The Austin J. Fagothey, S.J. Papers, 1950-1989 (bulk 1951-1975) consist of biographical materials, correspondence, manuscripts, and teaching materials. The collection is comprised primarily of documents chronicling the development of Fagothey’s seminal texts, Right and Reason: Ethics in Theory and Practice (1953) and the Anthology of Right and Reason (1972), including correspondence, outlines, reviews, and legal agreements. The collection also includes one bound copy of Fagothey’s Applied Ethics (undated) and two typescript copies of Basic Ethics (c. 1947), which are unpublished texts created for student use at Santa Clara University. This collection is arranged into five series: Series I: Biographical Materials; Series II: Manuscripts; Series III: Correspondence; Series IV: Teaching Materials; and Series V: Unpublished Manuscripts.

Austin J. Fagothey was born in San Francisco, California on June 23, 1901. After graduating from St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco he entered the Society of Jesus. He began his Jesuit Training at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Los Gatos, California on July 18, 1917. Fagothey received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington and an S.T.L from Weston College in Massachusetts where he was ordained a priest in 1931. Arriving at the University of Santa Clara in 1926, he taught Greek and English for the 1926-27 academic year and philosophy from 1932-34 and 1935-36. From 1936 to 1938, he taught theology at Alma College, the theologate of the California Jesuit Province near Los Gatos, and then returned to the University of Santa Clara. A philosophy professor, Fr. Fagothey chaired the Philosophy Department throughout thirty of his forty years at Santa Clara University. He also served on the university's Board of Trustees from 1943-1973. During commencement exercises in 1974, the university awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.

2 boxes, 0.85 linear feet

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The collection is open for research.