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Mission Statement of Loyola University Chicago

Loyola University Chicago is a Jesuit Catholic University dedicated to knowledge in the service of humanity. It is a comprehensive, independent, urban institution of higher education and health care. The University endeavors to develop in the lives of its students, faculty and staff the spirit of searching for truth and living for others which characterized Ignatius of Loyola.

This university exists to preserve, extend, and transmit knowledge and to deepen understanding of the human person, the universe, and God. Loyola values freedom of inquiry, the pursuit of truth, and care for others, especially the young, the poor, and the sick. The University strives to develop in its community a capacity for critical and ethical judgment and a commitment to action in the service of faith and justice. To perform its educational mission, Loyola stresses excellence in the complementary endeavors of teaching and research.

The Jesuit character of the University derives from the presence of Jesuits and others whose work is inspired by the conviction that learning is a way of seeking and finding God. Loyola, while believing in Christ and in his Church, welcomes students, faculty and staff from many religions and cultural backgrounds, confident that they will find the University environment congenial, rewarding, and enriching.

Respect for the human person characterizes Jesuit education, which encourages students to develop all dimensions of themselves - intellectual, emotional, physical, creative, moral and spiritual. To accomplish this end, all undergraduate schools offer a common core curriculum of liberal arts and sciences.

Loyola's graduate and professional schools express the University's values through research, rigorous training, and clinical practice. In addition to developing professional expertise, Loyola emphasizes ethical behavior and recognition of the dignity of each individual. As an employer, Loyola practices these same values.

The Loyola University Medical Center addresses a wide range of education and health needs. Its teaching and research facilities, faculty, and staff expand scientific knowledge, promote health-related research, and train the health care professionals of the future, while its hospital and out-patient center provide services to metropolitan Chicago.

An urban institution, Loyola benefits from Chicago's exceptional cultural, economic, and human resources. In turn, the University affirms its long-standing commitment to urban life - and works to solve its problems - in Chicago, the nation, and the world.

Aware of its international role in a world unified by communications technology, and conscious of its emerging national status, Loyola transmits its own cultural and intellectual heritage while preparing students to understand and to serve the needs and aspirations of the world community.

Loyola University Chicago encourages all members of its community to strive for excellence, to search for truth, to live for others, and to develop in their lives a spirit of freedom. This is its tradition. This is its character.

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