Your years of dedication, study, and growth at Ave Maria University culminated in this memorable day. We are immensely proud of your accomplishments and are excited to see how you will transform the culture as Ave Maria University alumni.
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Michael Knowles is the celebrated host of The Michael Knowles Show at the Daily Wire and The Book Club at PragerU.
Michael has received numerous honors, including the Fr. Benedict Groeschel Award from Good Counsel Homes, the Conservative Mind Award from The American Conservative magazine, and the Courage Under Fire Award from Regina Caeli Academy. In addition to podcast and radio, Michael appears regularly on television, and his writing has been featured in the Daily Wire, the Claremont Reviews of Books, the American Conservative, the American Mind, and Fox News, among other outlets. Michael is a graduate of Yale University and has lectured at universities and research institutes around the world.
In 2017, Michael published the #1 national bestselling treatise Reasons to Vote for Democrats, which President Donald Trump hailed as “a great book for your reading enjoyment." The book has since been translated into Magyarul and is available in bookstores throughout Hungary. In 2021, Michael published his first book with words, Speechless, which also reached #1 on the national bestseller chart.
In early 2020, Michael teamed up with Senator Ted Cruz to launch Verdict, which quickly rose to the top spot on the charts across all podcasts. Later that year, after an appearance guest-hosting “The Rush Limbaugh Program,” Michael’s daily podcast became syndicated to terrestrial radio. Also that year, Michael was named a Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute.
Outside of politics and media, Michael is also a founder and owner of Mayflower Cigars.
George Peter Schwartz was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He is the fourth of five children born to devout Catholics, Walter & Marian Schwartz. He attended Precious Blood Grade School, Catholic Central High School, and the University of Detroit, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance.
Shortly after graduating from the University of Detroit, George began his career as a Research Analyst at Roney & Co. in Detroit. He married Judi Arnold, and they had 3 children while living in Redford, Michigan. Seven years later, George accepted a job at National Bank & Trust Co. of Ann Arbor, which is where the family moved and lived for the next 20 years. In Ann Arbor, George & Judi had two more children, and they also met Tom Monaghan, thus beginning a lifelong friendship.
In 1980, George started his own company, Schwartz Investment Counsel, Inc. From the humble beginning of three employees working in a house converted to an office, the firm has grown to 24 employees with a large headquarters located in Plymouth, Michigan, as well as a branch office in Ave Maria. All five of George’s children work for Schwartz Investment Counsel, Inc., a testament to his most important achievement of being an excellent father and role model.
In 2001, with the help of his good friend Tom Monaghan, and the late Bowie Kuhn, George started the Ave Maria Mutual Funds. The flagship fund was launched on May 1st of that year and was called the Ave Maria Catholic Values Fund. Since then, the fund family has grown to include seven funds and total assets under management are now approaching $4 billion. George is the Executive Chairman of Schwartz Investment Counsel, Inc. and continues to work there on a daily basis.
After 52 ½ years of marriage, Judi died in 2020. Her legacy lives on in her five children, ten grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. The Judi and George Schwartz Foundation was established and supports Catholic entities, and the outdoor basketball courts at Ave Maria University are named in her honor (Judi’s Gym).
George earned his Chartered Financial Analyst designation (CFA) in 1976. He has served on several corporate and philanthropic boards, is a member of various investment professional organizations, and is the author of three books. His most recent book, In God We Trust: Morally Responsible Investing, was published in 2018. George married Kathy Park in 2022, and they reside in Plymouth, Michigan.
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