Archive Posts
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Building Connection With Communities One Course at a Time
St. Thomas 2025 - Prepare Educators to Dismantle DisparitiesOn a brisk Wednesday afternoon last December, five University of St. Thomas students gathered at the Catholic Charities Family Service Center in Maplewood, Minnesota, to offer meals to families experiencing homelessness. This experience came about because the students enrolled in a Common Good Community-Engaged course called Diversity and Cultural Competence taught by Dr. Chelda Smith,…
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Dr. Yohuru Williams Joins NY Governor at Press Conference for Signing of Bill Favoring Reparations to Slavery Descendants
Racial Justice InitiativeDr. Yohuru Williams, the founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas, joined New York Gov. Kathy Hochul for a historic bill signing in New York City. Williams was invited by the governor's office to attend the event and offer remarks that put the historic legislation into a historical context.… -
Series on Indigenous Relations Grapples With the History of University Land
Diversity, Equity and InclusionDuring the academic year 2023-24, the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas. is sponsoring a series of four on-campus events and two off-campus visits to sacred sites to learn more about Indigenous communities in Minnesota and the history of relations between especially the Dakota people and the Catholic Church. The… -
Breaking Barriers: First-Generation Students Find Support, Belonging at St. Thomas
St. Thomas 2025 - Foster Belonging and Dismantle RacismGaofeng Xiong ’23 isn’t afraid of breaking a few barriers. When the Maplewood, Minnesota, native first arrived on the University of St. Thomas campus, she knew attending college would be a barrier-breaking feat for her family. The eldest child of Hmong immigrants, she would become the first in her family to go to college. “Coming… -
Tales from the Archives: Football Coach Ed Rogers
People & CultureAs we celebrate Native American Heritage Month, it’s fitting to shine a spotlight on a remarkable figure from University of St. Thomas’ history – one of its first football coaches, Ed Rogers. Edward Lowell Rogers was born in Libby, Minnesota, to an Ojibwe mother and a pioneering lumberman. His mother gave him the name Ay-Ne-Way-We-Dung,… -
Dr. Erika Scheurer Reflects on Being a First-Generation Student
People & CultureTransitioning to college is already a difficult challenge, but being the first to do so in your entire family is even more challenging. At the University of St. Thomas, there are staff and faculty who understand that themselves, including Dr. Erika Scheurer, who was a first-generation student and is now an incredibly respected professor. She… -
Dean’s Forum: Authors Share Their Lived Experiences with Racism and the Importance of Storytelling
Diversity, Equity and InclusionThree local award-winning authors convened on the University of St. Thomas Minneapolis campus in October to share their inspiring narratives and how they paved the way for other diverse voices to tell their stories through prose. The School of Education at St. Thomas, led by Dean Amy Smith, organized the panel discussion on diversity, equity… -
Keya Luta Win Hunt on Bringing Native Representation to the Volleyball Court
Humans of St. ThomasGrowing up, Keya Luta Win Hunt ’26 didn’t always see herself represented on the volleyball court. Now, a setter on the University of St. Thomas volleyball team, she hopes to help inspire a new generation of Native student-athletes. Hunt is an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. Her father is Ho-Chunk and Leech… -
History Echoes: Racial Justice Initiative Sparks Urgency for Collective Action
Racial Justice InitiativeA conversation with Dr. Yohuru Williams, distinguished professor of history and founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, inspired reflection and action for those attending an on-campus event. Williams, who weaved in themes from his new book, More Than A Dream: The Radical March on Washington for… -
Faculty Member Talks Intersectionality With Land O’Lakes
Arts & HumanitiesMike Klein, associate professor of justice and peace studies and chair of the Justice and Society Studies Department, presented to Land O’Lakes employees Oct. 25. Klein’s talk, titled “Building Bridges Not Walls,” was on intersectionality and conflict transformation. Six hundred Land O’Lakes employees attended the talk as part of the organization’s DEI Learning Series.