Loyola University Chicago

Our Identity: The Jesuit Catholic Identity of Loyola University Chicago

Our Identity PDF Report

To view the entire report, download a copy of  "Our Identity: The Jesuit Catholic Identity of Loyola University Chicago". The report requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

For the history of Loyola University Chicago, please read Fr. Daniel Hartnett, S.J.'s "Who We Were: Loyola's Founding Story"

Introduction

Loyola University Chicago is a complex institution comprising nine schools located on four campuses. The academic structure of the university includes:

• College of Arts and Sciences
• School of Business Administration
• School of Education
• Graduate School
• School of Law
• Stritch School of Medicine
• Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing
• School of Professional Studies
• the School of Social Work

There are three sites in greater Chicago - Lake Shore Campus, Water Tower Campus, Maywood Campus - and one in Rome, Italy. Loyola offers 52 undergraduate majors and 63 minors, 59 master's degrees, 36 doctoral and 3 professional degree programs - leading to 27 different degrees. Loyola is committed to excellent teaching at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels. In addition research, service and scholarship are valued because of their potential to enrich human lives and respond to the most pressing problems in our society and in the world. These endeavors enhance the teaching in all our programs.

The Mission of Loyola University Chicago

At the core of this complexity, serving as motivation and as organizing principle of all these activities is the Jesuit Catholic identity of the university. As our Mission states:

"We are Chicago's Jesuit Catholic University
a diverse community seeking to find God in all things
and working to expand knowledge in the service of humanity
through learning, justice and faith."

Loyola University Chicago as a Catholic University

Loyola University Chicago embodies the four essential characteristics of a Catholic University as described in the August 1990 apostolic exhortation of John Paul II.

• a Christian inspiration not only of individuals but of the University community as such;
• a continuing reflection in the light of the Catholic faith upon the growing treasury of human knowledge, to which it seeks to contribute by its own research;
• fidelity to the Christian message as it comes to us through the Church;
• an Institutional commitment to the service of the people of God and the human family in their pilgrimage to the transcendent goal which gives meaning to life." (Ex Corde Eccelesiae n. 13.)

Ex Core Ecclesiae goes on to discuss some of the many practical ways in which these characteristics distinguish the life and activities of a Catholic university. The university itself is committed to the integration of faith and knowledge and the search for meaning. As an institution, the university is marked by commitment and fidelity to the Christian message. This institutional commitment incorporates respect for the intrinsic value of knowledge, the dialogue between faith and reason, ethical concern and attention to a theological perspective. The institution champions the priority of the ethical over the technical and the primacy of the person over things. The university should not only have a department of Theology but should also foster interdisciplinary studies focusing on the moral implications of research and the development of the whole person. Students, faculty administrators and staff should form an authentic human community animated by the Spirit of Christ. Characterized by institutional autonomy and academic freedom, the university is an effective instrument of cultural progress rooted in ethical and religious principles and involving the promotion of social justice. The Catholic university should provide opportunities to integrate religious and moral principles with academic study and extra-curricular activities in order to integrate faith with life. In this it should prepare members of the community for active participation in the life of the church. In summary, the Catholic university should foster the fruitful conversation between the Gospel and culture. This will entail special focus on the interplay between Christian thought and the modern sciences and commitment to ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue.

In addition to addressing the characteristics of a Catholic university as an institution, Ex Corde Ecclesiae also addresses those individual Catholics who are responsible for teaching a theological discipline. Ex Corde Ecclesiae II, Art. 4 #3 and Canon 812 stipulate that such a faculty member is to obtain, in writing, a mandatum. The mandatum, granted by the bishop of the diocese in which the university is located, is essentially the recognition that the teacher is in full communion with the Catholic Church. Those with such a mandatum are not agents of the magisterium; they teach in their own name, not in the name of the bishop. Seeking this mandatum is the personal responsibility of each professor of theology, not the responsibility of the university.

Loyola University Chicago as a Jesuit University

While the qualities of a "Catholic" university are summarized in Ex Corde Ecclesiae, the specifying characteristics of a "Jesuit" university can be found in several recent addresses by Peter-Han Kolvenbach, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus. What follows is a concise presentation of some of Fr. Kolvenbach's statements.

A Jesuit university is oriented to the uncompromising and unrestricted pursuit of truth and excellence in all disciplines. Legitimate responsible autonomy and freedom are requisites for progress in scholarly teaching and research. It is crucial to have an open and critical attitude towards other points of view and other cultural and confessional positions.

The mission of the Society of Jesus is "the service of faith and the promotion of justice." Jesuit higher education-whose goal is to educate men and women "for others"-- needs to be reflected upon and evaluated in the light of this mission.

The ideal characteristics of Jesuit higher education are manifested in three complimentary aspects of university life.

What our students become:

• People who realize that faith and understanding are intrinsically connected and whose faith has been deepened through inquiry. People who see that religion and culture raise important questions and need each other to answer them fully.
• People who realize that all intellectual work must be ordained to the service of humanity. People who understand that love of God which does not include love of neighbor is a farce.
• People who are prepared to be leaders-in-service for church and society. People who make choices in the context of the service ideal proposed by the gospel. People who not only denounce but also pronounce and propose.
• People who embrace responsible citizenship in the global village-competent, conscious, capable of compassion and well educated in solidarity.

• Realize that, while knowledge is valuable for its own sake, it must also ask itself "For whom? and For what?"
• Adopt the point of view of the poor and of those who suffer injustice.
• Provide values-based, interdisciplinary education from the vantage point of the disadvantaged.
• Teach their students the habit of reflection, challenging them to reflect upon the implications of what they study and the consequences for human beings.

• The university pursues the qualitative integration of inquiry that can lead to an appreciation of a more comprehensive truth as its goal.
• The university realizes that it exists for society and not for itself, that it is called to influence society, locally and globally.
• The university commits itself to shed intelligence upon the social reality and use university influence to transform it.

Loyola University Chicago is proud to be one of the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities of the United States.

To view the entire report, download a copy of  "Our Identity: The Jesuit Catholic Identity of Loyola University Chicago". The report requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.