about hildegard college
What if college could be a place where you explore history’s greatest ideas while building your own?
Hildegard college was founded by a group of Christian academics and entrepreneurs who noticed that universities had isolated creativity from wisdom — two things education should never separate.
Hildegard launched in Fall 2023 with one clear mission in mind:
To form young people to solve our future’s most critical challenges.
What makes us different?
Great books
THE Redemptive Entrepreneurship LAB
The future needs entrepreneurs — leaders who understand how to adapt, create, and lead. The Redemptive Entrepreneurship Lab is not like a typical business program. It’s a workshop where students learn how to design, test, and pilot real ideas by combining the convictions they develop in Foundations of Thought with the practical knowledge of strategy, finance, prototyping, business modeling, and organizational design.
college can be affordable
We teach financial stewardship, and we practice it too. Students receive the benefits of a small, mentor-driven liberal arts and entrepreneurship education, but they do it at a quarter of the cost of most private colleges.
Formation first
Forget about generic introductory courses, textbooks, and lecture halls. Hildegardians spend their time reading the greats — from ancient philosophy and medieval theology, to Renaissance drama and astronomy, to modern economics and social thought. In our core curriculum, Foundations of Thought, students read the primary sources themselves and discuss them in small socratic seminars.
No organization, business, venture, or mission can be healthier than its top leaders. At Hildegard, we prioritize spiritual, intellectual, and practical formation. We care about our students as people and leaders first.
A Creative campus environment
Our campus — FLDWRK in Costa Mesa, California — is more than a school It is a startup ecosystem that hosts real mission-driven organizations and businesses. Hildegardians regularly interact with founders from an array of industries through workshops, internships, and networking events.
Our People
The Hildegard team consists of world-class academics and visionary entrepreneurs, coming together to create a one-of-a-kind community of learning and creating.
leadership
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Matthew J. Smith, Ph.D.
President; Tutor, Foundations of Thought
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Jeffrey L. Tanner, M.Ed.
Dean of Entrepreneurship; VP of Operations
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Jonathan Murillo
Director of the Entrepreneur Lab
Faculty
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Verónica Gutiérrez, Ph.D.
Tutor, Foundations of Thought
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Keith Buhler, Ph.D.
Tutor, Foundations of Thought
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Christof Meyer, MBA
Mentor, Incubation Lab
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Timothy Buchanan, Ph.D.
Tutor, Foundations of Thought
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Hayden Butler, M.A.
Tutor, Foundations of Thought
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Brian Ballard, Ph.D.
Tutor, Foundations of Thought
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Carl Sohmer, M.A.
Tutor, Foundations of Thought
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Caleb Spencer, Ph.D.
Tutor, Foundations of Thought
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Leslie Wickman, Ph.D.
Faculty, Foundations of Thought
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KC Holiday
Mentor, Incubation Lab
Who is Hildegard?
Hildegard of Bingen was one of history’s most impressive people. She lived in the 12th Century and was a polymath — a student and practitioner of many disciplines. Hildegard wrote musical compositions, made medicine, wrote philosophy and theology, and created plays.
Hildegard is our namesake because she represents the power of interdisciplinary study, of bringing together all areas of knowledge, arts, and social engagement in service to her community.
A Degree in Wisdom + Innovation
B.A. in Christian Liberal Arts and Entrepreneurship
Become a culture creator by immersing yourself in the wisdom of the past and a community of innovation for the future
Discover & Launch Your Big Idea
The Redemptive ENTREPRENEURship lab
Work alongside seasoned entrepreneurs and other founders to discover, design, pilot, and launch your redemptive venture.