Message from the Director:

Our continuing call

A redesigned and updated website, in our case, means more than fresh "branding." It means that the Justice and Peace Studies program at the University of St. Thomas remains active and creative after more than a year of transition.

Last year brought us transitions both long-anticipated and uninvited. We knew that some long-time program personnel might be moving on, most notably our beloved founding director Fr. David Smith, who retired at the end of the 2007-08 school year. Less welcome was a well-publicized controversy over whether and when Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu of South Africa might speak on our campus. Fall-out from the controversy led to a change in program directors.  In the midst of all this, upgrading our website was not the highest priority. 

But we're coming back.  I hope the design of our website and the resources we are building into it signal the continuing commitment of our program to...

Students, current and prospective:

In our "engaged learning" section you'll find here an accessible reference point for reviewing course requirements and the philosophy behind them.  Our "taking action" section points you to on-campus organizations and community partners who share a commitment to social action.

Alumni and soon-to-be alumni:

You may want to return to our "taking action" section to connect not only with community partners in the St. Paul-Minneapolis area, but in wider social action networks.  Above all, we hope our "moving out" section will provide up-to-date information on career opportunities, job openings and recommended graduate programs.  And we hope you'll use our alumni page to keep in touch with us too.

Community partners: 

Minneapolis-St. Paul has a rich culture of non-profit organizations, corporate social responsibility, as well as peace and justice activism.  We can't begin to list all the opportunities on our website (and in the age of "googling" we don't have to do so).  But as we connect our students with community partners through key social justice coalitions and regular internships, we hope our commitment to civil society engagement is obvious. 

The larger university –
and the Church, society and world it serves: 

Rooted in Catholic social teaching, our program concurs enthusiastically with the U.S. Catholic bishops, who wrote in The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace:

Our biblical heritage and our body of tradition make the vocation of peacemaking mandatory.... These concerns are obviously not ours alone, but are the work of the entire community of faith and of all people of good will.

Our ultimate commitment is to do our part to help each one discover and live out their own call to do justice and become active peacemakers.

Dr. Gerald W. Schlabach
Director of Justice and Peace Studies
University of St. Thomas