The Valor Institute

Cultivating wisdom, gratitude, and friendship through
lectures, reading groups, and academic retreats.

  • Featured Speakers

    Jason Baxter, Benedictine College

    John Cuddeback, Christendom College

    Maria Fedoryka, Ave Maria College

    Dana Gioia, World-Renowned Poet

    Thomas Hibbs, Baylor Un iversity

    Jonathon J. Sanford, University of Dallas

    David Walsh, Catholic University of America

    James Matthew Wilson, University of St. Thomas

    Benedict Whalen, Hillsdale College

  • Featured Texts

    Confessions, Augustine of Hippo

    Mansfield Park, Jane Austen

    The Divine Comedy, Dante

    After Virtue, Alasdair MacIntyre

    The New Science of Politics, Eric Voegelin

  • Featured Topics

    Acedia in Hamlet and St. Thomas

    Ferdinand Ulrich on Childhood

    Truth and Language

    The Anthropology of Karol Wojtyla

Take the Next Step

Join Our Interest List

Our free charter schools are located throughout Central Texas.

Watch Past Lectures

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Attend a Retreat

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  • I am not exaggerating when I say that the retreat was one of the most significant experiences I have had in my quest for lifelong learning. It clarified so many of the things I have been thinking for a long time. I have already implemented some of the ideas in my own teaching. I think even if the retreat was on a topic less central to my own interests, it would have been an important time to rest and reflect on my vocation as a teacher.”

    –  Valor teacher

  • “I was captivated by a sense of wonder the entire week. The quality of conversations, the quality of people, the kinds of things that we were reading, even the food that we had... I don't think I'll ever experience something like that again.”

    – Valor Institute College Retreat Participant

Faculty and Leader Formation

 The Valor Symposium brings together Valor's entire faculty and staff together twice per year to celebrate our vision and mission. Each Symposium includes small group seminar discussions, shared meals, a keynote lecture from a distinguished scholar, and a finale with a convivial social.

  • Major Events

    The Institute coordinates meet-ups at local cultural events, such as public lectures, musical performances, and more throughout the year. Past events include lectures hosted by First Things, choral performances by the Talis Scholars, and local Shakespeare performances.

  • Retreats

    Reading groups are coordinated for faculty across Valor’s campuses. These groups help to deepen friendship among Valor faculty in each campus community by providing opportunities to share a meal together over a good book discussion. Past topics include The Inklings, American Short Stories, and class Latin American literature.

  • Leadership Programs

    The Institute hosts campus-specific discussions on great works of art, poetry, and music periodically throughout the year. These events are great opportunities for faculty who wish to join together in great conversation with one another.

  • Faculty Programs

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"For in celebration, we experience reality in its most real form. Here, we do not do something because it is good for something else, which we do in turn for yet another reason... Here reality appears wholly as it truly is, not as foreign, as begrudging, as frustrating, but as awe-inspiring, powerful, and at the same time as friendly and brightly lit.”

– Robert Spaemann

Explore Valor’s Rich Faculty Life

Would you like to inspire a deep love of learning and join a close-knit community growing in wisdom, virtue, and friendship with one another?