By Paul Senz, Catholic World Report - Ave Maria University was founded in 1998 as Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, Michigan. In 2007 the campus was moved to Florida, and it added graduate programs, making it a full-fledged university... Founded by Tom Monaghan – founder of Domino’s Pizza and a prominent Catholic philanthropist – the university inaugurated its fourth president, Mark Middendorf, last year... Middendorf: This university is an answer to what St. John Paul II asked all laity in Ex Corde Ecclesiae. ECE says that Catholic universities are essential to the growth of the Church.