Philosophy of Loyola University New Orleans
The philosophy of Loyola University New Orleans, as outlined in the Goals Statement approved by the Board of Directors in 1971 and revised in 1973, 1977, and 1983, is the foundation upon which the material in this Student Handbook rests. The whole Goals Statement is quite lengthy so the Handbook Committee selected only these several paragraphs from it to highlight the characteristics of Loyola.
Loyola is a Catholic Institution
Loyola, as a Jesuit university, is committed to the belief that Christianity presents a world view which is meaningful in any age. Although the message of Christianity is not wedded to any given philosophy, science, art or politics, it is still not compatible with every point of view.
The person is central in a Catholic university. Its task is to equip its students to know themselves, their world, their potential, and their Creator. To perform this function properly, it must strive to be one academic community composed of administrators, faculty, and students, both laymen and clerics. This community must be composed in a manner fitting to our pluralistic society and ecumenical age. It can, therefore, be made up of many whose modes of commitment to university aims differ; of those who have dedicated their lives to the Christian faith commitment, of those who live non-Christian faith commitments, and of some who live no formal faith commitment at all. Religious and non-religious, Christian and non-Christian, all will dedicate themselves to the mission of this Catholic university, each in his or her own way. All will cooperate in the search for truth, either by exploring the inner dynamism of Christianity and its implications for the present or by provoking the quest for truth in others. All are bound together by a common search for knowledge. All are dedicated to the discovery and promulgation of truth.
The community in quest of truth has a reverence for creation, not only the creations of God and the creations of man, but for life itself as a fountain of creativity. Reverence for creation fosters universal concern and dedication. All who are concerned for and dedicated to the truth are welcome in the Loyola community. Only those who condemn the commitments of those who seek the truth will not find a home here.
The Catholic university must foster among its students, its faculty, and the larger community a critical sense. To think critically one must have a place to stand. Criticism must be based upon agreement on basic values and principles. Without this there can be no meaningful disagreement. Loyola stands on its Catholic commitment. This commitment is not the end of a search, but the beginning of any inquiry into other traditions, other regions, other religions. Loyola seeks to hand down a heritage even as it learns and teaches methods of thinking which will revivify the heritage and breach new frontiers of knowledge.
Because Loyola is committed to the Christian tradition, it should support excellence in theological instruction and scholarship as well as recognize the preeminent place of theology among the disciplines of higher learning. Catholic teaching should be presented in some structured way to aid the students in forming their own world view.
Rapid change is a feature of contemporary life. Education should equip students to meet the rapid developments they will encounter and should enable them to make sound judgments as values undergo constant scrutiny. It is the tradition of the Society of Jesus to discern what is good and true in the movements of history. Loyola pledges itself to educate its students to meet change with equanimity, good judgment, and constructive leadership. Innovations in the direction of a more Christian and just structure for society are expected of the Loyola University community, its alumni, and its friends.
Loyola is committed to a serious examination of those conscious and unconscious assumptions of contemporary American civilization that tend to perpetuate societal inequities and institutional injustices. In this endeavor it is particularly concerned with those prevalent economic, judicial, and educational attitudes which are inconsistent with the social teachings of the Church.
Loyola University has fully supported and fostered in its educational programs, admissions, employment practices, and activities a policy of non-discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, sex, or handicap. This policy is in compliance with all applicable federal regulations and guidelines.
