to do all of this.
The team at the College of St Joseph the Worker has – collectively – relocated from twenty states. They have – collectively – taken pay cuts of nearly $2mm. They have worked tirelessly to create something that has never been done before. And, despite the colossal workload, it is happening.
These accomplishments are not small. We are growing fast and the start-up chaos has defined much of the speed.
It gives me great confidence in our mission, knowing that while we work long days and our students make sacrifices, often making due with what we have, knowing we all build a better future for the coming classes of students - that all of this toil is more about shaping us as people—students included—than it is about ensuring the success of the college. Our Lord will see this college succeed, if indeed it is His will.
When I think about the Workshop in Nazareth of our Patron, St. Joseph, I don’t think about speed, and I don't think about toil. The workshop was never the point. Those who were in it – that’s the point. St. Joseph worked in adoration everyday. In our own labor, we have a genuine experience of our world’s Creator and Redeemer.
Amidst the growth, the hard and grueling labor, the decision fatigue, and the start-up exhaustion, I am dazzled by the fact that my team has not lost sight of this. The relentless struggle to see the face of Christ clearly: this has remained the desire of those at the College of St Joseph the Worker. They are convinced that a better way is possible, that we can offer the truths that make life most human to the next generation, and that they have the skills to manifest those truths to the world. They are, at heart, evangelists.
We cannot pass on to the next generation what we ourselves do not have. So please, pray for us. Pray that God’s grace would overflow from us into the students. Pray that our families would be prioritized first and foremost and that our vocation as parents would inform our instruction and shaping of students. Pray that our students would remain the center and focus of everything we do.
Pray that somehow, this ridiculous mission of changing the world would be made manifest in the young men who graduate and go out into the world.
Yours in Christ through Mary,
Dr. Imam
Highlights
College
Employees doubled
Students doubled
Highest Average Standardized Test Score for any Newman Guide School
Student Events
In the spring, students hosted our first Formal Ball, complete with ballroom dancing lessons led by one of their classmates. Faculty, students, and their dates took to the floor while a student band provided the music for a memorable evening of dancing and community.
This past March, students and staff competed in a bracket-style basketball tournament, with the freshmen team, The Holy Smokers, taking home the win. The evening was full of friendly competition and school spirit.
The College hosted “Theology on Tap” at the local Grocery Box, where Professor Marc Barnes led a thoughtful discussion on the Theology of Children. It was a wonderful opportunity for students and faculty to gather, socialize, and engage in theology outside the classroom.
Drop-in soccer and baseball quickly became a favorite way for students to unwind and spend time together. Students could simply show up, join a game, and have fun whether they were seasoned athletes or just looking to get outside.
A handful of our students formed an Irish folk band called “Tolkmith.” They played at Leonardo’s Coffeehouse every other Friday, bringing the community together through music and creating a lively gathering place for students, families, and local residents.
On the wintery night of December 6th our talented students held our first Christmas Coffee House or as we like to call it “Cup O’ Joe.” Music, hot coco, and cheer was spread to our student body, steubenville community, and FUS students.
St Patrick’s Day was celebrated with another successful Coffee House on March 21. The night was filled with Irish jigs, warm coffee, and a little luck!
Some of our Tradesmen put on our first Sophomore Retreat to St. Thomas More House of Prayer. We hope to have many more in the future.
Our Traditional Building students traveled to Austria to learn the intricate art of vaulted arches under Baron Alexander von Tschugguel, drawing deep inspiration from his magnificent castle as their muse.
College Events
The College held its first Charrette, a week-long collaborative gathering that brought together architects, stakeholders, and College leadership to envision and develop plans for beautifying and improving campus. By the end of the week, a clear vision and plan for the future of our campus had been established.
Right in our own hometown, we hosted our first Donor Dinner in our newly renovated academic building, Seraphic Hall. Keynote speaker Dr. Scott Hahn spoke on St. Joseph, making for a beautiful and intimate evening celebrating our College community and supporters.
Our 2025 Gala was held in Cincinnati for the first time, bringing together friends, supporters, and members of the College community for an evening of celebration and fellowship. The evening featured Vivek Ramaswamy as our keynote speaker, who shared his vision and encouraged support for the College’s mission.
Summer Events
Together with New Polity and Catholic Answers, we hosted what we hope will be the first of many Catholic Social Teaching Masterclass. Our summer attendees learned how to apply Catholic social teaching to their businesses, neighborhoods, and the way they spend money, raise children, and participate in politics.
We hosted our fourth annual Timber Framing Course where students explored the craft and history of traditional building, including how to construct a timber-frame building. They also reflected on labor as a gift,learning what it means to approach work in the model of St. Joseph.
Campus/Downtown
We kicked off the academic year with the opening of Seraphic Hall, our new academic hall, providing a beautiful new home for classrooms, faculty offices, and student life.
Just in time for the arrival of the Class of 2029, we completed our Logan Apartments. We also began renovations on our Clinton Apartments, with several current students taking part in the work. Together, these apartments provide our students with a place to call home.
To help bring our ever-growing vision for transforming our downtown campus to life, we broke ground on our new Quad and Greenspace in the heart of the city. This space will provide a place for students and the wider community to gather while bringing beauty, order, and a sense of place to the heart of our campus.
Under contract to purchase the Masonic Temple, we are excited for the opportunity to bring arts and high culture to the heart of Steubenville. The space will feature a museum dedicated to the Shroud of Turin, Steubenville’s first bistro, and spaces for the community to gather and experience the arts. We believe this will be an incredible addition to our humble city.
Orientation Talks
Jason Craig - Maturity / Virtuous Living
Matt Breuninger - Living in Community
Jacob Imam - College Mission
Marc Barnes - This is Steubenville
Father Jonas Shell - Healthy Spiritual Habits
Commercial Construction Company
People’s Bank Renovation Completed
Joes Better Plumbing Launched
Multiple New Student Housing Renovations Completed
Seraphic Hall, Our New Academic Building, Restored and Opened for Classes - Youtube video can be found below
Speakers
John Miller - Testimony
Vince Oliver - Freshmen Address
Dr. Bergsma - suffering, loss, and the life of Francis.
Thomas Dougherty - Charrette
Kai Yep - Iconographer
Baron Alexander von Tschugguel - Austrian Builder / owner of castle
Michael Baisden - OCILB / Contractor licensing in the state of OH
Community Events
New Polity Conference - More details here, but the conference was a huge hit, featuring lots of guest speakers, and even a few profs from the College!
First Friday Festivals - What is first Friday? Find out here. Beloved by CSJW students, faculty and tradesmen alike. If you are looking for Summer fun, you’ll find it on Fourth Street the first Friday of each summer month.
Greek festival - Yes, there’s food. And yes, it’s as good as you would hope it is. Read about it here.
Jane Austen Ball at Leo’s - Some say it’s the classiest party a college student has ever attended. We’re not sure, but you could ask a student who attended the event.
Valley’s Got Talent - Barberventure, a CSJW student singing group, performed. Watch their performance on our YT channel, featured below on this webpage.
External Recognition
Newman Guide - Once again recognized as a Newman Guide Provisionally Recognized school (we’re in the waiting period while we work on getting a class all the way through to graduation)
Heritage Foundation - The College won the 2026 Innovation Prize which recognizes creative solutions to the most pressing issues facing America today.
July 2026 Monthly Update
School Is Out for Summer, but the College Is Still Hard at Work…
Austria Trip
We sent students from our Traditional Building Track to Austria to work alongside a world-renowned master mason. Wondering how we pulled this off, how an Austrian Baron got involved, or what the experience was like for our students? Subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don't miss the video later this month!
Timber Framing Course
Our second Timber Framing course was a huge success! We welcomed a great group of prospective high school-aged students who loved the experience and are now even more excited about the chance to one day matriculate to the college.
We were also joined by a special guest this session: Dr. Paul Blaschko, a former University of Notre Dame professor who left academia to study education models genuinely working to fix what's broken in higher ed. He's been cataloguing his findings along the way, and we're proud to be the first institution he's chosen to study.
Joe's Better Plumbing
This month we launched our second commercial company: Joe's Better Plumbing, a major milestone for the trade programs within the college. As we continue to grow, we'll expand our service offerings into other trades. These companies, though not run for profit, remain owned by the college and are critical to giving students both their on-the-job-training hours and opportunities to earn money that keeps them debt-free.
If you're local and need some plumbing work done, visit their site to schedule an appointment today!
While Joe's ramps up toward profitability, it's your donations that keep our mission going in the meantime. Consider giving to the college.
Provide A Legacy of Faith
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Use the code COLLEGEOFSTJOSEPH to complete your Will in as little as 20 minutes, no obligation to the college required.
A Practical Case for the College of St. Joseph
Problem
The American higher education system is broken. It doesn’t take a genius to look at the situation and derive that conclusion. Whether it is the insurmountable debt that students exit their four years with, or the departure from a search for truth and beauty - the current students of our nation look at the 4 year degree they will earn as a credential. It has ceased to be a place where we send our young men and women to be formed into a virtuous citizen base.
Faced with this reality, it is incumbent upon us to ask “how should we Christians now respond?”
The Catholic Church teaches definitively that our responsibility, as the laity, is to sanctify the temporal order. To fix the systems of culture, economy and politics by aligning them with the Kingdom of Heaven.
So, let us ask the question: what is the highest ideal to which a college or university could aspire? What would be the purpose this institution?
“what is the highest ideal to which a college or university could aspire? What would be the purpose this institution?”
Solution
This college should aim at reviving a citizen class of educated workers who can hold the powerful forces of our society to account and who can work to solve our actual societal problems on the ground, in our towns. In other words, the college strives to raise up people who are capable of living out the principle of subsidiarity.
This citizen base is what will actually turn the tide in our mission, of sanctifying the temporal order.
And this citizen base must be financially independent—men and women capable of providing for themselves and their families. They must be intellectually integrated: able to unite contemplation and action, to see reality whole, and to order work, family, and civic life toward the good. And they must be spiritually alive, because only a life infused with God’s grace can sustain virtue—and only through virtue can we hope to rebuild the pillars of our republic.
Methodology
We pursue this mission through an integrated formation—intellectual, practical, and spiritual—so that graduates can judge rightly, act competently, and serve faithfully in the concrete needs of their communities.
1) Learn to Think
Liberal Arts for Real Life
We put students in sustained contact with the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, so their minds are formed for judgment, not for credentials. We train them in logic, rhetoric, and writing so they can argue honestly, name what is true, and resist manipulation. And we teach them to ask, first and always: “what is this for?” “what is the good?”—before asking only “what is efficient?”
2) While Learning to Work
Trade Mastery & Productive Responsibility
Students learn by apprenticeship in the building trades, taking on real responsibility that forges competence, discipline, and confidence. Their work is measured by real standards of quality, timeliness, and accountability to a paying customer, so that skill becomes dependable craftsmanship. In doing so they learn stewardship: how to build, maintain, and improve the material life of families and towns.
3) Suffused with Grace
Prayer, Sacraments, and Moral Formation
Skill alone does not make a good life. This formation is sustained by prayer and the sacramental rhythm of the Church. Students are formed in virtue, so that skill becomes service rather than a fulfillment of self. And they live in a community marked by friendship, mentorship, and a shared pursuit of holiness.
4) From Day 1
We are called to be Christians now, not sometime in the distant future
We do not aim to produce Christians who will eventually begin to make a difference in the world. Everything in our education seeks to inculcate them into a life that is radically Christian. They are not renters of apartments, or kids living in dorms, they are adults living in homes, for which they are responsible to maintain.
Our students do not learn skills so that they can some day apply them in the world, they are building homes, renovating buildings and providing services to real families in the Ohio Valley, as they learn their respective trade.
And our students do not accumulate debt with the hope of one day paying it off. They are taught skills, with which they earn a living during the school year and summers, so that they can be self-sufficient financially throughout college, not a decade or two afterwards.