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Welcome to St. Thomas Magazine Spring 2026
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Dear St. Thomas community,
As the university surpasses 140 years as an institution of higher learning, this spring edition of St. Thomas Magazine points to the university's future. A collaboration between the President's Office and senior leaders has created St. Thomas 2030, the bold and mission-centered strategic plan approved by the Board of Trustees. This five-year roadmap will guide the university as it continues to build on its momentum as a national Catholic university.
This issue of St. Thomas Magazine takes you on a journey that will show you how the university is pressing forward on its national aspirations in a way that deepens its impact on students to ensure they are both career-ready and equipped to flourish in an ever-changing world.
We hope you enjoy this digital edition.
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The Road to 2030: St. Thomas' Strategic Plan Builds Momentum
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What is the true measure of a college education in the 21st century? For some, the answer is job titles and starting salaries. While helping students discover what they will do professionally matters, leaders at the University of St. Thomas argue that's not enough. The university's newest five-year strategic plan, St. Thomas 2030, adds another requirement: helping students discover who they are called to be. And in an era shaped by artificial intelligence and rapid workforce disruption, that distinction may be more important than ever.
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President Rob Vischer Q&A: Walking Alongside Students
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The University of St. Thomas has reached one of the most pivotal moments in its 140-year history. The university just welcomed its largest-ever class of incoming students, successfully opened the state's newest nursing program, completed a historic transition to Division I athletics and officially introduced its latest five-year strategic plan. St. Thomas has a rising…
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Tommies on the Rise: A New Era of National Impact
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There are many transition stories in college athletics, but few reflect what the University of St. Thomas has accomplished by completing its unprecedented leap from NCAA Division III to become a fully eligible Division I athletics program. "This was never about just moving up to another division," said Phil Esten, vice president and director of…
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Reimagining Schools for Teacher Flourishing: Q&A with Dean Amy Smith
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Under the leadership of Dr. Amy F. Smith, dean of the School of Education at the University of St. Thomas, the school is deepening community partnerships, strengthening educator preparation, and rethinking how K-12 schools can be designed to better support both teachers and students. Smith looks to one question posed by the Next Education Workforce at…
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The Innovator's Mindset: Dr. Kundan Nepal and the Future of Engineering
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School of Engineering Professor Kundan Nepal sits in the data visualization studio by a 32-foot curved LCD panel that displays 3-D graphics. His students at the University of St. Thomas don goggles to immerse themselves with interactive images, examining engineering structures as if they were right in front of them. Dr. Nepal said watching students…
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More Articles: In Case You Missed It
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St. Thomas Designs Nursing Education Around Real Lives
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As a nurse practitioner who still works urgent care shifts while directing the Master of Science in Nursing program at the University of St. Thomas, Dr. Ashley Walker has seen firsthand who doesn't get served by traditional daytime nursing programs: working adults, parents, career-changers and students already embedded in health care roles who can't easily…
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Professor Puts People at the Center of Data
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Data is everywhere. Most people might picture a computer screen and a dense spreadsheet. Amelia McNamara goes beyond that, however. She partnered with the local Lumen Christi Catholic Community on a project that showed her students the real-world applications of data science. The parish specifically wanted to map the mental health needs of its members…
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St. Thomas Students Paint Mural with Families at Catholic Charities Center
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The Minnesota Star Tribune followed some University of St. Thomas students from the Dougherty Family College and College of Arts and Sciences when they attended the Family Service Center in Maplewood to help area children receiving shelter services paint a mural on a bare wall. From the story: University of St. Thomas freshman Anayaiah Mason…
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Do You Know Any Incredible Tommies?
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There are many incredible Tommies at St. Thomas. Whether they are current faculty, staff, students or alumni, if you know an Incredible Tommie we should feature in a future edition, use this form to recommend them. We especially are interested in individuals who have significantly transformed communities and the world at large.
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Know of anything or anyone interesting around the university that would make for a good Newsroom feature story? Let us know at news@stthomas.edu.
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