St. Thomas University (New Brunswick)

St. Thomas University

Motto	Latin: Doce Bonitatem Scientiam et Disciplinam
Motto in English	Teach me Goodness and Knowledge and Discipline
Type	Public
Established	1910
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic
Chancellor	Robert Harris
President	Prof. Dawn Russell
Students	1,951
Undergraduates	1,900
Postgraduates	0
Location	Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Campus	Urban
Colours	Gold      & Green
Athletics	CIS – AUS CCAA – ACAA
Nickname	Tommies
Affiliations	UACC CUP ICUSTA
Website	www.stu.ca

St. Thomas University (STU) is a small, exclusively liberal arts university located in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It is a primarily undergraduate university offering bachelor's degrees in the arts (humanities and social sciences), education, and social work to approximately 1,900 students. The average class size is 30 and no class is larger than 60.

The university offers a number of unique programs including recognized majors in Criminology, Journalism, Human Rights, and Communications and Public Policy. St. Thomas is the home of the Frank McKenna Centre for Communications and Public Policy. The university is unique in Canada for its sole focus on liberal arts and its commitment to social justice.

The origin of St. Thomas University dates back to 1860 when James Rogers, the newly appointed Bishop of Chatham, founded St. Michael's Academy. Bishop Rogers's successor Bishop Thomas F. Barry, Bishop of Chatham, invited the Basilian Fathers of Toronto to assume charge of St Michael's, an institution in Chatham, New Brunswick, providing education for boys at the secondary and junior college levels. The Basilians agreed to do so in 1910, insisting on changing the academy's name to St. Thomas College so as to avoid confusion with their St. Michael's College in Toronto. The chancellor of the college remained the Bishop of Chatham.

The Basilian Fathers remained at St. Thomas until 1923. That year Bishop Patrice Chiasson, an Acadian who had succeeded Bishop Barry in 1920 as Bishop of Chatham, managed with the help of a few priests to keep the college operating. From 1910 until 1934, St. Thomas College retained its original status as a High School and Junior College. It became a degree-granting institution upon receipt of a University Charter on March 9, 1934, at which time the provincial legislature of New Brunswick enacted the following:

“St. Thomas College shall be held, and taken, and is hereby declared to be a University with all and every power of such an institution, and the Board of Governors thereof shall have full power and authority to confer upon properly qualified persons the degree of Bachelor, Master, and Doctor in the several arts and faculties in the manner and upon the conditions which may be ordered by the Board of Governors.”