Strategic Priorities: Planning for the Future

(Approved by the Board of Trustees May 4, 2006)

“The University of St. Thomas has arrived at a critical moment in its history. We are poised to make a tremendous leap forward.”
-Rev. Dennis Dease, President, Convocation Address 9/6/05

St. Thomas has a unique identity as a Catholic, diocesan, teaching university, located in a large metropolitan area. Our mission is “to educate morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely, and work skillfully to advance the common good.”
-UST Mission Statement

Our vision for the future is to become “a recognized leader in Catholic higher education that excels in effective teaching, active learning, scholarly research and responsible engagement with the local community as well as with the national and global communities in which we live.”
-UST Vision Statement

In these strategic priorities we seek to implement our mission and vision by addressing four critical challenges that are key to making the next steps forward in our history: first, to contain the effects of a national trend of ever-increasing costs in higher education and to insure that education for all qualified students is affordable; second, to make new breakthroughs in effective teaching and active learning that foster a holistic approach to education; third, to deepen our identity as a faith-based, Catholic university where the integration of faith and reason develops leaders who are committed to the common good; and, fourth, to care for God's creation.
As we continue to move forward, we set forth our goals under four themes: Access, Excellence, Catholic Identity, and Sustainability.

The document Strategic Priorities: Planning for the Future can be downloaded in its entirety here: Strategic Priorities