U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor Engages with Students, Faculty, and Community at St. Thomas University

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla., Feb. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Thomas University (STU) hosted U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor on Tuesday for a series of formal and informal gatherings bringing together students, faculty, and local and university leadership.

Justice Sotomayor's day-long visit included a small working breakfast, a visit with STU College of Law's champion Trial and Moot Court Teams, and meetings with editors of STU's law reviews and law journals. The highlight of Justice Sotomayor's visit was a moderated 90-minute conversation that included 270 students, 30 faculty members and STU staff.

Justice Sotomayor's visit was facilitated by Professor Kevin Frazier, an Affiliated Scholar of Emerging Technology and the Law at STU's Benjamin L. Crump College of Law. "Exceptional faculty, such as Professor Frazier, are one of the focuses of our College of Law as we continue to make strides in our quest for continued excellence," commented Dean Tarlika Nuñez-Navarro. "We are honored by Justice Sotomayor's visit and deeply value the insights she shared with our students."

During her illuminating and engaging moderated conversation, Justice Sotomayor spoke about our tendency to become adversarial when disagreeing with peers based on politics. She then asked us to remember that those we disagree with do not necessarily come from a place of evil but from a different life experience. She stressed the need for understanding and looking for common ground through active listening and the free exchange of ideas.

"Balance is an integral part of civil discourse," said St. Thomas University President David Armstrong, J.D. "Here at STU, we champion dialogue that seeks the truth, knowing that God is always at the center. We were proud and blessed to host Justice Sotomayor. Her wise words inspired our faculty to continue developing students who become ethical leaders in our communities and inspired our law students to become exceptional lawyers."

Justice Sotomayor is the third Supreme Court Justice to visit St. Thomas University. In 2024, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson joined one of Assistant Law Professor Brian Potts' tort classes, engaging with STU law students via Zoom. In November 2011, Justice Antonin Scalia shared a day with the STU community.

During her moderated conversation, Justice Sotomayor spoke about Scalia's dedication to traveling the country and speaking to as many communities as possible. Sotomayor is proud to continue that tradition and mentioned that, in the previous week, she had also presented several talks throughout the country. As she ended her talk, Justice Sotomayor received a heartfelt standing ovation from a packed Judge Peter T. Fay Moot Court Room.

About St. Thomas University

St. Thomas University (STU) is one of the South's premier Catholic universities. It is a private, nonprofit institution committed to fostering students' academic and professional success and helping them become ethical leaders in the global community. Rich with cultural and international diversity, STU is a Miami Archdiocesan university, the only archdiocesan university in Florida, and one of just 11 nationwide. Since President David A. Armstrong, J.D., took office in 2018, the university has set enrollment records annually, growing to 6,500 undergraduate, graduate, and dual enrollment students. At a beautiful campus and online, the university's College of Health Sciences & Technology, College of Nursing, Benjamin L. Crump College of Law, Gus Machado College of Business, and Biscayne College for Liberal Arts and Social Sciences offer 61 undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degree programs online and on the university's beautiful Miami Gardens campus. In 2020, STU launched our Limitless five-year strategic plan based on the pillars of limitless Devotion, limitless Opportunities, and limitless Results. The plan was conceived to provide students with a magical collegiate experience that incorporates mentoring faculty, character formation activities outside the classroom, and required real-world experience before graduation. STU is currently leading a multi-year effort to make $123 million in improvements, its biggest expansion since its 1961 founding, including adding 400,000 square feet of new facilities, from a residence hall to athletic fields, a new business school, and other projects.

Contact: Dan Axelrod | St. Thomas University | [email protected] | 305.474.2418 

SOURCE St. Thomas University