Think where man’s glory most begins and ends, 
And say my glory was I had such friends.

I have always loved those words, which are the closing two lines of the poem, “The Municipal Gallery Revisited,” and as I approach my final weeks as president of the University of St. Thomas I cannot find a more appropriate valedictory in thanking this community.

I find it fitting to quote Yeats, considering that he counts among the dozens of Irish poets who have visited our campus over our 128 years. He appeared on a bitterly cold  January day in 1904 to give a St. Paul Seminary lecture to what one newsletter called “a large and cultured audience.”

I also borrowed Yeats’ words about friendship when I informed the faculty last May of my plans to retire, and in an effort to add some levity to the situation I quoted a  second Yeats observation: “Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.” The line drew welcome laughter, and I said it could be seen as even inspirational. “I know there have been days that were difficult as well as days that were good,” I told the faculty. “It’s the kind of existential resignation captured in the more homespun American proverb, ‘Some days you’re the bug; some days you’re the windshield.’” And there was more laughter!

In all seriousness, my gratitude today knows no bounds, and for good reason. Any success that I have enjoyed during my 22 years as president has been directly the result of generous, unselfish and heroic work by you – our faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni and benefactors. Or, as I like to say when I address a gathering, our “friends all.”

You also have been kind beyond description – to me and to St. Thomas. I will forever carry fond memories of those kindnesses, which I know were borne out of a genuine desire to make this a better university and to help us provide the best possible education for our students. The lengths to which you go to provide assistance astound me time and time again, almost to the point that it would be easy to take you for granted. I hope I never have done so.

As you know, I am fond of quoting our mission statement, which so perfectly captures what we attempt to do – to educate students “to be morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely, and work skillfully to advance the common good.” I take comfort in knowing how those words unite us as we seek to live up to one more Yeats maxim: that “education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire” – and I know they will motivate me in the years ahead.

I will see you around campus!

Read more from St. Thomas Magazine.

The President’s Staff under Father Dennis Dease endorsed the tobacco-free concept at its May 6 meeting, and a committee will be appointed to work out an implementation plan in conjunction with smoking cessation programs before returning to the President’s Staff this fall for final approval. The policy would affect the St. Paul and Minneapolis campuses but not the Rome campus or the Gainey Conference Center in Owatonna.

More than 30 Minnesota colleges and universities already have tobacco bans. Nationwide, 700 are tobacco free and more than 1,000 are smoke free.

“Research shows that having a tobacco-free campus literally changes the behavior of students,” said Dr. Jane Canney, vice president for student affairs. “They smoke less and have a better understanding of the health and wellness aspects of their lives, and they come to value a tobacco-free environment.”

In the St. Thomas policy, “tobacco” is defined as any lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe, clove cigarette, hookah smoked products, electronic cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in any form. Promotion, sale or distribution of tobacco products and merchandise, including any items carrying tobacco logos, will be prohibited on campus or at any university-sponsored events.

“Compliance with this policy will depend upon the cooperation of all faculty, staff and students as well as campus visitors,” states a policy proposal considered by the President’s Staff. “The university will develop training programs to assist and prepare students and employees to help one another honor the tobacco-free environment that this policy supports.”

Proposal came from students

In the fall semester of 2010, Mike Orth, then president of the sophomore class and until recently president of the Undergraduate Student Government, approached St. Thomas leadership about ways to reduce tobacco use on campus.

“Mike took a real leadership role on the issue,” Canney said. “He formed a USG Tobacco Policy Review Committee during the 2010-2011 academic year, which conducted two student surveys and did thorough research. They involved a lot of students, and they concluded that they wanted to advocate for a tobacco-free campus.”

Orth decided to become involved because he knew the issue would become “incredibly important” for the St. Thomas community. Over time, he became convinced it made sense for St. Thomas to be tobacco free.

“A tobacco-free campus means two things,” he said. “First, that our university offers a safe and healthy place for students, faculty and staff to work, attend class and live. Second, that St. Thomas encourages the entire community to make healthy choices. That has an especially profound impact on students who are developing habits for the rest of their lives.”

Through the surveys and interviews, the USG committee became more familiar with the pros and cons of limited or no tobacco consumption on campus. Supporters objected to inhaling second-hand smoke and believed limits or a ban would promote healthy practices for people to follow for the rest of their lives, including in smoke-free work places. Opponents said a ban would infringe on their personal freedoms and would create safety concerns and littering problems by forcing people to smoke on public property, such as sidewalks, streets and the Summit Avenue median.

“There are strong opinions on both sides of the issue,” Orth said. “A change like this takes time, and we have been careful to include every opinion in the discussion.”

Tobacco-Free Campus work group formed

Following the Undergraduate Student Government recommendation in the fall of 2011, a Tobacco-Free Campus work group was formed. It included representation from faculty, students, exempt staff and non-exempt staff. After 18 months of consultation and research, the work group developed a draft tobacco free campus policy proposal.

This spring, members of the workgroup made nearly 20 presentations to committees and organizations across campus, discussing the proposal and assuring each constituency that it would be involved in future discussions regarding implementation of the policy once it was approved.

“I believe we are ready to move forward as an educational institution and not only become a tobacco-free campus,” Orth said, “but also utilize this opportunity to educate our students, faculty, and staff about living healthier lives.”

Among those participating on the Tobacco Free Campus work group is Dr. Jill Manske, a biology professor who completed a master’s degree in public health at the University of Minnesota last year. Manske and Dr. Jolynn Gardner of the Health and Human Performance Department (also a work group member) are developing tools to assess the attitudes and tobacco use before and after the ban.

Manske said she became involved in the work group a year ago after Canney asked her if she would be interested in serving as faculty representative. She said yes because of its origin as a student-generated initiative.

“It represents the type of student/grass-root ‘working for the common good’ that we hope to inspire in our students,” said Manske, who teaches a course in women’s health. “I also see this as an important women’s health issue. More men than women smoke, but smoking among college-age women has increased since the 1980s for a variety of reasons, including weight control and media exposure.”

Manske cited a 2001 U.S. Surgeon General’s report that women’s death rates due to lung cancer, a disease primarily caused by cigarette smoking, have increased 600 percent since 1950 and that “smoking-related disease among women is full-blown epidemic.”

Added Manske: “I think that anything we can do to counter these social pressures, and to introduce a different culture around tobacco use, is important.”

U of M will have smoking ban

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus is the most recent to announce a ban – at least a smoking ban, that is. The University Senate, made up of faculty, students and staff, voted May 2 in favor of a smoking ban and President Eric Kaler concurred, telling the Star Tribune: “A tobacco-free campus has become an expectation … rather than an innovation. It’s about time for us.” The ban could begin in the fall of 2014, and in the meantime officials will determine details such as whether the ban will include chewing tobacco.

Two other U of M campuses already have bans – tobacco in Crookston and smoking in Duluth. Private colleges with tobacco bans are Bethel, Northwestern, St. Catherine and St. Scholastica, and other major public institutions include state universities in Bemidji, Mankato, Marshall, Moorhead, St. Cloud and Winona.

The program featured much laughter, some tears, two sustained standing ovations, kind words, and a chance to see Dease cover his distinguished gray hair with a Harley Davidson “do-rag,” complete with bright orange flames.

Speaking at the event were Father John Malone, vice president for mission, and Archbishop Harry Flynn, chair of the university’s board for the past 18 years.

Flynn, also sporting a Harley cap at the podium, commented on Malone’s string of jokes and stories that peppered the program. “When Father Malone was speaking, I was wishing this was six years ago and I was still in office … so I could can him.”

Father John Malone, left, cracks a joke as Archbishop Emeritus Harry Flynn and Father Dease look on.

The archbishop turned serious and described this as a bittersweet time for the university. “We’ve all grown with him,” he said of Dease, who will retire at the end of June after 22 years as the university’s president.

“The hardest job in the world is being president of a Catholic university,” he said. “The president is responsible to so many constituents … students, faculty, the board, alumni and to the local bishop. It is a delicate balance, and Father Dease has done it brilliantly.”

Flynn said there are two types of leaders. One is the “instrumentalist” who is focused primarily on getting the job done. The other is the “expressive leader” who accomplishes tasks through encouragement, through listening, by making sure the morale is high and who leads others to work toward goals. “Those two forms of leaders landed in one person, Father Dease. He has been a patient, patient leader … and how important that is.

“I always describe Father Dease as steel wrapped in velvet. He smiles when he asks you for something.”

There are stories behind the Harley do-rags and the Groucho glasses.

Years ago, Dr. Ron Bennett, former dean of the School of Engineering, gave Dease a piggy-bank for his office desk. It was inscribed, “My Harley Fund,” and Dease often joked that he planned to buy a Harley motorcycle when he retired. At the start of the program, Malone and Dease donned their do-rags and the archbishop put on a more dignified Harley beret.

The origins of the Groucho glasses go back two years, to the fall faculty convocation. At the annual gathering, Dease put on a pair of Groucho glasses while commenting on a widely reported controversy involving British climate-change skeptic Lord Christopher Monkton and St. Thomas engineering professor and climate-change expert Dr. John Abraham. It was in the course of the controversy that Monkton called Dease a “creep of a president.”

As Malone recounted the story Friday afternoon, members of the audience took their Groucho glasses out of hiding and put them on.

Staff and faculty applaud Father Dease at a sendoff celebration.

“I thought a nice thing about getting old is you couldn’t be shocked anymore,” Dease said when he took the podium. “I was wrong. I never believed I’d be up here with an archbishop in a Harley hat and me in a do-rag.”

Dease’s remarks were short. “I don’t have a speech. I want to say thanks to all faculty and staff for making the St. Thomas culture so really, really special … and it’s hard to look out and say that with everyone wearing Groucho glasses.”

And at that, the audience rose and gave him a long standing ovation.

Leave a Farewell Note for Father Dennis Dease

If you were unable to attend the faculty and staff farewell celebration for St. Thomas President Father Dennis Dease, you can still offer your best wishes to him by signing a memory book that will be given to him when he retires on June 30. Stop by Aquinas Hall Room 102 to sign the book through Friday, May 31. The first 100 signers will receive commemorative Groucho glasses.

Father Dennis Dease will retire on June 30, completing 22 years as the 14th president of the University of St. Thomas.

The St. Thomas that Dease will hand over to Dr. Julie Sullivan on July 1 is dramatically different from the St. Thomas he inherited from Monsignor Terrence Murphy, yet his desire always has been simple and forthright – to improve the quality of education and to carry out the mission.

That desire has manifested itself in many ways – in new campuses and new buildings, in a more racially and ethnically diverse student body, in a stronger faculty and staff, and in highly successful fundraising efforts.

Dease is the first to credit the entire St. Thomas community for making so many dreams come true. He speaks quietly of how “incredibly blessed” he is to be surrounded by people “who care deeply about this university and who have a deep passion for learning and helping others to learn.”

He sat down this spring to reflect on his presidency and to look ahead to the challenges that await his successor and the University of St. Thomas.

Q. Twenty-two years! Does it seem that long?

A. The first year seemed like 22 years because of the learning curve, but the last 20 years have just vaporized. It’s like if you get on a plane and don’t have anything to read, the trip takes forever. But if you have a good book, you’re there before you know it. There has been so much activity and growth here at St. Thomas that the years have just flown by.

Q. In 1991, how long – honestly, now – did you expect to be president? Are you surprised that you have served 22 years?

A. I knew the average term for a university president in the United States was about 6.5 years, and a little longer in Catholic institutions. Archbishop John Roach, our chairman at the time, asked me on the day of the board’s interview with me if I would be willing to give 10 years to the job. I said I would. I was just hoping I could hang in there for 10 years!

Why did I stay 22 years? No one is more surprised than I am. Maybe it was just the grace of God. One thing I know for sure: It’s important to have good people around you to take on responsibility and work together, and ours is a wonderful culture in that sense. I am so fortunate that the faculty and staff became my friends and have been magnificent in carrying out our mission, and I could not have asked for a better board of trustees. They are can-do, make-it-happen individuals who know how to solve problems. Those are the real reasons for the long run.

This is a unique kind of university. You don’t find here the acerbic divisions that are so common in academe. On a 1 to 10 scale in this regard, the St. Thomas community rates a 10. I do not exaggerate. Sure, we’ve had strong disagreements at times, but the civility with which we have carried on our discussions always made me proud.

Q. How has the job changed over the years?

A. The job as a Catholic university president is never easy, but there is less stridency today surrounding our Catholic identity. There is more clarity, thanks to the decade-long discussion prompted by the Holy See’s document Ex Corde Ecclesiae. In my early years, there were many hard discussions trying to balance the role of Catholicism with that of a university. As I leave office, the dominant issue is affordability.

Q. What has been St. Thomas’ most significant accomplishment during your tenure? Is there any particular accomplishment with which you take personal pride?

A. We put a lot of effort into strengthening our Catholic identity. We are clearer today about the meaning of our commitment to cultivate our Catholic mission. We have a rich, 4,000-year Judeo-Christian wisdom tradition upon which to draw, as well as a vibrant Catholic intellectual and cultural tradition.

I am pleased that we have steadily strengthened our faculty. Many of them come from the best universities in the world. They are productive scholars and they are just incredibly fine teachers. I see master teachers as those who not only educate but also inspire, who are passionate about their disciplines and who change lives. Their fire is burning brightly because they stoke it with research and then come into the classroom and light a fire for others. They have what William Butler Yeats said about the purpose of education being not just one of filling a bucket but lighting a fire.

We also have seen the student body change academically as judged by ACT scores (averages of 23.1 and 25.6 for entering freshmen in 1991 and 2012), and we are more diverse. We were mostly white middle class (4.5 percent students of color in 1991) but today we have higher percentages of students of color (14 percent) and international students (4 percent), and they have enriched the learning environment.

Q. In the essay that you submitted with your application to be president, you listed a priority to strengthen our Catholic character, and in your inauguration address you emphasized the need to avoid “a slippery path to a rather bland secularism.” What does the path look like today?

A. I no longer see that as the threat I saw 22 years ago because the academic environment is much more open to us being Catholic. A Catholic university is built on the  premise that faith and reason are not antithetical but are complementary. One can enrich the other. Science and religion can learn from the other, and I find that fun because my personal interests and background have been on the religion side, but in school I always found science fascinating.

Q. How do programs such as a Center for Catholic Studies and a Rome campus enhance our Catholic character?

A. Our Center for Catholic Studies enriches us as a Catholic university, and in ways we didn’t anticipate when we designed it. It enables students to integrate what they are learning in terms of their faith with a whole variety of other disciplines and perspectives. It traces and explores the Catholic influence in literature, science, philosophy and the arts.

The Rome campus was a bold step for us. It certainly wasn’t going to become a profit center, but the trustees agreed from a mission point of view that it was important. I love  the facility itself, located on the Tiber River just a 15-minute walk to St. Peter’s. We were fortunate to have a dear friend, the late Cardinal Pio Laghi, dedicate the campus, and I still remember him saying, “The city of Rome is a wonderful professor.”

Q. Why do students need a liberal arts education? What does it mean?

A. A liberal arts education is a process; it’s not a product. It’s not a discreet amount of information that you acquire; it’s the result of personal interaction with mentors, with professors. It’s not data; it’s an expansion of students’ horizons and of shaping their awareness and preparing them for lifelong learning. It is truly transformative.

It comes about because of interaction with talented, experienced teachers. Our class sizes are relatively small, which allows for interaction, and the approach that our faculty takes is inquiry based learning. There is an old saying, “Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I’ll remember. Involve me and I’ll understand.” That’s inquiry-based learning.

Q. More and more scholarship and research involves students. Why is that important?

A. It is not that common for faculty in higher education in the United States to involve undergraduate students in their research, but it is common here at St. Thomas. You get a sense of how much this means to students when you attend their poster sessions, such as the ones I have gone to for chemistry. There were so many students presenting research on poster boards. They used to be able to get all of them into the corridors on one floor, but this year there were so many that they had to have two shifts. That’s thrilling because it’s learning at its best.

Q. Another priority you cited before becoming president was a desire for St. Thomas to become a great “urban” university, and you later said that we should not just be in the city, but of the city. Have we taken sufficient steps?

A. When I was rector of the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis, every day people were at the door in need of housing, clothing, food or even bus tickets. People were living under the freeway bridge across the street. That weighed on me, and I thought an urban university would have something to contribute to alleviate the suffering.

The chief way we contribute is through education – by educating first-generation students and by encouraging an organic interaction between the university and the  community. We are not an ivory tower that is self-sufficient, but an urban university that responds to issues and whose students have an opportunity to learn from  community-based projects and supervised, reflective experiences. We always can do more, and I expect we will do more because we have created a culture where people want to be part of the solution.

By “of the city,” I meant that we have a responsibility to the region we serve to provide for its emerging educational needs. We will continue to do that. We are organically part of the city here, and our future will rise or fall with the future of the city.

Q. St. Thomas revised its mission statement in 2004. What does it mean to you when you look at it today?

A. It goes like this: “Inspired by Catholic intellectual tradition, the University of St. Thomas educates students to be morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely and work skillfully to advance the common good.” I love that mission statement because it succinctly captures us and it guides us.

Q. So it boils down to how people need to go out and do the right thing?

A. Absolutely. I have had a stream of students and faculty come through my office excited about projects. Like engineering professor Camille George and her project to dehydrate breadfruit in Haiti to preserve it and meet the nutritional needs of the people there. Or Brian Osende, an engineering student who went back to his remote village in Uganda with solar panels and his knowledge as an engineer, to electrify his village. It dawned on me that I had something in common with the people of that village because that was an electrifying experience for both of us.

Q. Throughout your presidency, you have expressed concern – even frustration – about the rising costs of education and the growing perception among some people that they cannot afford St. Thomas. How do you address that?

A. I tell them, “Don’t be scared off by the sticker price.” We have dramatically increased financial aid. I also point out that our average net cost has not increased in the last 10 years beyond the rate of inflation. The average debt load that an undergraduate student leaves St. Thomas with is around $30,000 – the same as what many new cars cost, and they won’t drive that car for the rest of their life. I believe $30,000 is a reasonable price to pay for an education.

Q. St. Thomas has been successful in raising funds, including $765 million in the Opening Doors and Ever Press Forward capital campaigns. Does the generosity of alumni and friends, even during a serious recession, surprise you?

A. It is astounding in one sense but not in another. People see the kind of institution that St. Thomas is and come to a judgment that we are adding great value to the community. They appreciate the way that we respond to emerging educational needs, and they want to be part of it.

Q. Enrollment growth in the 1970s and 1980s led to crowded conditions and decisions to open a Minneapolis campus and significantly expand the St. Paul campus. But needs remain: Music programs want better facilities, science and engineering programs are out of space and neighbors push for more on-campus housing. Is a university ever done with construction?

A. Never! I wish it could be so. But as educational needs continue to change, so must our programs and our facilities, and that entails reimagining and retrofitting the physical campus.

Q. What would you consider the “signature” buildings of your presidency?

A. Each building has been important in meeting critical needs. The Minneapolis campus buildings gave us an opportunity to concentrate many graduate and professional programs there, and each has served its distinct profession well.

In St. Paul, the Frey Science and Engineering Center addressed perhaps our greatest need, and McNeely Hall has made a huge difference to our business faculty. The three Anderson buildings have enriched student life immeasurably: the Athletic and Recreation Complex and the Student Center bring people together and allow the community to come to know itself in ways not previously possible, and you can never have enough parking.

Q. Why is diversity important?

A. I love the diversity I see on campus because it enriches the learning experience for all of our students. It better prepares them for the world in which they will live and work. In practice, when a student from Eden Prairie or New Market or Lake Benton meets a student from the Middle East or China or Africa, that student starts to ask questions about his new friend’s experiences, culture and perspective. In the process, he learns more about the world.

Q. In becoming more diverse, have we become a better reflection of the region’s racial and ethnic makeup?

A. We are definitely more reflective of the community. I can’t recall many Hmong students here 20 years ago, and there are many today. I also am pleased with the recruitment in immigrant communities. Who would have thought that the largest representations today from foreign countries would be Saudi Arabia (99 students last fall) and India (56)?

We had the opportunity a decade ago to provide space for English Language Services, and we brought international students to campus and gave them a chance to look around. The Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission in Washington provides full scholarships, and I began to develop a relationship with those officials. I was concerned about how they might view St. Thomas and they told me, “We love Catholic universities because they respect the role that faith plays in life.” We have had an excellent experience.

Q. Another way that St. Thomas provides greater access for lower-income students is through the Dease Scholarship Program. How did that come about?

A. Greg Roberts, our vice president for student affairs (until 2003) came to me one day and said the number of African-American students had dropped to a critical level. There was a general feeling in that community, he said, that St. Thomas was not a good fit for African-American students. That got my attention. I realized we would need to re-engineer our efforts. And we did.

When I see someone like Laura Lee, who was a Hmong student at St. Thomas, now at the top of her profession as a (television) anchor in Rochester, I can’t find words to express my gratitude that we were able to be there when she was saying, “Educate me, expand my horizons, give me some skills!” It’s humbling and it’s gratifying to be part of this journey.

Q. St. Thomas has largely managed to avoid controversy over the years. There have been some dust-ups and we have come under criticism for positions we have taken on certain issues, but for the most part our alumni and the broader community have stuck with us. Why?

A. It’s because people accept who we are. They may disagree with us, but they respect who we are. They also respect our graduates. I have long believed that the ultimate measure of the quality of a university is the quality of its graduates – and ours are extraordinary.

Q. Have you ever second-guessed any decisions? Or looked back and said, “I should have handled that differently”?

A. I haven’t had time! Seriously, so much has happened here. Maybe I will in retrospect, when I have had the chance to think, but not now. This is such a busy place – when one chapter closes you are already working on the next.

Sure, I have made mistakes along the way, but people are good here. Not a lot of finger pointing goes on. They acknowledge any mistakes and the explanations and say, “Let’s move on.”

Q. You never seem more a priest than when you say Mass and never more a president than when you are handing out diplomas at graduation. How are those special moments to you?

A. When I am holding the host or chalice in my hand, I feel like I am in the presence of Jesus in a way that I can’t even begin to understand or appreciate. I often experience Jesus’ love intensely in those moments, but trying to comprehend it would be like trying to understand the light that comes from the other side of the universe.

When I hand out diplomas, I see the smiles as students come up and cross the stage. They’re just so happy. There’s no finer moment in the life of a university president than when you see students who know that something very good has happened.

Q. What kind of role do you want to have as “president emeritus”?

A. I will try to be of help in whatever way I can – to the university and to Dr. Julie Sullivan, who is a wonderful person and will be an extraordinary leader. I see myself as becoming a goodwill ambassador. I have been blessed with good health, and as long as it holds up I will be active. I’m not yet ready to spend my time watching the daytime soaps or the Weather Channel.

Q. What advice do you have for your successor?

A. I will tell her to enjoy what will likely be the most wonderful job she’s ever had.

Q. In past Q&A interviews for St. Thomas magazine, we closed with the famous John Ireland quote about the need to “ever press forward” because “God intended the present to be better than the past and the future to be better than the present.” How do you relate those words to the mission of St. Thomas?

A. It inspires us to dare to be great, to dive into life, to become part of it, to make tomorrow better than today. We can actively and significantly contribute, and that is what we here at St. Thomas choose to do – to advance the common good.

Read more from St. Thomas Magazine.

“Uncommon decency,” said Morrison. “He’s a man of uncommon decency.”

Dave Nimmer

That describes the man I know – whether he was setting a policy, writing a note or admitting a mistake.

The mistake was back in 2007 when he decided not to invite Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu to campus to speak as part of the Peace Jam celebration. His reason was that Tutu had made remarks offensive to Jewish people in a 2002 speech about Israeli policy toward the Palestinians.

What I recall is a noon hour several days after he made the decision. Congressional candidate Coleen Rowley, a former FBI whistle blower, was standing on the grass in front of the Arches holding one end of a banner that read “Let Tutu Speak.”

A retired WCCO colleague of mine, Roger Nelson, and I were walking by and paused to talk with Rowley and her husband, telling them we supported their point of view and admired their courage.  At that very moment, Father Dease walked up to the four of us.

“You can take your sign down,” he said. “I have changed my mind.” He went on to tell Rowley that he had made the wrong decision and now “would be proud to extend an invitation to Archbishop Tutu to speak at UST.” He looked them in the eyes, shook their hands and said he was sorry. Nelson later told me how impressed he was by Dease’s sincerity … and humility.

“How often has any official, public or private, done that (admit a mistake) in the recent past?” Tutu’s supporters later wrote. “The action not only sends a much-needed signal on behalf of academic freedom and the cause of justice and peace worldwide, but it’s a rare example of ethics in action.”

Father Dease never changed his mind about the importance of increasing diversity at UST, most especially providing scholarships to students of color. One of those scholarships went to Laura Lee, a Hmong woman from a big family with a husband and two children of her own when she graduated.

Her mother and father had come to Laura’s December graduation from Missouri and I asked Father Dease whether he could greet them. He not only shook their hands, he spent 15 minutes telling them how proud he was of Laura and how pleased he was to offer aid and assistance.

But his best touch was when he told the Hmong elders that they had done “a fine job” of raising their daughter and St. Thomas was honored to have her as part of its family. Father Dease was both graceful and gracious.

He was also generous with his time and attention to others. They often came in handwritten notes on his office stationery. I got mine two weeks before my surgery for prostate cancer in August 2008.  He’d heard about it from others and wanted me to know I was in his thoughts and prayers.

It was that pastoral touch at the end that defines the man for me. “Please let me know if there’s any way I can be of help,” he wrote.

You have been of help, Padre. You’ve taught me what a good man is and what he does.

Editor’s note: Faculty and staff are invited to attend a celebration for Dease from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday in Woulfe Alumni Hall in the Anderson Student Center. A program will begin at 3:30.

The party will be from 3 to 5 p.m. in Woulfe Alumni Hall in the Anderson Student Center. A program will begin at 3:30 p.m., and will feature remarks by Dease, Father John Malone, vice president for mission, and Archbishop Harry Flynn, chair of the St. Thomas Board of Trustees.

There is no need to R.S.V.P. for the party.

Catholic Identity
• Co-sponsored and hosted “Catholic Higher Education: Practice and Promise,” a national conference attended by 450 educators from 130 colleges in 1995.
• Established the Center for Catholic Studies, the first such program in the country, in 1993. The center has bachelor’s and master’s degrees and institutes in Catholic Leadership, Catholic Social Thought, and Catholic Thought, Law and Public Policy, and publishes the journal Logos.
• Opened the Bernardi Campus in Rome in 2000.
• Opened the School of Law, with its distinctive mission of “integrating faith and reason in the search for truth,” in 2001.
• Established the Murray Institute, which has provided 700 teachers and principals in archdiocesan schools with tuition-free education specialist and master’s degrees and certificates since 1992.
• Helped to strengthen two affiliated seminaries; enrollment of men preparing for the priesthood at the St. Paul Seminary grew in 2012 to 104, the highest since 1980, and St. John Vianney Seminary enrollment set a record of 165 in 2009.
• Renovated the sanctuary of the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Community Engagement and Community Service
• Established Business 200, a 40-hour community service requirement for undergraduate business majors, in 1991. More than 11,500 students have donated 460,000 hours at 4,000 different service sites in 27 states and 21 countries.
• Serves as the authorizer of six charter schools in the Twin Cities area; three charter schools first were sponsored by St. Thomas in 2000.
• Established the Interprofessional Center for Counseling and Legal Services, a collaboration among the School of Law, School of Social Work and Graduate School of Professional Psychology, in 2003.
• Created the Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian Learning in 1996 by combining similar programs at St. Thomas and St. John’s; the center was renamed the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning in 2009.
• Became the home for ThreeSixty Journalism, a program to strengthen the writing skills, civic literacy and college-readiness of teenagers, in 2001.
• Established the Center for Intercultural Learning and Community Engagement in 2008 to replace the Center for Community Partnerships in supporting community and service learning programs.

Facilities
• Initiated 20 major building projects with an investment of $350 million.
• Established a downtown Minneapolis campus with four buildings – Terrence Murphy Hall (1992), Opus Hall (1999), School of Law (2002) and Schulze Hall (2005) – and commissioned the fresco project on virtues in Terrence Murphy Hall.
• Opened three academic buildings in St. Paul – O’Shaughnessy and Owens Science halls in the Frey Science and Engineering Center (1997) and McNeely Hall (2006) – and renovated Albertus Magnus Hall for seven departments, renaming it the John R. Roach Center for the Liberal Arts (2000).
• Improved campus and residential life experiences by opening Morrison Hall (1998), Flynn Hall (2005) and three Anderson buildings: Parking Facility (2009), Athletic and Recreation Complex (2010) and Student Center (2012).
• Reached agreement with the City of St. Paul on a Conditional Use Permit to govern the redevelopment of the two blocks bounded by Summit, Cleveland, Grand and Cretin avenues (2004).
• Dedicated architect Frank Gehry’s renowned Winton Guest House at Gainey Conference Center in Owatonna (2011) after moving the house from its original site on Lake Minnetonka.
• Moved the Child Development Center into its own building at Grand Avenue and Finn Street (2005); it began in Christ Child Hall (1998).

Financial Stewardship
• Raised $765 million in two capital campaigns: Ever Press Forward ($250 million from 24,387 benefactors, concluded in 2001) and Opening Doors ($515 million, 43,359 donors, 2012).
• Grew investments from $122 million to $442 million (+262 percent).
• Increased the number of annual donors from 6,499 in 1991 to 15,419 in 2012, and increased faculty and staff participation in the Annual Fund from 17 percent in 2002 to a record 58 percent in 2012.
• Received $15.5 million in federal funds for planning and construction of the Frey Science and Engineering Center.

Institutional
• Adopted a new mission statement in 2004: “Inspired by Catholic intellectual tradition, the University of St. Thomas educates morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely and work skillfully to advance the common good.”
• Began using the tagline, “Challenge Yourself, Change Our World” in 2003, replacing “Come Prepared to Learn, Leave Prepared to Succeed.”
• Set enrollment records of 11,570 (overall) in 2001, 6,336 (undergraduate) in 2012 and 6,154 (graduate) in 2001. Students of color tripled (to 14 percent in 2012) and international students tripled (to 401 in 2012).
• Increased four-year graduation rate from 42 percent to 60 percent and five-year graduation rate from 63 percent to 72 percent.

Honors and Recognition

• Cited as early as 1992 by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 15 (among 122) regional institutions in the Midwest, and achieved its highest ranking in the national universities category in 2012: No. 113 (among 281).
• Ranked by the Institute for International Education as high as first nationally (in 2005) and regularly in the top 10 among doctoral universities for undergraduate participation in study abroad programs, which more than quadrupled (216 students in 1991-92 to 915 in 2011-12).
• Designated in 2006 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as one of 76 U.S. institutions in a new “Community Engagement” classification.
• Received (Dease) the National Catholic Education Association’s highest honor, the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award, in 2008 for lifelong work as a Catholic educator.

More than 1,500 students, faculty and staff gathered in the lower quadrangle and on John P. Monahan Plaza over the noon hour to pay tribute to Father Dennis Dease, who will retire June 30 after 22 years as president of St. Thomas.

Students planned the festivities and played off St. Thomas traditions established during his tenure, including a March Through the Arches and a clapping crowd that lined sidewalks in purple t-shirts with “Father Dease’s Farewell Crew” printed on the front and “Thanks Father Dease” on the back.

Dease walked with outgoing Undergraduate Student Government President Mike Orth and Hana member Jessica Algoo from the Arches to Monahan Plaza, trailed by international students carrying flags from more than 20 countries.

Orth welcomed the crowd and thanked Dease for his lifetime of service to the university and, in particular, to its students by listening to them and making them feel engaged, respected and appreciated.

“I have learned so much from this incredible man,” Orth said. “Never have I met someone who better defines the role of a humble, quiet servant-leader who genuinely cares about the well being of his community. He is a man who commands the attention of a room but quickly turns that attention around into a voice of tenderness and care.

“As I wrapped up my very last meeting with him in April, I thought to myself, ‘This is the leader I hope to become some day.’ ”

Dease called the turnout “a wonderful gesture” and said it underscored his pride in St. Thomas students.

“I have long believed that the ultimate measure of the quality of a university is the quality of its graduates – and ours are extraordinary,” he said. “I can say the same thing today about the quality of our students, who are outstanding in every sense of the word.”

Dease said he always has been guided and motivated by two goals as president: to continually improve the quality of a St. Thomas education and “to make sure we live up to – and live out – our mission statement to educate students ‘to be morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely and work skillfully to advance the common good.’ ”

The Festival Choir sang “Thanks,” which it also performed at the Opening Doors capital campaign closing dinner last October, and the president received two gifts.

International students gave him a huge postcard with a map of the globe surrounded by their signatures, and Algoo announced that a blue beech tree will be planted on the east side of the quadrangle in his honor. A plaque under the tree will read:

“This tree is dedicated to the Reverend Dennis Dease in gratitude and celebration of his extraordinary commitment, leadership and devotion to undergraduate students during his 22 years of president of the University of St. Thomas. April 30, 2013.”

Algoo then quoted a Greek proverb on a wall in the Anderson Student Center: “A society grows great when people plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.” Dease later returned to the microphone for final words:

“I don’t know about you,” he said, “but I fully intend to sit under that tree.”

]]> http://www.stthomas.edu/news/2013/04/30/a-wonderful-gesture-as-students-bid-farewell-to-father-dennis-dease/feed/ 0 http://www.stthomas.edu/news/2013/04/25/students-to-say-farewell-and-thanks-to-father-dease-april-30/ http://www.stthomas.edu/news/2013/04/25/students-to-say-farewell-and-thanks-to-father-dease-april-30/#comments Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:05:39 +0000 St. Thomas Newsroom http://www.stthomas.edu/news/?p=124514 University of St. Thomas undergraduate students will say their goodbyes and thank-yous to retiring Father Dennis Dease at a celebration that starts at 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, on the lower-quadrangle’s John P. Monahan Plaza.

Dease is retiring on June 30 after serving 22 years as St. Thomas’ president.

A committee of students from many campus organizations worked with Campus Life and Residence Life to plan the event.

More than 700 students signed up to participate. They are invited to pick up a T-shirt at the Campus Life office in Room 325, Anderson Student Center, on Monday. If you didn’t sign up beforehand, extra T-shirts will likely be available at the flag pole on the lower quad just prior to the event. All students are welcome to attend and the more T-shirts the better.

The T-shirts say “Father Dease’s Farewell Crew” on the front and “Thank You Father Dease” on the back.  The “Farewell Crew” recalls the “Father Dease Move-In Crew” which for many years helped freshmen move into their residence hall rooms each fall.

Students, with T-shirts or not, are invited to show up at the flag pole at 11:45 a.m. for instructions on how to participate in the show of thanks.

A program on the plaza will start at 12:10 p.m. Following remarks by senior Mike Orth, outgoing president of the Undergraduate Student Government, and sophomore Jessica Algoo, a member of the thank-you committee, Dease will receive a gift from the university’s international students and a blue beech tree and plaque from all the undergraduate students. The tree will be planted soon in the lower quadrangle near the library.

The University of St. Thomas Festival Choir will contribute a rousing thank-you song to the occasion.

A free lunch as well as ice cream and cupcakes will be served on the plaza.

Hundreds of students have shown their gratitude by signing thank-you banners that will hang in the Anderson Student Center atrium.

The weather looks promising that day; if it’s not, the event will be held in the Woulfe Alumni Hall. If you have questions, contact Margaret Cahill of Campus Life at (651) 962-6131.

The St. Thomas Board of Trustees unanimously elected Sullivan, 55, to succeed Father Dennis Dease, who will retire June 30 after 22 years as the 14th president of Minnesota’s largest private college or university.

With a Ph.D. in business administration, Sullivan has a strong background in business education that she will bring to St. Thomas. John M. Morrison, a trustee who served as chair of the search committee, said Sullivan’s extensive background as a professor and administrator has prepared her well for the St. Thomas presidency.

“Julie is tailor-made for the position,” said Morrison, a banker and founder of the Morrison Center for Entrepreneurship at the university’s Schulze School of Entrepreneurship. “She has the academic experience, business acumen and personal qualities we need in our next president, and her Roman Catholic faith is central to her life. St. Thomas, which is similar in many respects to that of the University of San Diego, will thrive under her leadership.”

While an undergraduate at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Sullivan thought she would become a public accountant. After a six-month internship with what then was Ernst and Whinney, she concluded that she preferred tax accounting over auditing. She needed a master’s degree to work directly in tax accounting, so she continued her studies at the University of Florida.

“I had a teaching assistantship during my master’s program and discovered I loved to teach,” she said. “Thus, I decided to remain at Florida and pursue a Ph.D. in business administration.”

She began her academic career in 1983 at the University of Oklahoma, and four years later moved to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, to be a visiting professor for one year. She was hired as a tenure-track faculty member at the end of that year.

During her 16 years at North Carolina, Sullivan became an Ernst and Young Distinguished Professor and served as co-director of the Center for Innovation and Learning, director of the Center for International Business Education and Research, associate dean of the master’s of accounting program and senior associate dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

She was interim dean of Kenan-Flagler in 2003, leading a $180 million capital campaign, when she moved to California and became a full professor in the Rady School of Management at the University of California-San Diego.

Sullivan was named executive vice president and provost of the University of San Diego in 2005. Today, she is responsible for all degree and nondegree educational programs, information technology services, admissions, financial aid and career services. She also oversees the chief financial officer and has responsibility for the operating budget.

One achievement of which she is particularly proud is the 2011 designation of San Diego as a “Changemaker Campus” by Ashoka, an Arlington, Va.-based organization that supports successful social entrepreneurs around the globe.

Sullivan believes St. Thomas, too, can become a “changemaker” campus – if not by designation by Ashoka, then certainly by day-to-day practice.

“St. Thomas is an outstanding university which enjoys a wonderful history and legacy that is firmly rooted in its commitment to Catholic values and the liberal arts while looking forward with an entrepreneurial spirit,” Sullivan said. “It is poised to do even more – to expand its influence and its visibility.”

Dease also applauded the choice of Sullivan and promised a smooth transition over the next few months. He will become president-emeritus following his retirement and will work with Sullivan and the board on special projects.

Read more from B. Magazine.

The survey is designed to identify strengths and new initiatives that St. Thomas might undertake over the next five years. Results will be helpful to Sullivan and the St. Thomas community in discussions about the university’s mission, vision and convictions.

All responses to the 5- to 10-minute online survey will be strictly confidential. A secure link to the survey was sent to St. Thomas email addresses last week.

If you have questions about the survey, contact Dr. Michael Cogan, (651) 962-6657.

The planning survey is designed to identify strengths and new initiatives that St. Thomas might undertake over the next five years. Results will assist Sullivan and the St. Thomas community in discussions about the university’s mission, vision and convictions.

All responses to the 5- to 10-minute online survey will be strictly confidential. A secure link to the survey will be sent to St. Thomas email addresses on Tuesday, April 16.

Although voluntary, your participation in this project would be greatly appreciated. For further information about the survey, contact Dr. Michael Cogan, (651) 962-6657.

The forums will be held in the south end of Woulfe Alumni Hall in the Anderson Student Center on the St. Paul campus, with a simulcast to Room 202, Opus Hall, on the Minneapolis campus. All faculty are invited to the spring faculty forum at noon, and Sullivan will hold a question-and-answer session at 1:45 p.m. for all staff and faculty.

Faculty and staff are invited to join Sullivan and learn more about her vision and ideas for St. Thomas and higher education.

The St. Thomas Board of Trustees today unanimously elected Sullivan, 55, to succeed Father Dennis Dease, who will retire June 30 after 22 years as 14th president of Minnesota’s largest private college or university.

A 13-member search committee of trustees and faculty and staff members unanimously recommended Sullivan to the board, which elected her during its winter meeting on the St. Paul campus. Sullivan met on several occasions with the search committee and also met privately earlier this month with more than 40 trustees, faculty members, administrators and students.

“I am thrilled and honored to be chosen,” said Sullivan, a Florida native who has taught or served in administrative positions in Oklahoma, North Carolina and California. “St. Thomas is an outstanding university which enjoys a wonderful history and legacy that is firmly rooted in its commitment to Catholic values and the liberal arts while looking forward with an entrepreneurial spirit. It is poised to do even more – to expand its influence and its visibility.”

Archbishop Emeritus Harry Flynn, chairman of the St. Thomas board since 1995, said Sullivan will bring excellent credentials to St. Thomas and will carry on a strong tradition nurtured by Dease.

“Our mission statement says that we seek to educate students ‘to be morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely and work skillfully to advance the common good,’ ” Flynn said. “I see those qualities and that commitment in Julie Sullivan. She will be an outstanding president.”

Flynn added that Sullivan has provided exceptional service to San Diego, “a Catholic university that has a great reputation and is highly respected in the local church.”

John M. Morrison, a trustee who served as chair of the search committee, said Sullivan’s extensive background as a professor and administrator has prepared her well for the St. Thomas presidency.

“Julie is tailor-made for the position,” said Morrison, who has served on the St. Thomas board since 1996. “She has the academic experience, business acumen and personal qualities we need in our next president, and her Roman Catholic faith is central to her life. St. Thomas, which is similar in many respects to that of the University of San Diego, will thrive under her leadership.”

Dease also applauded the choice of Sullivan and promised a smooth transition over the next several months. He will become president-emeritus following his retirement and will work with Sullivan and the board on special projects.

“Julie is a star,” Dease said. “Her spirit, authenticity and mission-driven leadership will be a great fit here, and her experience uniquely positions her to work with this community to make St. Thomas an even stronger university in the years ahead. I look forward to working with her.”

The Most Rev. John C. Nienstedt, archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, praised the appointment.

“Dr. Sullivan brings with her a wealth of experience as a professor and administrator,” he said. “I have promised to work with her to advance the mission of the university as well as to find ways for us to collaborate in the programs of the archdiocese.”

Two Firsts for St. Thomas

Sullivan knows she will be observed closely as the first woman and the first lay person to serve as president of St. Thomas, which has been led by Roman Catholic priests since founder Archbishop John Ireland appointed Father Thomas O’Gorman in 1885. The St. Thomas board changed its bylaws two years ago to allow a Catholic lay person to serve as president in order to expand the pool of eligible candidates and hire the strongest person for the position.

Tommie high-fives Sullivan as she enters the Hearth Room for a press conference announcing her presidency. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)

“The first order of business will be to acknowledge that, yes, a lay Catholic woman is your leader,” she said, “and I also want to assure the entire community that we will not deviate in our commitment to the Catholic intellectual tradition and Catholic values that have been a St. Thomas hallmark.

“That tradition and those values are so rich here – the call to pursue truth through the integration of faith and reason, with a strong commitment to the liberal arts. That tradition and those values are critical, particularly in helping young people understand the complexity and the interconnectedness of our world and their places in it.

“I have the deepest respect for the Catholic Church as a vibrant and living institution. A Catholic university is a special place where we engage with the Church in a spirit of free inquiry and robust diaologue, and scholars here at St. Thomas will always play a vital role in that regard.”

Sullivan cited similarities between St. Thomas and San Diego, where she has served as the No. 2 administrator since 2005, when it comes to the emphasis placed by both institutions on practicing the principles of Catholic social teaching.

“It’s in San Diego’s DNA because of what we do – and it’s in your DNA, too,” she said. “When I was reading your faculty bios, every one of them included something about what they do in service to the community. Students also have a real commitment to being out in the world, to helping to solve problems, and in valuing the dignity of every human being.

“We are all children of God, and I see a lot of evidence of this conviction in the St. Thomas community. I sense that passion and that care for others.”

Premed to Business

Sullivan was born in 1957 in Gainesville, Fla., and grew up with a younger brother in Jacksonville and Live Oak, Fla. Her father owned an automobile dealership and her mother was a homemaker and volunteer.

She enrolled at Valdosta State College in Georgia after her junior year in high school and transferred a year later to the University of Florida in Gainesville. She began her studies as a premed major and enjoyed and excelled in numerous science classes, but changed her mind after organic chemistry, where “it just didn’t click for me.”

Sullivan thought about majors in actuarial science or pharmacy before she settled on accounting, and she still remembers her father’s words: “I don’t care what your major is in; you just better have a job when you finish.”

She planned to work as a public accountant, and after a six-month internship with what then was Ernst and Whinney, she concluded that she preferred tax accounting over auditing. She needed a master’s degree to work directly in tax accounting, so she continued her studies at Florida.

“I had a teaching assistantship during my master’s program and discovered I loved to teach,” she said. “Thus, I decided to remain at Florida and pursue a Ph.D. in business administration.”

Sullivan began her academic career in 1983 at the University of Oklahoma, and four years later moved to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, to be a visiting professor for one year. She was hired as a tenure-track faculty member at the end of that year.

During her 16 years at North Carolina, Sullivan became an Ernst and Young Distinguished Professor and served as co-director of the Center for Innovation and Learning, director of the Center for International Business Education and Research, associate dean of the master’s of accounting program and senior associate dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

A Move to the West Coast

She was interim dean of Kenan-Flagler in 2003, leading a $180 million capital campaign, when she moved to California and became a full professor in the Rady School of Management at the University of California-San Diego.

One night at a dinner party, Sullivan met Dr. Mary Lyons, president of the University of San Diego (and former president of the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn.). They later met at another party at Lyons’ home, and Lyons mentioned that she was recruiting for her provost position.

“I wished her the very best in her search,” Sullivan said. “Her comment continued to resurface in my mind for several weeks, until I phoned the search consultant to learn more about the job. After an hour of discussion, I was convinced the University of San Diego could be a good opportunity for me.”

Lyons felt the same way. She hired Sullivan as executive vice president and provost in 2005. Today, Sullivan is responsible for all degree and nondegree educational programs, information technology services, admissions, financial aid and career services. She also oversees the chief financial officer and has responsibility for the operating budget.

San Diego is a private Catholic university, founded in 1949 by Bishop Charles Buddy of the Diocese of San Diego as the College for Men and School of Law and by the Society of the Sacred Heart as the College for Women. The colleges merged in 1972 to create the University of San Diego, which today enrolls 7,800 students.

Sullivan admitted to “a learning curve” when she arrived at San Diego, but she found herself stimulated by a broader sphere of people with whom she could interact in a new environment – that of a Catholic institution.

“I had not worked in a faith-based institution,” she said. “You have to experience it to fully appreciate the richness of it, and having done so, I can’t imagine going back to a non-Catholic institution. A Catholic university explicitly adds such an important dimension into the mission, identity and educational process for our students.”

She also found less bureaucracy than at public institutions, allowing her to make changes such as hiring 175 new tenure and tenure-track faculty, doubling the size of the faculty research grants program, launching the Shiley-Macos School of Engineering, and establishing an International Center, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies and the Center for Catholic Thought and Culture.

Other accomplishments during her eight-year tenure include: increasing the freshman academic profile (25 to 27 ACT and 3.7 to 3.9 GPA), achieving a No. 1 national ranking among doctoral institutions for the percentage of students who study abroad, increasing the freshman-to-sophomore retention rate from 85 percent to 90 percent, increasing minority student enrollment from 25 percent to 32 percent, and installing the nation’s eighth-largest college solar energy facility.

One achievement of which she is particularly proud is the 2011 designation of San Diego as a “Changemaker Campus” by Ashoka, an Arlington, Va.-based organization that supports successful social entrepreneurs around the globe. Last September, in an academic convocation address, “University in Society and the Relevancy of the USD Changemaker Campus,” Sullivan said San Diego’s heritage in living out the principles of Catholic social thought had helped define the university as a “changemaker” campus.

“A USD education,” she said, “inspires and empowers students to become changemakers – to make the difference they seek – to become individuals with self-fulfilling lives who are proactively creating positive social, environmental and economic value.”

Sullivan believes St. Thomas, too, can become a “changemaker” campus – if not by designation by Ashoka, then certainly by day-to-day practice.

“I think all the ingredients are there,” she said. “It’s a matter of identifying them, connecting them, leveraging them, and making a commitment to sustain and expand them.”

Challenges Always Will Abound

Sullivan sees the same kinds of challenges at St. Thomas that are at San Diego – and most other private colleges and universities. They are tuition-driven, with a need to make their educations more accessible and more affordable.

“I also think there are similar value drivers in the sense of what you are getting from your education,” she said. “I see at St. Thomas what I have seen at San Diego – when we ask our alumni to reflect on the most valuable things in our education, they always mention their relationships to faculty, who not only taught them well but mentored them as individuals.

“Our kind of education is never going to be cheap – not at the quality we want to deliver. We always will need to make our education as affordable as possible while increasing access. We will need to diversify our revenue streams while being conscious of our mission.”

About her Family

Sullivan and her husband, Robert, have four children. Two are in California: Dr. William Collins, a physician, and his wife are in their third years of residency at UC-San Diego, and Caitlin Collins works in a health and technology start-up in San Francisco. They also have two children from Ethiopia: Tadesse Sullivan lives in Charlotte, N.C., and Almaz Sullivan lives in Belgium with her husband and their two adopted Ethiopian daughters.

Robert Sullivan is founding dean of the Rady School of Management at the University of California-San Diego.

The Sullivans enjoy family, exercise, travel, a good bottle of red wine and their two puppies, Downey and Oliver.

The picture is signed “Havel,” with a heart next to his signature.

Father Dennis Dease

The photo was a gift from the former president, author, poet and playwright who led his country’s “Velvet Revolution” and visited St. Thomas in 1999 for the inauguration of the Vaclav Havel Civil Society Symposium. Havel, who died in 2011, is a symbol of civility, and what can be accomplished through it, even under the most repressive conditions.

Perhaps I noticed his picture because our country had concluded another election season, and because I had sent the following message to St. Thomas administrators: “Thank you for the great work you did over the past several months to promote an atmosphere of civility and respect during a particularly contentious and emotional election season. No matter whom you supported, we all won. I’m proud of the leadership you displayed, and I’m proud of our students, faculty and staff.”

I am proud of St. Thomas for many reasons, and one that stands out is the culture of civility that has developed here and mostly prevails, even in the most ardent, heated debates.

In an address I gave on campus in 1998, I shared a deeply held personal belief: “By its practice of civility a society reflects the value it places on the human person and perhaps even on human life itself.” And I raised a question: “Could it be that a community that promotes civility in so doing also sustains its commitment to civil and human rights?”

I’ve long believed that civility is more than manners. It is a way of showing love and respect for our neighbor. As Stephen Carter wrote in his 1998 book, Civility: Manner, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy, “It is morally better to be civil than to be uncivil.”

Again, as I said in my speech: “If we have abandoned politeness and have become a harsher nation in the way we deal with one another in the give and take of everyday life, then should we be surprised if this callousness be also found in the way we value life itself?”

I also asked: “Should a Catholic university prize courtesy? Can an urban university model ‘urbanity’? Is it too much to hope that the liberal arts would inspire gentility and humanism?” As I said then and believe today, “It is indeed proper and appropriate for a Catholic, liberal arts, and urban university both to model and to teach civility.”

I believe St. Thomas has done that. And I believe this university’s faith dimension has played a key role in creating a truly genuine culture of civility. The connection between grace and graciousness was recognized by the Catholic, French-born, British writer and poet, Hilaire Belloc, when he wrote in “Courtesy,”

Of courtesy, it is much less
Than courage of heart or holiness,
Yet in my walks it seems to me
That the Grace of God is in courtesy.

A chance encounter with a photograph of Havel has reminded me that he is not the only one straining to catch some inspiration from an angel. It’s happening right here at St. Thomas.

Read more from St. Thomas Magazine.

St. Catherine will confer a Doctor of Humane Letters degree upon Dease, who has served as president since 1991 and will retire on June 30, 2013. The ceremony will be at 7 p.m. in O’Shaughnessy Auditorium, and Dease also will preside at the baccalaureate liturgy at 5 p.m. in Our Lady of Victory Chapel.

A St. Catherine story cites Dease’s accomplishments during his presidency, including two capital campaigns that raised $765 million and the establishment of the School of Law, Center for Catholic Studies and a Rome campus. He received the National Catholic Education Association’s highest honor, the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award, in 2008.

St. Thomas conferred a Doctor of Humane Letters degree upon Sister Andrea Lee, president of St. Catherine since 1998, in December 2009.

The 13-member committee was working to recommend a candidate to the board in December, but has taken more time than initially planned to conduct interviews, said Dr. John Morrison, chair of the committee and a member of the Board of Trustees.

“The committee is satisfied with its progress and is very pleased with the quality of the candidates,” Morrison says in a letter on the presidential search website. “Everything is running smoothly, but scheduling around the holidays has been challenging, and the committee requires additional time to complete our interviews.”

The committee has not determined the number of candidates who will participate in the finalist interview process and has not determined a timetable for those interviews, Morrison said.

After selecting the finalists, the committee will decide if open forums will be held or if the finalists will not be identified publicly in order to protect the confidentiality of the process. If open forums are not held, selected members of the St. Thomas community will be invited to meet with the finalists and provide feedback to the committee.

“Some finalists may not be comfortable with being identified because it could raise questions about their commitment to their current employer,” said Sara Gross Methner, general counsel and chief human resources officer. She is serving as staff to the committee. “If we want to retain those candidates, we need to honor those concerns if they are raised.”

The Board of Trustees has sole responsibility to choose a successor to Father Dennis Dease, who will retire June 30 after 22 years as president. St. Thomas’ bylaws allow only a Roman Catholic – priest, religious or lay person – to serve as president.

Witt/Kieffer, an executive search firm, continues to work with the search committee. The firm helped to identify and recruit candidates and develop a leadership profile for the position.

My gift, made today for the last time, is to grant employees of the university extra time off again this Christmas. It’s always fun to share that kind of news.

Last year I waited until right before Thanksgiving to make the announcement. Not this year. I’m making the announcement before Halloween so you have more time to make holidays plans, and I’m offering three extra days off in December – a bonus over last year’s two.

Here is how the time off will work:

Christmas falls on a Tuesday this year, meaning that our paid holidays are Monday (Christmas Eve) and Tuesday, followed by two more paid holidays on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day (also Monday and Tuesday). We will provide three additional paid holidays on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Dec. 26-28.

Add them all up and we will be off for 11 days in a row – Saturday, Dec. 22 through Tuesday, Jan. 1 – before returning to work on Wednesday, Jan. 2.

Some employees, including certain Public Safety officers, Physical Plant workers, IRT server administrators, Food Service workers, Development staff members and athletic coaches, may need to work during Christmas week because their services are necessary on campus. If you are uncertain whether your services are required during this period, please contact your supervisor.

Employees who are not required to work from Dec. 22 through Jan. 1 will be paid for that time period in accordance with our holiday pay policy. Employees who are required to work during the Christmas holidays will be compensated as follows:

• Employees who are represented by a union will be paid according to the terms of their collective bargaining agreement.
• Non-exempt (hourly) employees who are not represented by a union will receive pay for hours actually worked on the holiday in addition to their regular pay for all scheduled work hours that day.
• Exempt (salaried) employees will receive a floating holiday for each holiday worked as arranged with their manager. The floating holidays must be used by the end of the fiscal year (June 30).

Department heads must notify Human Resources by Dec. 10 if they have employees who must work during the Christmas holidays.

During the long holiday break, we will turn down the thermostats in most of our buildings to conserve energy and save a few dollars. Prepare to bundle up if you have to work during Christmas week!

The 13-member committee has been charged to conduct a national search to identify and assess a broad and diverse pool of qualified candidates and to nominate an individual to the Board of Trustees. The board has sole responsibility to choose a successor to Father Dennis Dease, who will retire June 30 after 22 years as president.

“We have received numerous nominations and suggestions of candidates from within and outside the St. Thomas community, as well as numerous applications,” John M. Morrison, chair of the search committee and a member of the Board of Trustees, says in a letter on the presidential search website. “We greatly appreciate all of your efforts to help us identify strong candidates to serve as our next president.”

Witt/Kieffer, an executive search firm, has worked with the search committee to identify and recruit potential candidates and develop a leadership profile for the position, said Sara Gross Methner, St. Thomas general counsel and chief human resources officer. She is serving as staff to the committee.

While the search committee is working to recommend a candidate to the board by the end of 2012, it may not meet that timeline. “The search committee is committed to take whatever time we determine is necessary to develop the best pool of semifinalists and finalists for consideration,” Morrison said. “We will continue to provide updates as our process moves forward.”

St. Thomas’ bylaws and the Board of Trustees govern the search and selection process. The bylaws allow only a Roman Catholic – priest, religious or lay person – to serve as president.

Those years shaped his life, however, and enabled him to serve as an educated man in business management and raise eight children with my mom in a household that put a premium on education. When he retired, he became a permanent deacon and worked in faith instruction and pastoral care of the sick.

My dad comes to mind again as I now look back on our Opening Doors capital campaign, which soon will conclude. I am confident we will surpass our $500 million goal by the time of our celebratory events on Oct. 17 and 18.

The campaign has been a daunting challenge. Months after announcing Opening Doors, the worst economic times since the Great Depression arrived, and more than one person asked me if we would even come close to our goal. I remembered my father’s experience, and I hoped we would have the wherewithal to achieve our goal and to meet the needs of students who would be more dependent on financial aid than ever before.

To our good fortune, any lingering doubts always were swept away when I saw in action people like Lee and Penny Anderson, the Janicke sisters, the Class of 2010, Mary Dillon and 40,000 other donors thankful for the presence of St. Thomas in their lives.

Lee and Penny stood with me before reporters five years ago to announce their $60 million gift. Those funds enabled the construction of a student center, an athletic and recreation complex and a parking ramp – three projects that truly have transformed our St. Paul campus. Lee and Penny aren’t alumni of St. Thomas, but they gave because they were moved by the impact that our mission, spirituality, traditions and character have had on students’ lives.

All six Janicke sisters – Lisa, Jena, Angela, Sarah, Rebecca and Deborah – and their mom received St. Thomas degrees between 1993 and 2004. Their dad died in the early 1990s and finances got tight, but each daughter was able to pursue a St. Thomas education because of the generosity of scholarship donors. The sisters joined forces several years ago to establish the Alfred and Janet Janicke Endowment Fund to help other students who have lost a parent.

The Class of 2010 also had scholarships on its mind. A senior class gift is a longstanding tradition at St. Thomas, and that year’s graduates established an endowed scholarship to enable students to participate in our VISION (Volunteers in Service Internationally or Nationally) program. More than 720 seniors (65 percent) made a donation, ensuring that VISION will continue to thrive.

Mary graduated from St. Thomas in 2002 and has established an annual scholarship in the name of her parents, Richard and Patricia Dillon. They fervently believed in the value and importance of a college education, even though she didn’t go back to school and receive her degree until she was in her 30s. She received scholarships, and she knew that her parents’ scholarship would give other deserving students the same opportunity she had.

I could go on and on with stories like these – after all, we have 40,000 Opening Doors donors! – but I think you get my point. People of all ages, backgrounds and means have made gifts large and small, and the result is a stronger university better able to fulfill its mission. Each gift reflects a commitment, and for that I conclude with two simple but powerful words:

Thank you!

Read more from St. Thomas Magazine.

The Arches and Nativity scene will illuminate the St. Paul campus again this winter. (Photo by Mike Ekern.)

Father Dennis Dease, president of St. Thomas, invites university employees and their guests to join him in a celebration of the Christmas season.

The annual President’s Christmas Celebration will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, in the James B. Woulfe Alumni Hall, Anderson Student Center. The traditional St. Thomas holiday menu will be served in a mix-and-mingle atmosphere.

Mark the date on your calendar; a formal invitation will be mailed via interoffice mail.

Full text of Father Dennis Dease’s convocation address, Sept. 4, 2012

The thought made me chuckle. It is natural, I suppose, for media coverage of this nature to have an air of finality, but I have never viewed my retirement as a stopping – or a final resting! – point. I do, however, believe it is time to move on to pursue other interests.

I also am quite ready for someone else to take up what I have long considered to be my most important task as president: to advance the university’s mission to educate students “to become morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely, and work skillfully to advance the common good.”

That is a lofty charge, and one I have never taken lightly. For more than two decades it has inspired me and motivated me. I truly believe that as long as the university remains focused on this singular objective, it will continue to render its optimal service to society: to change for the better the lives of countless students, and in the process to change the entire equation.

I see the mission statement etched in bronze on the wall outside my office every daywhen I walk in. It has been for me a constant reminder of what we’re about. At timesit has even served as an examination of conscience – for me and for the institution.

I am proud to say a culture of service exists here at St. Thomas. Many professors and staff members could make more money in other occupations or less-demanding circumstances, but they remain here because they identify with our mission and the purpose of a St. Thomas education. They love to interact with students – to teach, to mentor, to advise and to coach – and they unselfishly share a common goal of providing the best possible education for each and every student.

As it turns out, so do I – and that is why I have remained in education my entire adult life. I got my start, after ordination from the St. Paul Seminary more than four decades ago, as a religion teacher at St. Thomas Academy. I completed my doctoral studies and taught theology when this was the College of St. Thomas. After that I served as spiritual director and dean of formation at the seminary. Even when I left for six years to serve as rector of the Basilica of St. Mary, I remained active at St. Thomas as an adjunct faculty member and a trustee; and I was delighted to return to campus as president in 1991.

My decision to retire next year didn’t exactly come as a surprise to many colleagues and friends who know where we are in pursuing significant milestones. Over the next year, we will wrap up another successful fundraising drive – our $500 million Opening Doors capital campaign – and enter the final stages of receiving our decennial reaccreditation from the North Central Association.

It’s no secret, either, that I will turn 70 next spring. That’s a nice round number, and it is the same age at which my predecessor, Monsignor Terrence J. Murphy, decided to retire. As I looked at the convergence of these several events, I realized that 2013 would be an appropriate time to hand over the keys to my office to a successor who I have no doubt will serve with energy and distinction as our 15th president, carrying out our mission perhaps in ways that I cannot even begin to imagine.

I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Read more from St. Thomas magazine

The center wouldn’t open for two months, yet people kept walking up to and around it. They would cross Cretin or Summit avenues from the south campus, take the new sidewalk past the University of St. Thomas stone marker and peer into windows. They would step back and gaze along the Summit wing, from right to left and back again.

My sense is that they were in awe, and I say that only because I, too, am in awe of this incredible new building.

I was in awe in May 2010 when the crews from Opus began digging a big hole on the spot where only weeks earlier hundreds of cars were parked. That corner had been a parking lot, in one size or another, since 1932.

I was in awe in the fall of 2010, when the steel structure sprung into place for the new center. We held a “topping off” ceremony that November, signed a 26-foot, 312-pound steel beam painted half purple (for St. Thomas) and half blue (for Opus) and watched as the beam was hoisted into place on the northwest peak of the building.

And I was in awe whenever I walked or drove by the building as masons began to hang our signature Kasota limestone, shingle the roof and install windows. Every day, it seemed, another section was finished regardless of how cold it was, and then suddenly the exterior was complete and I could only marvel at how quickly the process had moved along.

Now that the building is open and teeming with students, I have to think hard to remember what that corner looked like when it was a 400-car parking lot flanked on the east end by O’Shaughnessy Hall. That wasn’t very long ago, but my memory seems to be failing me. It may just be age, or it may be that the student center is such a perfect fit that it seems like it has been there forever.

Jane Canney, our vice president for student affairs, likes to call the student center the “heart of the campus” and our “living room.” I think those are perfect descriptions. It bustles with activity – the place where students hang out with friends or just take a break from the stresses of class and work. They go there to dine, too, of course, so maybe the center also is our kitchen!

I also like the description from Mike Orth, executive vice president of the Undergraduate Student Government. In his Final Thoughts essay (Page 65), he calls the student center “magical” because that was the only word that came to mind when he returned to campus last September and walked through the expanded lower quadrangle and the John P. Monahan Plaza for the first time.

“Welcome to the new St. Thomas,” he told a friend.

New, yes, but with a wise appreciation for more than 125 years of history. All you have to do is stand on Monahan Plaza and look to your right to see Aquinas Hall, our first Collegiate Gothic building (1931), or walk to the north end of campus and check out venerable Ireland Hall (1912) or the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas (1918), one of the most beautiful college chapels around. There is plenty of the new and the old.

And I, for one, am in awe of all of it every day.