Headwinds & Opportunities
Societal trends and the state of higher education continue to shift due to forces beyond COVID-19. As we prepare to navigate an ever-changing landscape, we need to keep key opportunities and challenges top of mind.
St. Thomas 2025, the university's current strategic plan, is in its final year of implementation. It was an ambitious yet focused five-year effort designed to propel the university toward a new level of impact. It has guided us to reach higher in serving our students, our ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ and the world.
Now, we are in the midst of preparing for the next five years.
President Rob Vischer appointed a strategic plan working group of faculty and staff that is currently listening to the ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ and gathering feedback. This group will help develop the next five-year strategic plan. A draft plan will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval and presented to the ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ in May 2025.
Come back to share in the next exciting vision for St. Thomas!
St. Thomas is at a distinct point in our history – and we are poised to expand our reach across the country and to build a national reputation. Its position as the largest private university in Minnesota, nimble yet comprehensive, gives St. Thomas a unique advantage. With keen focus on strategic opportunities, we will not just survive the headwinds, but thrive and grow.
As our ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ came together through the strategic planning process to develop goals for the next five years, the following themes emerged. These will guide our work, helping us remain true to what makes St. Thomas unique while empowering us to focus on key ongoing and emerging priorities that will help us thrive.
We will innovate, grow and excel in ways that align with our educational mission and vision to provide relevant and continuous learning for Tommie leaders of today and tomorrow.
We will become a university characterized by radical hospitality and a shared sense of belonging where all are welcomed as we work to achieve social justice and dismantle inequities of all forms.
We will broaden access to a St. Thomas education, ensure all students have equal opportunities to take advantage of the full St. Thomas experience and the academic excellence we provide, and connect all students to career opportunities that leverage our powerful Tommie Network.
We will bring the visions of our founder and namesake, our unique charism, and Catholic social teaching fully to life as we encounter the grand challenges of the day, develop principled leaders and contribute to a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable world.
We will make our mark and widen our impact locally, regionally, nationally and globally by becoming a partner of choice and extending an invitation to students, faculty, and staff from near and far to become part of our vision and our work.
As we respond to uncertainty and change in the societal and higher education landscapes, we will strengthen our university culture by expressing the values of respect, honesty and transparency, by engaging in open dialogue, and by committing to continued personal and professional growth.
Through these strategic priorities, St. Thomas will build upon its strengths, invest where we have unprecedented opportunity and make bold progress. We will expand our impact with new and emerging priorities and continue to accentuate our differentiating strengths through priorities that are ongoing.
Societal trends and the state of higher education continue to shift due to forces beyond COVID-19. As we prepare to navigate an ever-changing landscape, we need to keep key opportunities and challenges top of mind.
The faculty and staff of St. Thomas shared their thoughts, contributed ideas, and engaged in ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ conversations around the successes and obstacles of initial draft themes. In addition, feedback was gathered from students and other members of the broader ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ.
St. Thomas 2020 guided the work of the university since 2015 and led to many important accomplishments; many initiatives that began in the 2020 plan will continue into St. Thomas 2025.
Building on the vision of our founder to "never stop improving," the 2025 strategic plan is a five-year guide to help St. Thomas make a bolder impact. Listen to this high-level overview with President Sullivan's call to the ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ to create and embrace a thriving future for the university.
Geology ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ Thomas Hickson is back in the lab at the ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ after spending four months abroad as a Fulbright Scholar in Spain. Hickson collaborated with Spanish geoscientists in the Madrid area to study microbialites, ancient rocks that may provide clues to the evolution of early life on Earth and on other… The post Searching for Evidence of Life in Ancient Rocks: Geologist Reflects on Fulbright Semester in Spain appeared first on Newsroom | ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ.
The ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ men's and women's basketball programs will open their 2025-26 home schedule on Saturday, Nov. 8, at the new Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. St. Thomas will play host to Army West Point, the alma mater of philanthropist Lee Anderson, whose name is on the arena. This will be the first-ever… The post St. Thomas Basketball to Host Army in Lee & Penny Anderson Arena appeared first on Newsroom | ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ.
¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ hosts international student competition focused on solutions to the world’s toughest social and environmental challenges. Seeing discarded clothing clog up rivers in Ghana inspired Natalie Larson ’26 and Noah MacDonald ’26 to create change. That change led to these social entrepreneur students becoming finalists in the Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge… The post Students Turn Ideas Into Action at Fowler Global Social Innovation Finals appeared first on Newsroom | ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ.
The ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ is officially a full Division I institution, the NCAA announced late Monday afternoon. Following a vote by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors, St. Thomas has officially completed its reclassification process, making the university a full member of the NCAA and the only NCAA member to be reclassified directly… The post History in the Making: St. Thomas Instated as Full D-I Member appeared first on Newsroom | ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ.
You can read it in a book! In 1863, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared more than three million slaves living in the Confederate states to be free. More than two years would pass, however, before the news reached African Americans living in Texas. It was not… The post Juneteenth: What to Read to Stay in the Know appeared first on Newsroom | ¸»¶þ´úÊÓÆµ.