NORTH COUNTY -- New Catholic University, an academic institution now in organization, filed earlier this month for state approval to open an inland North County campus in fall 2005.

The university will offer business, technology and media programs taught from an official Catholic perspective, said Derry Connolly, the university's president. He said the approval process typically takes about six to nine months.

Connolly said the university will at first operate out of rented facilities for a class of 60 students. It has not located a site yet. Plans call for building a campus in the Escondido or Valley Center area within 10 years, he added. The organizers maintain a Web site at www.newcatholicuniversity.com.

To open the university, $2 million must be raised by March -- $400,000 of which has already been raised, Connolly said. On Sept. 25, the university will hold a fund-raising dinner at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine.

New Catholic University was founded in 2003 by five lay Catholic businessmen from North County, including Connolly, who lives in Rancho Penasquitos.

The university's stated goal is to educate more professionals devoted to upholding Catholic values in a secular society. The university uses the name Catholic with the permission of Robert Brom, bishop of the San Diego diocese, although it is not under the diocese's control.

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.