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St. Thomas School of Law

Mission, Vision and Values

A Mission-Driven Law School

Our founders sought to offer a distinctive legal education that was deeply relational, practical and forward-looking, and developed servant leaders dedicated to the rule of law. We remain committed to those aspirations today.

Our Mission

The University of St. Thomas School of Law, as a Catholic law school, is dedicated to integrating faith and reason in the search for truth through a focus on morality and social justice.

Our Vision

  • Professional Preparation
  • Scholarly Engagement and Societal Reform
  • Service and Community

    • Professional Preparation

    By providing, from a faith-based perspective, practical skills and theoretical legal education and mentoring, the School of Law commits to preparing students to become accomplished servant leaders in the practice of law, the judiciary, public and community service, business, and in education. The law school's faculty and curriculum will be distinctive in supporting and encouraging students' integration of their faith and deepest ethical principles into their professional character and identity. Because legal education is enhanced by a broad understanding of global society's many challenges, the law school will also provide students with opportunities for interdisciplinary study and experiential learning.

    Scholarly Engagement and Societal Reform

    The law school will undertake to expand knowledge about law and society and participate in the improvement of legal institutions and other organizations through recruitment and development of a faculty of outstanding teachers and scholars, sponsorship of academic lectures and interdisciplinary research activity, and establishment of a strong law library collection and staff. As members of a Catholic law school, faculty and students will particularly explore the intellectual integration of faith into the study of law, professional ethics, public policy, and social justice.

    Service and Community

    The law school will work to establish a diverse community of talented students, faculty, and staff dedicated to supporting and serving each other, the law school's mission, and the local, national, and global communities. The law school, inspired by Catholic social teaching, and members of the law school community, drawing on their own faith and values, will promote and participate in service programs designed to address the needs and improve the conditions of the disadvantaged and underserved. The law school will strive to enhance social justice and will assist students in integrating their commitments to serve society into their personal and professional lives.

    Professional Preparation

    By providing, from a faith-based perspective, practical skills and theoretical legal education and mentoring, the School of Law commits to preparing students to become accomplished servant leaders in the practice of law, the judiciary, public and community service, business, and in education. The law school's faculty and curriculum will be distinctive in supporting and encouraging students' integration of their faith and deepest ethical principles into their professional character and identity. Because legal education is enhanced by a broad understanding of global society's many challenges, the law school will also provide students with opportunities for interdisciplinary study and experiential learning.

    Scholarly Engagement and Societal Reform

    The law school will undertake to expand knowledge about law and society and participate in the improvement of legal institutions and other organizations through recruitment and development of a faculty of outstanding teachers and scholars, sponsorship of academic lectures and interdisciplinary research activity, and establishment of a strong law library collection and staff. As members of a Catholic law school, faculty and students will particularly explore the intellectual integration of faith into the study of law, professional ethics, public policy, and social justice.

    Service and Community

    The law school will work to establish a diverse community of talented students, faculty, and staff dedicated to supporting and serving each other, the law school's mission, and the local, national, and global communities. The law school, inspired by Catholic social teaching, and members of the law school community, drawing on their own faith and values, will promote and participate in service programs designed to address the needs and improve the conditions of the disadvantaged and underserved. The law school will strive to enhance social justice and will assist students in integrating their commitments to serve society into their personal and professional lives.

    Our Values

    We help each student attain personal and professional satisfaction by developing the qualities of excellence, social responsibility, and ethical integrity. Our students acquire strong technical skills and develop the habits necessary for professional growth through individual reflection, personal dialogue with faculty and other mentors, moral development, and vocational discernment.
    We are a distinctly Catholic law school with a strong ecumenical component, inviting students of all faith traditions to integrate their personal and professional values in their search for justice.
    We recognize the dignity of every human being and foster in our students a commitment to serving those in need.
    We continue to build a faculty of outstanding teacher-scholars whose work benefits society and enhances the educational experience.
    We are forward-thinking and committed to creative improvements in legal education for the benefit of students and society.
    We foster a diverse environment in which each student feels supported in his or her unique journey from law student to lawyer and called to share his or her gifts to enrich the collective learning community.
    We take relationships seriously both inside and outside the classroom. The practice of law is a social endeavor, and we help students to develop the practical skills and emotional intelligence lawyers need to engage and nurture all relationships.