Characteristics of a Catholic and Jesuit University
- Leadership’s Commitment to the Mission: Fordham University’s Catholic and Jesuit identity and commitment to teaching are affirmed in its mission statement and constantly promoted throughout the University community. They are fostered and deepened by faculty and staff, supported by our trustees, communicated by deans, and articulated by the president of the University.
- The Academic Life: Fordham University’s academic life and commitments clearly represent the Catholic and Jesuit commitment to the liberal arts and Christian humanistic education for all students. In addition, academic programs can be found that are distinctively informed by Fordham’s Jesuit and Catholic character, thus contributing to the diversity of higher education in the United States with an education shaped by the service of faith and the promotion of justice.
- A Catholic, Jesuit Campus Culture: Fordham works to foster within its students, faculty, staff, and administrators a virtuous life characterized by personal responsibility, respect, forgiveness, compassion, a habit of reflection, and the integration of body, mind, and soul.
- Service: Fordham is an institution, and all of its various parts seek to insert themselves in the world on the side of the poor, the marginalized, and those seeking justice. It does this in particular by using its academic and professional resources.
- Service to the Local Church: Fordham offers educational and formational programs and resources that build up the local church; in union with the local church, it also provides a locus where people of faith can wrestle with difficult questions facing the church and the world.
- Jesuit Presence: Fordham University promotes and values the vibrant presence, work, and powerful witness of Jesuits and their collaborations on serving students, colleagues, and alumni.
- Integrity: Fordham University hires and recruits with the intention of preserving its Jesuit and Catholic identity and mission. The University offers benefits that demonstrate fairness and uphold the well-being of its employees, and offers programs on Jesuit history and mission in addition to professional development opportunities.
- Ignatian Spirituality: Fordham fosters appreciation for Ignatian spirituality in each one of its students. Through our teaching, research, and writing, we further the expanse of reason and its quest for truth by contributing the wisdom and concerns of the Christian faith. Ignatian spirituality strives to articulate the intelligibility of the Christian faith with assistance and insights from diverse fields of human knowledge.
- Transformation: At Fordham, we seek to form men and women for others. Students are invited to strive for intellectual excellence in their chosen fields while also embracing Ignatian spirituality, and in doing so, they gain a deep sense of personal mission. They become transformed into people who are bothered by injustice and attentive to the needs of the poor. Empowered by their imaginations, they strive to put them to work in service of God and the wider world. This process is informed by the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, who have been known as passionate educators since their founding in 1540.