The College strongly adheres to the principles of the University Mission Statement that commits Villanova to “developing and sustaining an academic environment in which the potentialities of its members may be realized.” In so doing, the College is guided by the teachings of Vatican II, which emphasized that “the human spirit must be cultivated in such a way that there results a growth in its ability to wonder, to understand, to contemplate, to make personal judgments, and to develop a religious, moral, and social sense” (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 59).
In order to fulfill its academic mission of transmitting, pursuing, and discovering knowledge, the College commits itself to the hiring and retaining of outstanding teacher-scholars and dedicated staff personnel whose academic and professional interests will develop and foster the goals of the University’s mission. In hiring faculty and staff personnel, the College further commits itself to the goal of maintaining a richness of diversity by actively recruiting women and minorities. In all hiring strategies and decisions, the College strives to utilize procedures that will reliably determine the best qualified applicants.
While the College is committed to maintaining its Catholic identity, it does not seek a particular religious affiliation within its personnel. Rather, as formulated in the University’s mission, it asks that all respect its “attempts to develop an environment in which students, faculty, and staff may experience a Christian intellectual and moral perspective,” and have a willingness to enter into the conversation that gives its mission life and character.
The College is strongly committed to academic freedom that makes open discussion and inquiry possible. It believes open discussion among scholars and students is a self-correcting process that is intrinsic to academic freedom and that this process is in accord with responsible freedom, a central value of the Christian tradition, and of the thought of St. Augustine, the great theologian of Christian freedom.
The College seeks to encourage and equitably reward the valuable performance of its faculty and staff by offering competitive salaries and by making available opportunities that will enhance their professional development. It also seeks to promote a congenial work environment that is conducive to self-motivation. In recruiting students, the College seeks to ensure the best applicant pool possible. It strives to retain students by offering excellent academic programs and by providing them with quality campus activities.
The University’s LEARNING GOALS may be found on the Provost’s website under ‘University Learning Goals’.