In the fall of 2024, Santa Clara will begin its second Mission Priority Examen. This 18 month review enables the campus community to reflect on how we live the Jesuit, Catholic charism of the University. The MPE will draw us together to strengthen our commitment to our mission while also enabling us to celebrate the many ways that each of us at SCU makes the mission our own.

At the request of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, the North American Jesuit Provincials and the Presidents of the schools constituting the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) have established a self-study and peer review process for reaffirming the Jesuit, Catholic mission of Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States and Belize. Titled the Mission Priority Examen (MPE), the process integrates a centuries-old practice of Ignatian reflection known as the Examen with clear pathways for dialogue and mission growth. It includes a self-study, a week-long external team visit and report, a response from the Jesuits West province, and an advisory letter from the Superior General.

Under the leadership of a diverse and representative committee, Santa Clara University completed its first MPE in 2019. This process directly contributed to several new commitments to living our Jesuit, Catholic  mission more fully on campus: the creation of a vice president for Mission and Ministry, the creation of a Division of Mission and Ministry, and the addition of two staff positions in support of the mission formation of faculty and staff. Now in our third year, I can proudly say that the division its having amazing impact through new programs for faculty, students, and staff, and we are reaching out to university panthers, community partners, and Jesuit colleagues as we journey on the path to become more authentically people for and with others.

As the university prepares for the Mission Priority Examen, we invite you to review reports from the 2019 study and to check out the Division of Mission and Ministry website including all our amazing programming to really experience what mission looks like at SCU. Finally, we look forward to engaging the whole SCU community in the second round MPE as we discern together the many transformative ways that our university community lives into the Jesuit values and traditions that shape our work.

Alison M. Benders
Vice President, Mission & Ministry

 

 

 

For additional information, contact:

Alison Benders - Vice President, Mission & Ministry | ambenders@scu.edu
Margaret Higgins - Director, Mission Integration | mhiggins@scu.edu