Alverno's
Mission Statement
Alverno College is an institution
of higher education dedicated to the undergraduate education of
women. The student – her learning and her personal and professional
development – is the central focus of everyone associated
with Alverno. Alverno extends its mission of service and strengthens
its ties to the community by offering graduate programs to both
women and men.
Agreement regarding this mission is evident throughout
the college in its publications and operating philosophy. It is
the recurring theme in messages of the Board of Trustees and the
president of the college, in catalogs and educational publications,
and in the daily approach of faculty and staff to their work. The
college’s accomplishments are measured by how well we carry
out this central mission.
The following major purposes provide direction in the pursuit
of our mission as well as a means of evaluating the level of its
attainment at any given time. These purposes are stated in the
present tense to communicate our belief that creating an institution
and programs appropriate to the educational needs of women in the
21st century is an ongoing work. The four purposes are:
1. Creating a curriculum
The curriculum, designed by faculty as the major source for student
attainment of educational goals, includes both a philosophy and
a program of education. It is:
- ability-based and focused on student outcomes
integrated in a liberal arts approach to the professions
- rooted in Catholic tradition
- designed to foster leadership and service in
the community
- flexible, to accommodate the educational goals
of women with diverse responsibilities
- affordable, to accommodate women's economic circumstances
2. Creating a community of learning
The personal and professional development of students requires an
environment in which expectations regarding learning and development
hold for faculty and staff as well as for students, and in which
policies, structure, and procedures support those expectations.
Faculty and staff, therefore, make explicit their
goal of creating a community of learning to ensure that the institution
they are responsible for serves all its members: students, faculty,
and staff.
3. Creating ties to the community
In support of its mission, Alverno faculty and staff work in partnership
with business, industry, and the professions, so that Alverno’s
curriculum effectively prepares women to enter or continue in the
world of work as it is now, as well as to contribute to where it
is headed.
4. Creating relationships with higher education
As colleagues in a diverse set of professions comprising higher
education, Alverno faculty and staff hold themselves responsible
to contribute to the development of undergraduate education nationally
and to elicit from colleagues constructive criticism of their teaching,
scholarly, and research activity.
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