About Us

The Mission of the Academy for the Study of Saint Ambrose of Milan is to promote the study and story of St. Ambrose of Milan, especially at St. Ambrose University, by encouraging and supporting educational programs, research and scholarship, and creative work.

The Vision of ASSAM is to become a leading research center for the study of St. Ambrose and, through the promotion of its patron, to advance the Liberal Arts and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition.

Our Story

One early spring morning in 2010, Fr. Bud woke to the crow of a rooster with a simple thought in his head: we are the only Catholic university in the world named for St. Ambrose of Milan.  We should have an academy to celebrate this “santo nascosto” (forgotten father) of the Church.  He took the idea to the dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, who deemed it "obvious" and sent him to the president of the university, whose response was "why wasn’t that done 100 years ago?"  Everything from that moment on has been a whirlwind, albeit one with a great deal of work involved!  The first step was bringing Dr. Ethan Gannaway to campus to ensure academic rigor, long-term viability, creativity, and organization.  The next steps included the approval of a Theology course—Ambrose of Milan and a biennial alumni "study trip" of Ambrose’s Italy, a shorter version of Fr. Bud's annual student Winterim student study abroad trip, begun in 2003.  

To fulfill its mission, ASSAM hosts the annual Ambrose of Milan Lecture and the annual Ambrose of Milan Colloquium, the latter of which is led by SAU students and alums.  For these events, we curate exhibitions using ASSAM’s collection of ancient artifacts and early printed books.  We present to New Student Seminar classes and contribute to SAU's commitment to its own mission and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition through presentations both live and virtual.  Our digital imprint is large, using social media sites (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and maintaining a popular website and an academic platform (the HIVE).  Our off-campus activity has included papers delivered at places like Iowa City, St. Louis, Oxford (England), and Milan.  We’ve published articles in journals such as the Studia Ambrosiana (Milan) and edited others.  We have produced two editions of our primer on St. Ambrose, translated an important biography of Ambrose into the English language, written an Ambrose quote book for SAU, and have edited a volume, Ambrose of Milan and Community Formation in Late Antiquity, with revised papers from our 2018 conference, "Ambrose of Milan: (Re)Constructing Community."  

None of these activities would be possible without the consistent and generous support of our donors.  We are blessed by the astonishing commitment of a number of people, especially those of our Advisory Board.  We have received donations from dozens of munificent folks, who have allowed us to bring Ambrose scholars to campus and to support student study in Italy (over $20,000 of support now!).  We have even digitized an 11th c. manuscript of Ambrose's works.  Donations have also included a 500 year-old Opera Omnia (complete works) of Ambrose by Terry and Ann Bender, a rare Roman coin collection of our period (4th century AD) by Mr. Tory Failmezger, works of art by Patricia Bereskin, John Wray, and Donna Young, and elegant graphic design work by Chris Mandle and his team.  Students themselves have donated countless hours of volunteer work to ensure that our events and activities are successful and SAU focused.

Learn more about our Director, Fr. Bud Grant

Learn more about our co-director, Dr. Ethan Gannaway, Ph.D.

Listen to Veni, Redemptor (Come, Redeemer) by the St. Ambrose University Chorus

Check out our ASSAM brochure for 2016. Click here!