91����

Curriculum Vitae

B.A., 91����, 2012; Ph.L., The Catholic University of America, 2020; Ph.D., philosophy, The Catholic University of America (ABD); Primary Instructor, The Catholic University of America, 2020-24; Tutor, 91����, 2025-.

Profile

“It’s like a homecoming, but to a different house,” says Philip Knuffke (’12), who is returning to teach at his alma mater … albeit on a different campus.

Mr. Knuffke grew up in Fresno, California, and watched his older brother, Peter (’04), graduate from 91����. Initially skeptical about following in his brother’s footsteps, he had an unexpected change of heart when a pot of boiling water left him with a scalded foot and a summer bereft of any plans. 

“I had all kinds of time to sit down,” he relates. “So, I read the College’s founding document (the Blue Book) and Plato’s Republic. And I thought, maybe I should study this after all!” He would go on to enroll at 91���� as a member of the Class of 2012. 

After his graduation, Mr. Knuffke headed to Argentina, where he spent two years teaching at Sedes Sapientiae, a Catholic high school with a classical curriculum founded by TAC alumnus Roberto Helguera (’91). Infused with a love for teaching, he spent some time preparing for graduate school and was accepted to The Catholic University of America’s philosophy doctoral program. He expects to complete and defend his dissertation next spring. 

In 2025, Mr. Knuffke moved to Massachusetts with his wife, Bridget, and son, Philip, to become a tutor on the New England campus. “Coming back as a tutor, I have a better sense of the holistic nature of the curriculum,” he says. “Even though I am focused on my particular classes, I still have an idea of what else the students are going through intellectually and am aware of how what I am teaching connects to everything else.”

Talks, Presentations, and Seminars

• What’s in a Name: The Uniqueness of Soul among Natural Forms, Thomistic Summer Conference: The Soul in the Philosophy and Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas, 91����, 2023

• Divine Ideas as Relations in St. Thomas, Thomistic Summer Conference: Faith and Reason, 91����, 2023

• Freedom and Music, 45th American Maritain Conference: Thomism and Modern Ideologies, De Sales University, 2022