Vision Statement
We believe every person has infinite worth and together we can create a more just and equitable world.Mission Statement
By connecting Gonzaga University with local, regional and global partners, The Center for Community Engagement (CCE) positively transforms our students and communities.
Honoring the Jesuit commitment to social justice and solidarity, CCE partners with staff, faculty and the community to develop relationships grounded in reciprocity that strive to meet the needs of the community and promote social change.
CCE provides experiences that allow students to hone their intellectual, physical, spiritual and emotional gifts in service for the common good. Through these experiences, students will grow in their understanding of complex societal issues, will have the desire and ability to challenge oppression in their own communities, and will seek solidarity with those impacted by injustice.
Principles
PLACE - We recognize the importance of place. We honor our connection to Northeast Spokane by seeking to understand its varied historic, social, racial, ecological, and economic contexts. We honor that this place, where Gonzaga and Northeast Spokane are located, rests on the homelands of the Spokane Tribal People – their unceded ancestral and spiritual homeland. We continue to explore what it means to be of a place and the many relationships place holds.
SOLIDARITY & SOCIAL JUSTICE - We seek to be people with and for others. Solidarity moves us beyond compassion toward an enduring commitment to realizing the common good. We challenge ourselves to adopt a social change orientation and commit to disrupting systems of injustice and oppression.
LEARNING & UNLEARNING - We believe that the most transformational student learning comes from examining and de-centering self and centering relationship with communities. Through radical learning and unlearning students will become global citizens who yearn to create a more just and equitable world. As residents of Spokane, students will know that they belong to and have a responsibility to the community beyond the University.
ANTI-RACISM - Our commitment to social justice and the common good requires that we speak up and actively work to dismantle racism in our communities, on our own campus, and in our selves. As a center, we commit to the ongoing personal, structural, and systemic work required of becoming an anti-racist organization.
EQUITY & INCLUSION - We build inclusive communities that value the dignity of every person and the richness that diverse cultures, perspectives and experiences bring to our collective work. We explore the role that privilege and marginalization play in our work and our lives. We value human difference and promote equity and justice for all people.
HEARTH - In the spirit of developing authentic relationships and fostering kinship, we strive to create a community of shared power, collective knowledge, and communal space. We place relationships at the heart of our vision.
HUMILITY - We enter this work with an open heart and a deep commitment to learn from others. We seek to suspend our own judgments, stereotypes and need for certainty. We recognize our perspective is limited and we actively engage with the perspectives and stories of others.