Dear Friends,

In this week of Thanksgiving, I invite you to join me in a moment of gratitude for our incredible community—for our gifts and talents, our shared values and differences, our joys and sorrows, our curiosity and courage, and the abiding love that holds us together. I am especially grateful for all of our educators —staff, faculty, administrators, alumni, and campus and community partners—who together reflect the true unity of cura personalis (care for the whole person) and cura apostolica (care for the apostolate) as one single cura (unified call to care), that is, care for our shared mission. At SCU, our mission is driven by a faith that does justice and calls us to be people for and with others, care for our common home, discern the greater good, and seek God in all things. 

We express that mission through the many acts of loving kindness that shape our culture here at the law school. This spirit of love shines through in small, everyday moments—like Carmo Carreia, who tends our campus café with such care and devotion. Order a latte, and she’ll pour a perfect heart atop the cup: a simple gesture overflowing with generosity and loving kindness. 

All of our educators incarnate our Jesuit mission by accompanying our students in a journey of “whole person” formation: the holistic process of transforming their intellectual, spiritual, moral, and emotional character and competencies so that they are called to, and prepared for, a life of service in support of justice and reconciliation. While formation is usually thought of in the context of Jesuit undergraduate education, it is also vital to the distinctive professional education at our law school, and it makes all the difference! 

Our educators are truly persons for others who embody Ignatian values in their work and life. Together, they form students who are not only knowledgeable, but committed to serving others. Our students develop intellectual rigor, a commitment to truth, spiritual depth, ethical integrity, a conscience to act justly, and a dedication to dialogue, reflection, and discernment as the path to personal and communal growth. 

On Monday, December 1 at 5:00 pm, many of our recent graduates will gather at our Mission Church to be sworn in as the newest members of the federal and state Bar. This year, a remarkably high percentage of our graduates who sat for the California Bar Exam passed on their first try. We are so proud of them! 

And we are so grateful to our educators who supported them every step of the way, particularly our Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Laura Norris and our Office of Academic & Bar Success (OABS) team: Devin Kinyon, Liza-Jane Capatos, Nima Sohi, Kelly Rodriguez, Aparna Agnihotri, Alyssa Aguilar, Christina Ginger Bedolla, DJ Castillo, Nick Emanuel, Leah Faibisoff, Lisa Gallo, Becky Jones, Theodore Ko, Dori Pina, Sarah Tesconi, Joan Wrabetz, Sandy Vega, and Chris Fromm, our terrific Themis partner. 
We’re also thankful to all of the members of our Student Services team: Nicole Maxwell, Lizbeth Martinez, Sheli Whiting, Lily Huynh, Cecilia Macedo, Meher Bharucha, and Serena Mann, who oversaw our Bar support relationship with Themis and ensured that our graduates always stayed on track.

As future lawyers, all of our graduates—including those who will be sworn in on Monday evening and those who will be sworn in next time—have experienced a deep formation process that will empower them to serve their clients and communities with competence, conscience, and compassion. They fully understand the nature of legal transactions. But they are not transactional. They are relational. 

Indeed, our entire law school community is relational—built on the profound recognition that wisdom and well-being are achieved only through meaningful and enduring relationships.

As we journey into this holiday season, I encourage you all to be especially grateful for your own relationships. Hold your loved ones extra tight and heed the advice of the great poet Mary Oliver: “pay attention” (to the wonder in all things), “be astonished” (by the awesome power of loving relationships), and “tell each other about it” (with great joy).

With warm regards and tremendous gratitude,

Michael J. Kaufman
Dean and Professor of Law
Santa Clara University School of Law