MISSION OF

CATHOLIC
HIGHER EDUCATION
What are the characteristics of
Catholic Colleges and Universities?
 Who We Are
More than 200 colleges and universities

! Fully accredited
! Serve over 720,000 students

! Liberal Arts core

! Large array of Graduate and Professional Programs

! Committed to carrying on the Catholic intellectual

tradition
 Mission Makes Identity

We have been commissioned by religious

congregations or bishops to:

! Continue their mission

! Engage in teaching and scholarship in the
Catholic tradition
 Whose Mission?
All participate and share the vision &
commitment:

! Trustees
! Sponsors
! Administration & staff
! Faculty
! Students
 Not for Catholics only
! We need a critical mass of people who
understand and will maintain the tradition
! We welcome collaborators who value our
vision and our tradition
 What Makes Us Catholic
1. Shared Christian Vision and Goals

2. Reflection in the Light of Faith

3. Fidelity to tradition

4. Commitment to service
 Shared Christian Vision
Not only the faith of individuals but a way of looking at
human existence based on:

! The Person of Jesus Christ

! The Cumulative Wisdom of the Christian centuries
! The Faith of the Catholic community
! A shared vision guiding the whole enterprise
! Publicly acknowledged, discussed, studied, taught
and learned
 Content of the Vision

Meaning of human life in relation to:

! God its source

! Jesus Christ as revelation

! Other people

! Choices in work & career

! Private and public responsibilities

 Understanding the Vision

The vision needs to be studied and lived…

! Reflecting on all secular knowledge in the

light of the faith and the Catholic intellectual
tradition
! Bringing the heritage of Catholic wisdom to
the questions of our day
 Faithful to Tradition

Catholic tradition is broad including:

! Spiritual and secular wisdom

! Ways of life and worship
! Treasures of philosophy, theology, art,
political & economic wisdom
 The Anchors of Tradition

Catholic tradition is evolving - held together by:

! Common worship
! Ways of private & public behavior
! Structures of authority
! Patterns of continuity
! Formulations honed over centuries
 Catholic and catholic

The link with the Church is not a cutting off

from the world but an opening to the world…

! Freedom to evaluate critically

! Act creatively
! Hope for a better future
 Commitment to Service

Beyond accumulation of knowledge to:

! Concern with character formation

! Use of talent to serve those in need
! Use of education to shape society
! Seeking opportunities to change the world
 Catholic means “of the Whole”
Catholic means commitment to:

! The Common Good of the world

! Being attentive to the least advantaged
! Bringing knowledge and skills to better the
human condition of all
 Our Core Values

! The dignity of every human life

! Peace, reconciliation, diplomacy
! Truly human quality of life for all
! Community of truth, goodness and beauty
! Based on friendship and solidarity
 Our Campuses

! We hold by these values

! We try to implement them
! We try to teach them to all who come
 A presentation of the:
Association of Catholic Colleges and
Universities
200+ colleges and universities linked to an International Federation of
500+ Catholic Universities.
For more information, resources, links to member institutions and related
associations in Catholic Higher Education go to:
http://www.accunet.org

! Monika Hellwig, Ph.D., President

! Michael James, Ph.D., Assoc. Exec. Director

One Dupont Circle, Suite 650

Washington, DC, 20036
(202) 457-0650
accu@accunet.org