Key Jesuit Values in Higher Education
These values prepare students to be wiser and more compassionate as they take the next step in their life journey as people with and for others.
Discernment and Reflection
As a Jesuit institution we are deeply shaped by Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises and the spiritual practices that have emerged from them. Ignatian discernment is the spiritual practice of noticing the movements within one's heart and soul, identifying the thoughts, desires, and emotions that motivate them, and using these insights to decide where God is leading. As a result we are called to deep reflection as we discern the best course of action for ourselves and our community. Reflection is the practice of pausing before and after an experience to pay attention to the movements within us. Through the practice of discernment, reflection, and consultation with others we become a community that is proactive, rather than reactive, as we seek to transform the world.
Solidarity & Kinship
At Santa Clara we strive to be a community built on the values of solidarity and kinship. A Jesuit education invites each person to a solidarity that goes beyond mere charity or service. It is a call to a mutuality that widens the circle of compassion beyond that with which we are most familiar or comfortable. This means a campus culture built on a clear sense of belonging for all and a desire to extend that sense of belonging beyond our campus boundaries. The struggles of any member of our community, on campus and beyond, is a struggle we all share. The Ignatian ideal of solidarity and kinship calls us to walk alongside one another as we strive toward a more just, humane, and sustainable world.
Finding God in All Things
The call to find God in all things is rooted in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition of using reason to find meaning in all of creation. Ignatian spirituality is incarnational — meaning that it insists that there is no place where God cannot be found. Not only is God in all things, but all things are in God. From this tradition we can draw upon a transcendent vision of the world that is still grounded in the reality of the world itself. As an institution of higher education it calls us to seek wider purpose and deeper connections in our intellectual pursuits. Academic excellence and free inquiry are central to upholding our core values. We are a community of faculty, students, staff, and alumni who are working together to create a holistic picture of the beauty, mystery, and meaning that imbues our world.
Cura Personalis
Jesuit education concerns itself with the formation of the whole person — mind, body, & spirit. This is why one of the hallmarks of Jesuit education is experiential learning. Through experiences in and outside the classroom, our faculty, staff, and students become more fully formed to be people for and with others. Inspired by the vision of St. Ignatius we recognize that to be a community of care we must make space for rest and reflection to help us fully process our experiences and to recharge in our quest for justice. In caring for the whole person, we also recognize the dignity and value within all people. This means seeking to foster a diverse community where we care for and nurture one another so that we may all flourish. This is the bedrock of our desire to form students of competence, conscience and compassion.
Faith That Does Justice
Jesuit education utilizes the tools of Ignatian Spirituality to help orient each person to live a life committed to justice and the common good. We act as and inspire others to become citizens and leaders shaped by the values rooted in knowledge and faith inspired by the Jesuit, Catholic traditions of Santa Clara. Shaped by their experiences, faith/spiritual/philosophical worldview, and deepest beliefs, each person at Santa Clara actively works to transform the world in order to bring about the flourishing of all creation. We are called to look beyond ourselves and understand our responsibility to respond to injustice. Rooted in a vision of solidarity and kinship, inspired by the long tradition of Catholic social thought, we seek to educate students who recognize the range of duties and obligations we have to one another.