Brief History and Governance

CDU was established May 13, 1983 as the first Catechetical Institute in the United States to award the Catechetical Diploma and teach the Faith to adults using modern distance learning exclusively. Until recently CDU was lead by Bishop Thomas J. Welsh, founding Bishop of the Diocese of Arlington and now Retired Bishop of Allentown, PA, who served as President and Chairman of the Board of CDU from its founding in 1983 until June 2003. CDU's new Chairman and President, Bishop Paul S. Loverde, DD, Third Bishop of Arlington, continues to provide strong leadership and oversight.

In January 1986, CDU (formerly The Catholic Home Study Institute) became accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council in Washington, DC, the national accrediting agency for distance learning, which is recognized by the US Department of Education.

CDU is certified annually by the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia (SCHEV) as an accredited nonprofit degree-granting institution in the Commonwealth of Virginia. CDU awards a Master of Arts Degree in Theology, and since 2004, a Bachelor's Degree in Theology degree completion program for students with ninety or more undergraduate credits.

In addition, CDU offers a full range of continuing education courses and seminars, both online and paper-based, an Advanced Catechist Certificate, the Catechetical Diploma at the undergraduate and graduate levels, a Parish Plan adult education program for groups, and more and more of its graduate and undergraduate courses are available in both online and paper-based formats.

CDU continues to attract outstanding faculty from Catholic universities and seminaries. Its international student body is comprised predominantly of members of the laity, but includes religious and clergy who represent most US dioceses and approximately forty countries worldwide. Since October 2005 CDU has offered an online seminar for the continuing education of clergy, in partnership with the Diocese of Arlington. CDU's students are active, literate adults who are deeply committed to the Church's mission of evangelization; many serve in the catechetical apostolates of the Church, although CDU welcomes adults of any religious background.

CDU is a nonprofit corporation governed by a 15-member Board of Trustees made up of members of the Catholic Hierarchy, clergy and laity under the leadership of a Catholic bishop.