Santa Clara University

CENTERS OF DISTINCTION

Santa Clara University has three Centers of Distinction that serve as major points of interaction between the University and society. Each center focuses on a theme that is central to Santa Clara’s distinctive mission as a Jesuit university offering an educational environment that integrates rigorous inquiry and scholarship, creative imagination, reflective engagement with society, and a commitment to fashioning a more humane and just world. Each center engages faculty and students from different disciplines, as well as experts and leaders from the community through speakers, conferences, workshops, and experiential learning opportunities.

Center for Science, Technology, and Society

The Center for Science, Technology, and Society promotes the use of science and technology for the common good. The Center unites a range of stakeholders to enhance civic understanding, business decisions, and public policy on the social impacts of innovation through selected programming including workshops, forums, international conferences and awards, and educational programs. With strong partnerships in the Silicon Valley, the Center also conducts and sponsors cross-disciplinary research and curriculum development that addresses the societal and organizational consequences of technological advances. Complementing this outreach, the Center also seeks to shape well-rounded citizens of tomorrow through an interdisciplinary minor that analyzes the social, political, and environmental consequences of innovation.

Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education

The Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education is dedicated to preserving and enhancing the Jesuit and Catholic mission and identity of Santa Clara University through the exploration of the Ignatian vision, the educational and spiritual legacy of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. Following the Jesuit ideal of being “contemplatives in action,” the Center seeks to integrate faith and justice in a scholarly way and combine Ignatian reflection with active community engagement. The Arrupe Partnerships for Community-based Learning educate students and the University as a whole in the realities of the lives of the marginalized and the poor through community placements in Santa Clara County. The Bannan Institute for Jesuit Educational Mission assists the University in keeping its Catholic and Jesuit character at the center of the educational enterprise by encouraging all members of the campus community to reflect on, discuss, and creatively explore Catholic and Jesuit ideals. The Kolvenbach Solidarity Program offers students, faculty, staff, and alumni immersion experiences in the reality of our globalizing world.

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics is one of the pre-eminent centers for research and dialogue on ethical issues in critical areas of American life. The center works with faculty, staff, students, community leaders, and the public to address ethical issues more effectively in teaching, research, and action. The center’s focus areas are business, health care and biotechnology, character education, government, global leadership, technology, and emerging issues in ethics. Articles, cases, briefings, and dialogue in all fields of applied ethics are available through the Center.