Novak Timeline

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, died
• 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

2017

• Passed away on February 17 at the age of 83

Requests for information can be submitted via email to the College Archivist, Nicole Casper at ncasper@stonehill.edu