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This is What Mission Looks Likes Logo

 

So many members of the SCU community live according to our Jesuit and Catholic values, and actually build the "more humane, just, and sustainable world" that is our mission. However, frequently, we don't connect the lived mission with the words of our university commitments.  

One priority of the Division of Mission and Ministry is to highlight how we at Santa Clara University live as people with and for others - people in community.

 


"The real measure of our Jesuit universities lies in who our students become. Tomorrow's 'whole person' cannot be whole without a well-educated solidarity. We must therefore raise our Jesuit educational standard to educate the whole person in solidarity for the real world."

-Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, speaking at Santa Clara University in October 2000



The Division of Mission and Ministry was formed in 2021, uniting the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, Campus Ministry, and Mission Church. Charged with promoting Santa Clara University's Mission, the Division offers programs for students, faculty, staff, administrators, trustees, alumni, to encounter and engage the Mission. 

Santa Clara University's Vision, Mission, and Values

 

Navigate here to Our Vision Navigate here to Our VisionHolding on Together by Yesi Magdaleno-Solis Square
Navigate here to Our Vision
Our Vision

Santa Clara University will educate citizens and leaders of competence, conscience, and compassion and cultivate knowledge and faith to build a more humane, just, and sustainable world. 

Navigate here to Our Mission Navigate here to Our MissionSquare Hands by Isabella Ilk-Greenhill
Navigate here to Our Mission
Our Mission

To create an academic community that educates the whole person within the Jesuit, Catholic tradition, making students learning our central focus, ... and serving the communities of which we are a part in Silicon Valley and around the world.

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Navigate here to Our Core Jesuit Values
Our Core Jesuit Values
  • Discernment and Reflection
  • Solidarity and Kinship
  • Cura Personalis
  • Finding Love in All Things
  • Service Rooted in Justice

This is what MISSION looks like at SCU

Navigate here to Honoring Ancestral Land STUDENT | Claire Alford '25
A MISSION OF DISCERNMENT, REFLECTION, & RECONCILIATION
Navigate here to Honoring Ancestral Land STUDENT | Claire Alford '25Claire Alford '25
Navigate here to Honoring Ancestral Land STUDENT | Claire Alford '25
STUDENT | Claire Alford '25

Member, Native American Coalition for Change

In an era where many institutions are working toward acceptance and reconciliation, SCU has made strides to mend those wounds. Much work remains to be done, and students like Alford are helping the University move forward by strengthening its relationship with Native students and local tribes.

Navigate here to Honoring Ancestral Land STUDENT | Claire Alford '25Honoring Ancestral Land
Navigate here to Student Food Security FACULTY | Chris Bacon
A MISSION OF SOLIDARITY & KINSHIP
Navigate here to Student Food Security FACULTY | Chris BaconChris Bacon
Navigate here to Student Food Security FACULTY | Chris Bacon
FACULTY | Chris Bacon

Associate Professor, Environmental Studies

Led by Professor Chris Bacon, faculty, students, and staff are collaborating to address student food insecurity and envision a more sustainable and just food system at Santa Clara University. The research team evaluated the severity of food insecurity at the University and recommends realistic and effective strategies for minimizing the impact of food security on students within the SCU community.

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Navigate here to Implementing the Laudato Si' University Pathways STAFF | Sustainable SCU Team
A MISSION OF FINDING GOD IN ALL THINGS
Navigate here to Implementing the Laudato Si' University Pathways STAFF | Sustainable SCU TeamSustainable SCU Team Leaders Benders, Kalkbrenner, and Raphael
Navigate here to Implementing the Laudato Si' University Pathways STAFF | Sustainable SCU Team
STAFF | Sustainable SCU Team

Alison Benders | Lindsey Kalkbrenner | Chad Raphael

More than 130 universities and colleges around the world, including SCU, have pledged to embark on a seven-year journey to promote integral ecology in all they do. The Center for Sustainability and Division of Mission and Ministry are embarking on a year-long strategic planning process to develop a Sustainability Action Plan that takes us through 2030, inspired by the Pope's encyclical Laudato Si’.

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Navigate here to The Student in Student Aid ALUMNI | Alexis Takagi '22
A MISSION OF SERVICE ROOTED IN JUSTICE & LOVE
Navigate here to The Student in Student Aid ALUMNI | Alexis Takagi '22Alumni Alexis Takagi '22
Navigate here to The Student in Student Aid ALUMNI | Alexis Takagi '22
ALUMNI | Alexis Takagi '22

Commissioner, California Student Aid Commission

Representing the college students of California, Alexis Takagi ’22, Ed.D. ’25 has been appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom ’89 to the California Student Aid Commission to provide key insight on student financial needs and issues.


Navigate here to The Student in Student Aid ALUMNI | Alexis Takagi '22The Student in Student Aid
Mission Week

On Mission In Solidarity

This past November, the Division of Mission and Ministry hosted Santa Clara University's inaugural Mission Week. This week-long celebration of the SCU's mission centered on its Jesuit roots and brought together staff, faculty and students from across the University. As we look back at the many events and gatherings that comprised the week, it is clear that this is what mission looks like at SCU.