His interests just lied in building a new Catholic university," Marinelli recalled. Monaghan did not necessarily have any interest in building a town. And so, Ave Maria, Fla., was born in 2001. ![]() Marinelli had the land Monaghan the vision. Monaghan quickly found a partner in Paul Marinelli, president of the Naples-based development firm Barron Collier Cos. It just wouldn't add anything to the community." They weren't interested in a new university. "But Ann Arbor has tens of thousands of college students already. "It was somewhat frustrating, because you would think if the place was suitable for offices, why not for education?" said Nick Healy, president of Ave Maria's educational institutions since 1999. But after repeated attempts to rezone the industrial property to suit a university, Monaghan accepted defeat, and began looking south for a place to raise his legacy. In 1998, Monaghan opened Ave Maria College inside a small elementary school, with a plan to eventually move the growing institution to his 280-acre Domino's Farms property in Ann Arbor. Monaghan sought to realize his vision of constructing a Catholic university in Ypsilanti, Mich., where his first creation, Domino's Pizza, took off in 1960. The oft-delivered line reflects the conception of Ave Maria University, the first Catholic University built since Sacred Heart University, in Fairfield, Conn., in 1963. ![]() "To provide an outstanding education to high-potential students in the areas that are most important for this world and the next," he recites flawlessly. ![]() Monaghan is either oblivious to controversy and criticism, or chooses not to notice when aimed at him and his multimillion-dollar development in the swamps of Southwest Florida. It is one he has given time and again to hundreds of media members, homeowner associations and fraternal clubs. The founder and chancellor of Ave Maria University rarely veers from a well-rehearsed speech about his life, his school and his faith. Tom Monaghan sits stoically in his seat, at times seeming almost awkward about the attention he receives from a crew of reporters.
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