Opening Day Success

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for attending yesterday’s event, it was a beautiful day! Faculty and staff packed the gym for UST’s first annual “Opening Day.” We talked about the future, recognized new members of the Celt community, presented awards and honored our Catholic identity in a meaningful way with both old and new blessings. One of my favorite parts of the day was actually the fellowship before the event even started. The room was full of love and laughter, people meeting for the first time and old colleagues and friends reuniting as summer draws to a close. Quite honestly, we need to do a lot more of that kind of fellowship.

For those who missed the celebration, the goals that were developed from the Call Toward Tomorrow workgroups were also revealed. Over recent months, five workgroups addressed five priorities that were determined by the committee as focal points for the next five years. The goals are an inspiration, and are illustrated in this video that aptly describes the feeling of community that conceived them. I did not create these goals, they were written by constituents from across all parts of our campus, and they belong to all of us.

An electronic copy is available on an updated Call Toward Tomorrow web page, which I encourage you to visit. They are very big goals, but they are supported by many additional ideas and strategies also created by the workgroups. Over the coming month, more information from the workgroups will be made available, leading up to another “Conversation With the Community” in Jones Hall on September 25, where we can have an informed dialogue about where we go from here.

In many ways, the process is already working. The strategies and creative energy of this community are making a big difference; we are about to welcome the largest freshman class in the history of University of St. Thomas.

Our future is very bright, in large part because of you.