Commitment One: Foster Responsibility for Shared Mission
The Catholic, Jesuit University is a place that facilitates the constructive dialogue between the Church and the culture. Today – at a time of great change in higher education, as well as the Society of Jesus – Gonzaga University seeks to participate fully in the mission of the Jesuits by leading both at the center and at the frontiers, fostering engagement between and across faith traditions and cultural groups, and embracing the tensions that accompany the search for awareness, compassion and inclusivity. Gonzaga will facilitate opportunities that afford all members of its community a chance to gain a common understanding of, and commitment to, the distinctively Catholic and Jesuit mission of the institution as it is reflected in their work.
Commitment Two: Animate Academic Excellence Across the Institution
Academic excellence is an imperative of the Ignation magis, the powerful desire for the more and the better on behalf of our students and the world. Academic excellence thrives when skilled and accomplished teacher-scholars and aspiring students come together to explore human knowledge, traditions and value systems from around the world, through a multitude of disciplinary and interdisciplinary conversations. It is distinguished by a vision of education, innovation and risk in service to mission that have marked Jesuit higher education from its beginning. Academic excellence grows when faculty and staff are committed to advancing the creation and integration of knowledge, refining pedagogies to improve student learning, adopting appropriate technologies in teaching and research, and extending opportunities for civic, entrepreneurial, scholarly and global engagement to provide or students with the most transformative educational experience possible. The practice of critical and reflective inquiry, ongoing pursuit of pedagogical and scholarly excellence and extensive engagement with local and global contexts, prepare Gonzaga University students so that they may transform the contemporary world.
Commitment Three: Provide an Integrative Jesuit Educational Experience for our Students
Gonzaga University exists to guide, challenge and support its students in the Jesuit tradition, from the beginning of their relationship with the University through a course of study and co-curricular experience that leads to graduation and the granting of a degree or credential. Integral to this work is the conviction that a Gonzaga education must join the development of characteristics emblematic of mature persons with a rich academic experience to form the “whole person.” The institution is bold, reflective and deliberate in supporting students as they secure their academic credentials while taking advantage of an integrative learning process that prepares them both for the immediate future and for a life of service and leadership in a constantly changing global society.
Jesuit education holds two priorities in relationship to one another: care for, and attention to, the individual student (cura personalis) and a belief that education is about increasing individuals’ capacities for engagement with the world. In recognition of this, Gonzaga University strives to create and environment in which students learn to integrate the totality of the educational experience into a mature, sound and moral basis for transformative action beyond the campus setting.
Commitment Four: Optimize Institutional Stewardship and Sustainability
A healthy institution evidences a strong conviction between individual capacity and organizational culture, as well as between infrastructure and individual and organizational performance. The University’s faculty and staff are the repository of institutional knowledge and skill. In a climate of rapid social, demographic and technological change, it is critical that faculty and staff be supported in efforts both individually and collectively to adapt to and master the changing environment. Additionally, the institution must attend to those platforms and functions that are essential to the creation and maintenance of the dynamic learning and living environment that comprises the integrative Jesuit educational experience. These necessities are made possible by the University meeting revenue and fundraising goals, efficiently deploying resources against institutional needs, and effectively managing our assets, all with the overarching goal of generating sufficient wherewithal to fee our basic needs and fund the path to premier status.