The Dominican intellectual tradition is rooted in 800 years, going back to the  13th century when St. Dominic founded his Order to defend the Church against the errors of his time. It was in the schools and universities of medieval Europe that part of the battle was fought. It was there that the Dominican Order gave to the Church and to the world some of the greatest intellectual giants of all time. At the same time, Dominicans are called to “preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other". That is to say; we are men and women called to look at the signs of the times to find practical ways to solve new and differing realities of the times. We are called to answer not only the theological and philosophical questions that challenge us but also to answer practical questions of the people in the marketplace, in the social and natural sciences, in technological advancements, economics, corporate administration, social justice, care of the earth, and the rights and dignity of the human family. We ought to find a good balance between our intellectual and pastoral apostolates, as our charism of preaching takes so many different forms and reaches so many different groups of people. There is a single mission of the Order of Preachers charism, which embraces many ministries which bring the Word of God to people in varying societies and circumstances. The pastoral and intellectual aspects of initial formation occupies a privileged space during the years of being a Dominican friar that helps the development of our student brothers at all levels of their academic and Dominican formation growth towards the whole personhood. This is an integral part of the function of the Dominican ideal, and therefore, foundational elements of the character of our academic institutions include the spiritual, the social, the moral, and the physical.