From St. Thomas Magazine - Fall 2008
In talking about the mission of the School of Law, Dean Thomas Mengler’s voice becomes piqued with an enthusiasm that is infectious among students, faculty and staff. Sometimes he can be found patiently explaining that the goals of becoming a national law school and staying truly committed to our Catholic identity are not in conflict, but rather that the path to success is found in remaining faithful to both goals. At other times, he is busy talking about the successes of students and faculty. And still, there are times when he acts as a professor and mentor to students who have taken his Evidence course or have been part of his class in Rome.
Mengler has served for six years as the dean and the Ryan Chair in Law at the St. Thomas School of Law. During that time the school has become a vital part of the legal community in the Twin Cities with a growing national reputation. Accreditation by the American Bar Association was achieved early, application numbers have tripled, and the School of Law has attracted a number of leading legal scholars from high-ranked and high profile law schools across the nation.
Minnesota Lawyer magazine this year put Mengler in its “Top Ten Legal Newsmakers of the Decade,” calling the St. Thomas School of Law one of the success stories in local legal education.
Mengler gives two reasons why he was drawn to St. Thomas from the University of Illinois College of Law, where he had been dean for nine years. “I wanted to be part of a law school where faith, service, and community are integral to the mission. And I wanted to help establish St. Thomas as one of the finest law schools in the country. On both counts, we are well on our way.”
It is clear that those two things still drive him. For him, the capital campaign is about excellence. “The two critical components that lead to excellence are quality students and an outstanding faculty. Because of that, the focus is on financial aid and support for faculty teaching and scholarship.”
Mengler is truly connected, not just to the legal community but also to the students. He continues to mentor and teach, and in the summer of 2007 he taught in the initial School of Law summer abroad program in Rome. Several times a year Mengler and other leaders in the School of Law host Mission Roundtables, in which students discuss how the mission to “integrate faith and reason in the search for truth” is being lived out in the community.
With all the priorities, pressures and activities of the past six years, Mengler is still energized and exudes a sense of joy about being a dean at St. Thomas. One of his most memorable moments was coming into the building early one morning. “One of our students looked down at me from the third floor and exclaimed, ‘I love this building, and I love this law school!’ The best experiences are those little moments when it is clear we are building an outstanding community,” he said.