The Purpose Project at the University of St. Thomas is a campus-wide commitment to keeping purpose at the center of the undergraduate experience. St. Thomas holds a clear conviction about what higher education should accomplish: that every student leaves with the unshakeable knowledge that their life has purpose, their work has meaning, and they have been gifted to make irreplaceable contributions to the world. The Purpose Project translates that conviction into practical action, developing a signature course on meaning and purpose in career, introducing sophomores from underrepresented groups to concepts of vocation and identity at precisely the point when disconnection and attrition risk are highest, and expanding existing campus efforts to connect students with storytelling as a vehicle for reflection and self-discovery.

The project invests as much in faculty and staff as it does in students. The Vocation Faculty and Staff Cohort, led by the Office of Mission, guides semester-long conversations in which faculty and staff explore their own vocational stories before building the skills to bring those conversations into their work with students. Retreats, book groups, learning communities, and faculty workshops create a growing network of campus champions who can embed purpose exploration into courses and relationships across disciplines. St. Thomas is also attentive to the particular challenge of doing this work at a Catholic institution where many students do not practice any faith tradition, treating its religious identity not as a barrier but as a resource that can inform and enrich purpose work across differences of belief and background.