Placing the College Mission in the Context
of the University Mission

This Mission is a concise statement of the place and purpose of the College of Arts and Sciences within the University of St. Thomas.  The Vision affirms the fundamental convictions of the College.  The Priorities are areas we want to strengthen and develop.  The document refers to the College as a unit.  Individual departments and programs contribute to the Mission, Vision and Priorities within their particular disciplinary callings.

This statement reflects values also expressed in Pope John Paul II’s 1990 document, On Catholic Universities (Ex corde ecclesiae).  In that text, the Pope describes the responsibility of a Catholic university to “consecrate itself without reserve to the cause of truth”; it is to be a witness to the “intrinsic value of knowledge and research”. Among the characteristics of a Catholic university that the Pope addresses are the integration of knowledge, the dialogue between faith and reason and interdisciplinary studies. 

Pope John Paul II was specifically interested in diversity and moral responsibility.  Regarding diversity he writes that Catholic universities today must become more attentive to the cultures of the world.  They must be open to all human experience and be ready to dialogue with and learn from any culture.  They must include the free expression of cultural diversity and dialogue between cultures. Every Catholic university, is, moreover, “responsible to contribute concretely to the progress of the society with which it works: for example it will be capable of searching for ways to make university education accessible to all those who are able to benefit from it, especially the poor or members of minority groups who customarily have been deprived of it”. 

Regarding moral responsibility the Pope states that the promotion of social justice is of particular importance for Catholic universities. They must “encourage students to become more aware of their responsibility toward those who are suffering physically or spiritually.  They will be particularly attentive to the poorest and to those who suffer economic, social, cultural or religious injustice”.

What the Pope says about the nature of the community in a Catholic university, that it is “animated by the spirit of freedom and charity; it is characterized by mutual respect, sincere dialogue and protection of the rights of individuals.  It assists each of its members to achieve wholeness as human persons,” describes the aspirations of the College of Arts and Sciences.