Irving, TX (06/01/22) – The University of Dallas announces the appointment of Matthias Vorwerk, Ph.D., as provost, effective July 1. Vorwerk most recently served as associate dean of the Catholic University of America’s School of Philosophy and as an associate professor of philosophy.

“Dr. Vorwerk’s commitment to excellence, his deep understanding of and love for liberal education, his extensive and varied leadership experience and evident prudence, and the many ways in which he advances an education oriented by the true, good and beautiful make him especially suited to serve the University of Dallas as provost,” said President Jonathan J. Sanford, Ph.D. “I look forward to working closely together with him to strengthen even further our undergraduate and graduate academic programs, to attract outstanding new faculty members and to support even better all our faculty, to enhance student life on campus, and to advance the University of Dallas’ distinctive mission.” 

“I am excited to join the University of Dallas,” Vorwerk said. “For a long time, I have heard about its outstanding reputation for a rigorous Catholic liberal arts education that fosters both intellectual and moral virtues and prepares students for a personally meaningful and professionally successful life. It will be my pleasure to work with the university’s excellent faculty and dedicated staff to strengthen and enhance the university’s mission in accordance with its ambitious strategic plan, and I look forward to meeting the students for many good conversations about the things that matter.”

A native of Detmold, Germany, Vorwerk’s academic expertise is in ancient philosophy, the works of Plato and Plotinus, and the philosophy of human nature. In 1998, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Münster after completion of a dissertation on the Neoplatonic philosopher Plotinus. He then received a fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to complete post-doctoral work at University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin. He joined the faculty of the Catholic University of America in 2003 as an assistant professor of philosophy, and in 2011 was appointed as associate dean of the School of Philosophy. In this capacity, he oversaw the extensive undergraduate operations of the school, including the formation of college seminarians, and served as inaugural co-chair of Catholic University’s General Education Curriculum Committee, which developed a new liberal arts curriculum that was successfully implemented in 2018. 

Vorwerk has written or co-authored four books in German on Plotinus and the history of Platonism, published numerous articles and papers for academic publications and conferences, and is a member of the Board of Directors of American Friends of the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation. He is married with three children and an active member of the German-speaking Catholic Mission, Washington, D.C.