What Ave Stands For

AMERICA

We at Ave Maria School of Law believe in America. Our mission is to offer our students an outstanding legal education in fidelity to the Catholic Faith. To fulfill those ends, we honor our veterans by providing full tuition scholarships. We honor our nation’s founding principles by advocating for the preservation of our Constitution. We remain steadfast in our religious convictions and especially in the First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion. We embrace the conservative values that have enabled this country to prosper and to offer every citizen the opportunity to achieve the American dream. We are blessed to be forming faithful lawyers who will advocate for all these sacred Truths we hold self-evident.

VVETERANS

Why do young men and women choose to make the sacrifices necessary to serve our country in the United States Armed Forces? Three things come to mind: • An abiding respect for our country and the principles upon which it was founded • A belief that there is something bigger and more important than self, such as protecting the freedoms of all • A realization that the land of the free exists only because of the brave Ave Maria School of Law recognizes their sacrifice and honors their commitment to our country. We have committed to help qualified veterans receive full tuition scholarships. Their determination, leadership skills, perseverance, and love of country provide an excellent basis for the study of law. Our veteran graduates are taking the lessons they learned in the military, refined by the teaching of Faith and Reason at Ave Maria Law, and are making an impact in the our country and on our culture.

ETHICS

When Tom Monaghan decided to start Ave Maria School of Law, he had one overriding goal- to train lawyers who not only excelled in the practice of law, but who were formed in morals and ethics according to the Catholic intellectual tradition. As other Catholic law schools have drifted more and more toward moral relativism, Ave Maria School of Law has remained steadfast to its Mission. We are the only Catholic law school that requires three ethics related courses. And we recognize and applaud those who by example embrace ethical leadership.

Profiles in Ethical Leadership is a series of monthly presentations by distinguished CEO’s and leaders on the importance of leadership, morality, and ethics in business and the law. This goes hand-in-hand with the mission of our school, where we are training future leaders with a strong moral compass.

LAWYERS

The task of any law school is to produce lawyers who possess the requisite skills and knowledge to engage in their chosen field of practice. But what is the value of a lawyer without a strong moral compass? At Ave Maria School of Law, both what we teach and how we teach it makes us unique among law schools. We are the only law school that requires three ethics related courses. Lawyers are some of our most powerful and influential decision makers and creative thinkers. All of our judges are lawyers, a significant portion of our state and federal legislators are lawyers, and over half of our U.S. presidents have held law degrees. At Ave Maria School of Law, the very foundation for our students’ education rests in Faith and Reason, on morals, ethics and on Catholic values. That foundation is the guiding light for the rest of their careers and lives.

ALUMNI

WALL OF HONOR

Created 20 years ago as a dream in the mind of Tom Monaghan and with a first class of only 76 students, Ave Maria School Law has now graduated over 2,400 lawyers trained in the moral foundation of the Catholic Church. What kind of an impact are they having? They are culture changing! Ave Maria Law has seven alumni who have been elected or appointed to state and federal judgeships. Its graduates have presented arguments at the Supreme Court of the United States, advocating for religious freedom and for protection of the most vulnerable. Our graduates are proudly serving our country as JAG Officers in the military, and act in corporate counsel positions for major corporations. As supporters of our mission and our students, we hope you share the pride we feel in the life impacting accomplishments of our alumni. To honor is to pay special respect to someone for an extraordinary achievement or sacrifice. This is precisely the purpose of Ave Maria Law’s Wall of Honor. On the wall, located in the Veterans Memorial Law Library, are inscribed the names of brave men and women, alive or deceased, whose families have chosen to honor their service in the U.S. Armed forces. The Wall of Honor includes a feature which allows the veteran or his or her family to create a video tribute to tell the veteran’s story for future generations to hear. Proceeds benefit scholarships for veterans.

If you would like to learn more about how you can honor a beloved veteran on the Ave Maria Law’s Wall of Honor, please contact Jackie Burke at 239-687-5405.