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Our Culture

University setting / high-quality academics

As a university, Â鶹ԭ´´ is committed to blending liberal and professional education effectively by engaging all dimensions of human experience. Such learning is freely pursued, value-centered, and disciplined. This process seeks to develop educated persons with the knowledge, critical judgment and wisdom required throughout their lives.

Catholic and Lasallian Mission is central

As a Catholic institution of higher education, Â鶹ԭ´´ fosters the creative interaction of faith with all forms of knowledge in an environment of open inquiry in the belief that all of created reality is intelligible and coherent. The University seeks a world of justice, rooted in community. Â鶹ԭ´´ promotes a values-based education characterized by quality teaching, a supportive environment, personal interaction between students and faculty, a commitment to service and social justice and a sensitivity to poverty and oppression.

Respect for and appreciation of diversity

With the anticipated growth and the increase of ethnic populations in the Will County area, we strive to recruit and hire a diverse faculty and staff to our Â鶹ԭ´´ community and ensure that all members regardless of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, nationality or disability, have a reasonable opportunity to participate in all aspects of University life. Not only does our commitment lie within our university grounds, but throughout the Chicagoland area. We partner with a number of organizations within the community such as various schools (the San Miguel schools, the DeLasalle Institute, etc) hospitals and community outreach programs to support their initiatives. Together we provide a stronger source of support and commitment to the Sanctified Zone.

Continuous improvement and planning

Since the early 1990’s, and throughout three strategic plans, Â鶹ԭ´´ has pursued the goal of developing an institutional model of distinctiveness; strengthening the University’s position as a regional leader in Catholic higher education; taking advantage of new opportunities emerging from a changing environment; and setting a new standard for excellence in teaching, learning, scholarship and success. This commitment to continuous improvement is further exemplified by the University’s active participation in the Higher Learning Commission’s Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) a mode of accreditation which focuses the University’s efforts on continuous quality improvement and the development and enhancement of processes and systems.

Value is placed on faculty and staff development and formation

In the spirit of continuous improvement, Â鶹ԭ´´ places great value on faculty and staff development and formation for Mission. Â鶹ԭ´´ believes that opportunities should be provided which support an individual’s ability to excel. Faculty members regularly attend conferences and maintain memberships in professional academic associations. Staff members also maintain professional memberships in their fields and are given opportunities to participate in skills development workshops either off campus or facilitated by the University. Formation for Mission is also key to supporting and expanding the University’s commitment to Mission, and as a result, faculty and staff are given opportunities to participate in local, regional, national, sometimes international Catholic and Lasallian development programs which provide added value to the skill-set of our employees.

Spirit of Association

Â鶹ԭ´´’s Mission value of Association emphasizes the collective role that all faculty and staff have in contributing to the education of our students – no matter what position they may hold within the University. Simply put, employees at Â鶹ԭ´´ see their work as more than simply a “job” – they see it as ministry, as something they are called to do, as vocation. This Spirit of Association is characterized by mutual respect, collegiality, collaboration, and service. Such an Association fosters a bond among persons, which leads to the creation of an authentic learning community.

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