Dr. Ted Rebard is without a doubt a man of the classics.

Not only is he well-traveled, having been to a number of different countries in Europe and South America, but he considers the Metropolitan Opera “the happiest place on Earth—no matter what Disney World claims,” he said with a laugh.

A California native and Boston College graduate, Rebard said he has loved the opera, “ a passion his father passed down to him,” ever since before his first experience seeing  “The Magic Flute” as a 10-year-old. Among his favorites operas are “Madame Butterfly” and “La Boehme.” Of all the cities he’s traveled to, he considers Rome and New York City two of his favorite places in the world (outside of Houston, that is).

“Both Rome and New York City are inexhaustibly wonderful places,” he said. “As the spiritual center of the world, Rome is a masterpiece where people really know how to live.”

And if his personal interests weren’t enough of an indication that he loves the classics, his academic interests and professional field of study certainly do. As a UST philosophy professor for the past 20 years, Rebard is extremely passionate about the subject of metaphysics and the meaning of life. And it’s that passion that he communicates to his students so that they might learn how to live a purposeful life.

“The overall objective is for students to come to understand the answers to three main questions,” he said. “Those questions are:  Who am I? Where did I come from? And where am I going? These are the thematic questions I pursue over three different courses.

“With each class, we look a little more deeply every time, and we approach them from different angles. But we address the questions in a coherent way so that it provides the students with the basics of self-knowledge and how to live a wise life.”

In addition to metaphysics courses, Rebard also teaches upper-level courses on 20th century Catholic literature as well as the works and ideas of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Blaise Pascal and Karol Wojtyla.