The University of St. Thomas (UST or St. Thomas) is a private Catholic university in Houston, Texas. It was founded by the Basilian Fathers in 1947 and is the only Catholic university in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
History
On June 24, 1944, the bishop of the Diocese of Galveston, Christopher E. Byrne, entered into an agreement with the Houston-based members of the Congregation of St. Basil to found a co-educational Roman Catholic university in Houston "as soon as practicable after World War II, if possible by 1947." The Basilian Fathers had previously started several other secondary schools, as well as institutions of higher learning, throughout Texas in the early 20th century, including St. Thomas High School, also located in Houston. The first classes at UST began on September 22, 1947, with 57 freshmen and 8 faculty members. UST graduated its first class on May 31, 1951. In addition to the Basilian Fathers on staff, there were for some time also several Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist who reside in the convent on campus. The order no longer has a presence there, but the Houston Vietnamese Dominican Sisters and the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist serve in some teaching capacities.
The university is named after St. Thomas Aquinas. Originally consisting solely of the Link–Lee House on the corner of Montrose and West Alabama, the university has expanded towards the South and West over the last 60 years, establishing itself as a notable landmark in Houston with over 20,000 graduates. The current expansion plan includes the acquisition and development of the majority of the land comprising 25 city blocks.
Former university president J. Michael Miller, C.S.B. was appointed on November 25, 2003, by the pope to preside as secretary of the Congregation of Catholic Education. By virtue of this office, Miller was elevated to archbishop by Pope John Paul II on January 12, 2004.
Campuses
Main
The University of St. Thomas's main campus is located in the Montrose neighborhood of Neartown. The campus borders Houston's Museum District and is adjacent to the Menil Collection and the Rothko Chapel.
Many of the university's offices are in houses built in 1930s that are scattered throughout campus. Some of the buildings are historic including the Link–Lee House. It contains the university's executive office.
The Theology department is located in the childhood home of Howard Hughes. The campus is arranged in a square format, with the main focus of buildings on the north side of the campus which is called the Academic Mall. Composed of rectangular buildings, the Academic Mall is the symbolic architecture of Philip Johnson. On the south end of the Academic Mall is the Doherty Library. The Chapel of St. Basil is located at the opposite end. Four structures flank these two buildings on each side in a rectangular formation surrounding a courtyard. The setup is designed to display the methods of human knowledge (faith, represented by the chapel, and reason, represented by the library) in dialogue regarding the various subject matters.
The Chapel of St. Basil is the main location of Catholic worship on campus. The Chapel of St. Basil is a unique work of art that has won many awards for its architecture. Basil was a fourth-century bishop who was a proponent of both education and the monastic life. The Chapel sits at the north end of the Academic Mall, representing faith in the Academic Mall's artistic depiction of faith and reason balanced in dialogue.
There is no artificial light inside the main section of the building during the daytime. There is sufficient sunlight to fully light the worship space, as a combination of smooth textures and reflective surfaces maximize all light shone in the building. At night, the lights from outside combined with candles inside the chapel are more than enough to illuminate the worship area.
The entry to the outdoor narthex of the chapel is created with a tent-like flap extending over the entry, creating an enclosed space that is still outdoors. The architecture also shifts the focus the building: the entrances to the Chapel face away from the center of the building and towards the tabernacle to remind all who enter that the central point of the chapel is not the altar or the crucifix, but the location of the Eucharist.