“So,” asked Father Neuhaus, “why don’t they take out an ad in First Things ?” I explained that the deadline for applications is November 15, and I had just found out about it, and it wouldn’t do any good to have an ad in the December issue. Father looked skeptical. I added that it really is an important position, and the guy at Williams College who asked me to get the word out really is a good friend, and “Couldn’t we do it just this once?” Father relented, and so here it is:
Williams College, located in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts, is currently conducting a national search to hire a full-time Catholic Chaplain to begin working by July 1, 2007. Williams is eager to hire a Catholic priest but is also considering lay applicants for the chaplain’s position. Applications for the Catholic Chaplain position are due by NOVEMBER 15, 2006 . The college’s official job posting and information about how to apply is available here .
The Catholic Chaplain at Williams has an incredible opportunity to positively influence some of the best and brightest college students in America. Williams is one of the top liberal arts colleges in the nation. U.S. News & World Report has ranked Williams as the #1 liberal arts college in America for the past four years, and has ranked it as #1 in academic reputation for the past sixteen years.
Williams students go on to become leaders throughout society¯in business, law, politics, the arts, academia, and even the Church. The college’s many distinguished alumni include: Fr. Michael Scanlan, chancellor of the Franciscan University of Steubenville; Steve Case, founder of American Online (AOL); Bill Bennett, former U.S. Secretary of Education; Arthur Levitt, former chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC); George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees; Steven Sondheim, award-winning Broadway composer and lyricist; and Rep. Mark Udall, U.S. congressman from Utah. Other Williams alumni have distinguished themselves by pursuing vocations as professors at Catholic universities, priests, seminarians, nuns, campus ministers, and theology doctoral students.
Williams has a student body of about 2,100 undergraduates. Approximately, 20% to 25% of these students self-identify themselves as Catholics when they start college. The Catholic Chaplain at Williams has an incredible opportunity to help these students live, learn, and deepen their faith. Since these students will go on to positions of leadership and influence, the Catholic Chaplain can have an enormous impact in renewing society and the Church.
The vibrancy of Catholic life at Williams has increased during the past decade. Papal biographer George Weigel noted this renewal in his recent book Letters to a Young Catholic 
Help the many Catholic students at Williams keep and deepen their faith. Please spread the word about the Catholic Chaplain position at Williams so that smart, vibrant, faithful priests and laypeople will apply for it.
Ryan T. Anderson is a junior fellow at First Things .
