Simple blades of prairie grass silhouetted in the moments before night. The exultation of an improbable victory. A firm touch as a final goodbye. We've picked these moments, and the others you see here, from the more than 5,000 we collected in 2012 as our best of the year. Some images are here because they are as-yet-unseen favorites of our staff. Many are here because we believe them to be outstanding images. Still others were picked because of the important event or person they represent from this year.
As St. Thomas photographers we are privileged to capture these moments. We get to deal with what, to me, is still a magical process where the infinite string of time can be captured, however imperfectly, on a finite medium and shown to others. Even as the sheer volume of photography each of us is exposed to exponentially increases, the power of a single well-done image to show you something new - or something old in a new way - remains. If just some of the images in this collection do that, then we've succeeded in meeting the highest of the goal we've set for ourselves: showing St. Thomas to itself.
Father Dennis Dease speaks during the Opening Doors capital campaign closing event. Dease announced his retirement May 10 after 22 years in office. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
The Arches. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
John Nance gets a thumb in the nose as he goes in for a shot during the MIAC men’s basketball championship game versus Gustavus Adolphus Feb. 26. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
Outgoing School of Law dean Thomas Mengler kisses his wife Mona during a farewell reception in Mengler’s honor May 16. Mengler was named president of St. Mary’s University in Texas. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
People walk past a nine-panel digital display in the Anderson Student Center. The new building opened Jan. 17. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
Two students hug on the grand staircase in the Anderson Student Center. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
A mother sits with her sick child at a Hope Medical Clinic in Kampala, Uganda, on Jan. 17. Through its president, Father Dennis Dease, the University of St. Thomas has cultivated a connection to the country of Uganda and surrounding region through a scholarship program that brings Ugandan students to the University, support of medical clinics, and by sending an engineering team to install solar electricity in a remote village. (Photo by Thomas Whisenand)
Freshmen Ashley Zweber and Michael Fritz engage in some inflatable competition during homecoming Purple on the Plaza events Oct. 13. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
A crucifix is reflected in the holy water font during a mass to install seminarians as members of the Institution of Lectors in St. Mary’s Chapel. (Photo by Thomas Whisenand)
Dan Reichert bats during the last baseball game at the University of Minnesota’s Seibert Field May 1. The field is slated to be replaced by a new facility. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
School of Law alumna Stephanie Boucher ’06 talks on her cell phone during a portrait session in The Edge coffee shop April 20. Boucher works for the Minnesota Law Collective, a non-profit that provides legal services to people who cannot afford an attorney but do not qualify to be represented by a public defender. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
Glenn Caruso walks into O’Shaughnessy Stadium with his players including Jack Gavin (10), Curtis James (77) and Logan marks (80) before a homecoming football game against Bethel University Oct. 13. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
The undergraduate commencement ceremony, May 19. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
Kia Johnson hoists the national championship trophy as her teammates celebrate following the NCAA Division III Volleyball title game in Holland, Michigan Nov. 17, 2012. UST won the title after coming back from two sets down to defeat number one ranked Calvin 3-2. (Photo by Mark Brown)
Undergrad Kelli Hudson plays piano. (Photo by Mark Brown)
The Daniel C. Gainey Center’s Arena Barn at dusk. (Photo by Mark Brown)
In one of his blog posts, Kramers call his wife, Ev Emerson, an “incredible partner” who “encourages, supports, cries, holds, sees the humor, perceives the pain and keeps us on the right path.”
Following the Opus College of Business graduate commencement students and guests mingle on the John P. Monahan Plaza. (Photo by Mark Jensen)
Tall grass on the Summit Avenue side of the Anderson Student Center at dusk. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
Falls leaves outside the Anderson Student Center overlook a transformed lower quad. (Photo by Mark Brown)
University of St. Thomas chemistry professor Dr. Kristine Wammer, left, and chemistry major Dan Kellen, collect a water sample from the Minnesota River on Aug. 27 near Mankato, Minn. Wammer and her students test collected samples in order to research the role of low-level antibiotic concentrations on development of antibacterial resistance in environmental microorganisms. (Photo by Mark Brown)
School of Law senior assistant dean for external relations and programs Lisa Brabbit hams it up during a faculty and staff sketch at the Opening Doors capital campaign closing event. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
An aerial view of the lower quad. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
A reflection of the peaks of O’Shaughnessy Science Hall (OSS) is seen in the granite of “The Plunge.” (Photo by Mark Jensen)
Political strategist, and pundits James Carville and Mary Matalin speaks as part of the Opus College of Business’ Distinguished Speaker Series Nov. 28 in Schulze Hall auditorium. The husband and wife occupy opposite ends of the political spectrum. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
A mourner gives the casket of Monsignor James Lavin a final farewell during a funeral mass Sept. 21in the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas. Lavin, a 1940 alum, was a St. Thomas institution for most of his life. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)
