School of Law - $25 million

The University of St. Thomas School of Law opened in 2001 and moved into a newly constructed building on the university’s downtown-Minneapolis campus in the fall of 2003. Enrollment then was 324; fall 2007 enrollment is 470, with an incoming class of 165 students.

Moral foundations

According to its mission statement, the School of Law "is dedicated to integrating faith and reason in the search for truth through a focus on morality and social justice," emphasizing professional excellence and servant leadership. When the board of trustees decided to reopen the School of Law, closed since the Great Depression, it envisioned that the school would become a "national law school of the highest quality that will be grounded in the rich Catholic intellectual and moral tradition and focused on its Judeo-Christian heritage."

At St. Thomas, the integration of faith and reason is central to the study of law. This integration throughout the curriculum has its most visible and profound effect as members of the faculty and staff assist students in forming professional identities that draw on their faith and values, and that lead them to serve and lead their communities. The School of Law’s mentor program, courses on ethical leadership, and the requirement that each student undertake volunteer community service facilitate well the development of servant-leaders.

Achievements

In only its seventh year in operation, the School of Law already has achieved national prominence: 

• In 2006, it received full accreditation from the American Bar Association. St. Thomas moved so successfully through the accreditation process that the ABA vote came six months sooner than expected.
• For the past two years, St. Thomas has been ranked the No. 1 law school in the country for "Best Quality of Life" among students, according to the Princeton Review book titled "The Best 170 Law Schools."  
• The Mentor Externship Program earned two national professionalism honors: the American Bar Association’s E. Smyth Gambrell Award for Professionalism (2005) and Innovations and Excellence in Teaching Professionalism (co-sponsored by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on professionalism and the Conference of Chief Justices, 2005 honorable mention).

"Breathtaking" physical features

The School of Law building has several defining features that make it "quite simply breathtaking," as described by the ABA site-evaluation team. These include:

• The dramatic four-story Schulze Grand Atrium used for lectures, presentations, and social gatherings.  
• The Frey Moot Courtroom, which provides a striking setting to learn lawyering skills or hear moot-court arguments.
• The beautiful Chapel of St. Thomas More, the only chapel on
  St. Thomas’ Minneapolis campus. 

Opportunities to name the School of Law and its building, a blend of Collegiate Gothic and urban architecture, still are available. Funds received from these naming opportunities, and other gifts, will increase the endowment of the law school, primarily to provide financial aid to students.