Provost Matthias Vorwerk

A native of Detmold, Germany, Dr. 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.

Dr. 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.