Mission, Vision and Values

Read about the Hallmarks of a Notre Dame de Namur Learning Community

Mission Statement

Founded upon the values of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and rooted in the Catholic tradition, Notre Dame de Namur University serves its students and the community by providing excellent professional and liberal arts programs in which community engagement and the values of social justice and global peace are integral to the learning experience.  NDNU is a diverse and inclusive learning community that challenges each member to consciously apply values and ethics in his or her personal, professional, and public life.

Vision Statement

Notre Dame de Namur University will be recognized in the San Francisco Bay Area as a leader in integrating community engagement into high quality academic programs.  NDNU’s programs will be widely known for their innovative synthesis of liberal arts learning, professionally-oriented learning, and core values.

Core Values

Notre Dame de Namur University was founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and the
values espoused by the Sisters continue to inspire the University. The Core Values expressed here
are closely linked to the Hallmarks of a Notre Dame de Namur Learning Community developed by the
Sisters in collaboration with NDNU and other SND learning communities. These values should be
considered in the context of the Hallmarks.

The Core Values are listed in alphabetical order. There is no ranking implied. Commitments
following each value elaborate rather than define the values.

Community

• A commitment to build a diverse, collaborative, open and student-centered community that
  holds itself and its members accountable to learn, serve, work and grow together in
  partnership.
• A commitment to share the responsibility of governance and to create transparency and
  accountability in our decision-making.

Diversity

• Commitments to celebrate, embrace, value, and learn from the voices, perspectives and
  experiences of all our community members.
• A commitment to ensure that the University offers its students, faculty and staff of diverse
  backgrounds opportunities that are accessible and fair to all constituents.
• A commitment to seek and respect diverse points of view in the academic arena.

Excellence

• A commitment to excellence in every academic and professional pursuit.

Goodness

• A commitment to demonstrate the goodness of God by our actions on behalf of each person
  and all creation.
• A commitment to value life as an ongoing spiritual journey of deepening relationship with
  self, others and the Divine.

Integrity

• A commitment to honor the sacredness and dignity of each person and the development of
  the whole person through our collaborative practices.
• A commitment to match our actions and our words.

Justice

• A commitment to enhance the application of ethics, justice, and peace at the personal,
  community and global levels.

Learning

• A commitment to innovative learning of what is necessary for life, both as a directed process
  and as a lifelong practice.
• A commitment to the search for truth, knowledge and meaning.
• A commitment to keep alive the tradition of Catholic social teaching.

Service

• A commitment to community-based learning and other forms of service.