If you were away from campus or your computer this summer, there’s some catching up to do.  Click the underlined text to read the news you missed. If you’d like to read more, visit Bulletin Today’s news archive.

The University of St. Thomas’ new School of Law welcomed its first students Aug. 20. Read about its inaugural class, faculty and the search for a successor to its founding dean, David Link.

Major changes to UST’s organizational structure took place this summer.

New faces/roles: Dr. Samuel Levy was named vice president of information resources and technology … Amy Shocker was named director of the university’s Bernardi Campus in Rome … Dr. Ralph Pearson, vice president for academic affairs, was named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.  Dr. Susan Alexander was named interim vice president … More interim appointments included Dr. Jeanne Buckeye and Dr. William Raffield, interim associate deans of the College of Business, and Dr. Angie Barretta-Herman, interim associate vice president of academic affairs.

Congratulations to faculty who earned tenure and/or promotions: four School of Divinity faculty members, and nine others.

New programs begin this fall: a bachelor of science program in electrical engineering and master of arts programs in Catholic studies and in student affairs leadership.

Other firsts: A St. Thomas professor’s marketing text is believed to be a first in Russia, and UST’s MBA in Medical Group Management Program, part of St. Thomas’ College of Business, is the nation’s first predominantly distance-learning program to receive ACESHA accreditation.

What’s a summer without a good storm? On June 13 we had a gully-gusher, and here are some great pictures of a flooded south campus parking lot.

Summer brings annual visitors, including the STEPS camp for girls interested in science, technology and engineering. The camp will be offered again next year for girls going into seventh grade. And more than 40 13- to 16-year olds participating in the National Youth Sports Program traveled to Siren, Wis., to help with tornado damage cleanup June 29.

Go, Tommies! It was a great summer for the UST baseball team. Just after school let out, they won the NCAA Division III baseball championship. Then the Minnesota Twins signed Tommies second-basemanJake Mauer and his little brother (what is his name again?). Then Coach Dennis Denning was named NCAA Division III coach of the year. Read all about it on the Tommy Sports Information page, where you can find schedules and previews for fall sports, too.

More good news: The UST School of Education received $605,000 in government funding, and Dr. Randy Herman of the School of Social Work received the Student Affairs Award for Excellence in Service learning.

Housekeeping items: There are new walk-up service hours at the Business Office on St. Paul and Minneapolis campuses, and car loan interest rates are reduced at the St. Thomas Employee Federal Credit Union.

Of special interest to students: Minimum wage for student positions on campus this fall is $7, and UST’s University Speakers club is a newly chartered Toastmasters club on campus.