ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ

Mission, Values & History

University Mission Statement

stag statue with sky in the background

Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942, ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ is a coeducational institution of higher learning whose primary objectives are to develop the creative intellectual potential of students and to foster in them ethical and religious values and a sense of social responsibility. Jesuit Education, which began in 1547, is committed to the service of faith, of which the promotion of justice is an absolute requirement.

ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ is Catholic in both tradition and spirit and celebrates the God-given dignity of every human person. As a Catholic institution, we welcome individuals of all beliefs and traditions who share our passion for scholarship, justice, truth, and freedom, and we value the diversity their membership brings to our community.

ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ educates students through a variety of scholarly and professional disciplines. All of our schools share a liberal and humanistic perspective, a commitment to excellence, and a respect for all of the disciplines - their similarities, their differences, and their interrelationships. In particular, our undergraduate schools provide all students with a broadly based, general education curriculum with a special emphasis on the traditional humanities as a complement to the more specialized disciplines and professions provided by our major programs. We are also committed to the needs of society for liberally educated professionals, and meet that need through our undergraduate and graduate professional programs.

A ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ education is a liberal education, characterized by its breadth and depth. It offers opportunities for individual and common reflection and provides training in such essential human skills as analysis, synthesis, and communication. The liberally educated person is able to assimilate and organize facts, evaluate knowledge, identify issues, use appropriate methods of reasoning, and convey conclusions persuasively in written and spoken word. Equally essential to liberal education is the development of the esthetic dimension of human nature, the power to imagine, to intuit, to create, and to appreciate. In its fullest sense, liberal education initiates students at a mature level into their culture - its past, its present, and its future.

ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ recognizes that learning is a life-long process and views the education it provides as the foundation upon which our students may continue to build within their chosen areas of scholarly study or professional development. We also seek to foster a continuing intellectual curiosity and a desire for self-education in our students that extends to the broad range of areas that they have been introduced to in their studies.

As a community of scholars, ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ gladly joins in the broader task of expanding human knowledge and deepening human understanding, and encourages and supports the scholarly research and artistic production of our faculty and students. ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ also has a further obligation to the wider community of which it is a part, to share its resources and special expertise with its neighbors for the betterment of the community as a whole. Faculty and students are encouraged to participate in the larger community through service and academic activities. But most of all, ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ serves the wider community by educating its students to be socially aware and morally responsible people.

ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ values each of its students as individuals with unique abilities and potential, and respects the personal and academic freedom of all its members. At the same time, we seek to develop a greater sense of community, a sense that all of our members belong to and are involved in the University, sharing common goals and a common commitment to truth and justice, and manifesting in their lives the common concern for others which is the obligation of all educated, mature human beings.

An old black-and-white photograph of the exterior of Bellarmine Hall with two trees.

Our History


ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ is a comprehensive Jesuit institution that prepares students for leadership and service in a constantly changing world. Founded in 1942 after the purchase of the adjoining estates of Jennings and Lashar off North Benson Road in ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ, the University has grown from an initial class of 303 undergraduate male students admitted to the College of Arts and Sciences in 1947 into a coeducational university of more than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Along the way, the University has awarded more than 45,000 degrees since 1951, and has earned a reputation for educational excellence both regionally and nationally.

Mark R. Nemec, PhD, assumed the presidency of ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ in July 2017, becoming the 9th President since the institution's founding in 1942. He succeeds John McEleney, S.J. (1941), James H. Dolan, S.J. (1944), Joseph Fitzgerald, S.J. (1951), James Fitzgerald, S.J. (1958), William McInnes, S.J. (1964), Thomas Fitzgerald, S.J. (1973), Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J. (1979) and Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J. (2004).

Learn More ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ Past Presidents

 

Date Event

1942

ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ College of St. Robert Bellarmine, Inc. purchased two adjoining estates in ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ
ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ College-Preparatory School opened classes in a four-year program

1945

ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ was chartered by the State of Connecticut to grant degrees.

1947

First class of 303 male students was admitted to the College of Arts and Sciences.

1949

College of Arts and Sciences was accredited by the State of Connecticut.

1950

First graduate classes in education were held on a coeducation basis
Education Program for teacher certification was accredited by the State of Connecticut.

1951

First Graduation Class

1953

ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ was admitted to fully accredited membership in the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

1963

Graduate Department of Education became the Graduate School of Education.

1966

Graduate School of Corporate and Political Communication opened.

1970

Women were admitted to all undergraduate programs.
Undergraduate School of Nursing admitted to its first class.

1972

Center for Lifetime Learning offered its first courses.
Graduated first class of women.

1975

Connecticut Center for Continuing Education became part of the University.

1978

School of Business was established.

1979

School of Continuing Education was established.

1981

School of Business offered its first Master of Science degree program in Financial Management.

1982

Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions merged with School of Continuing Education to form the School of Graduate and Continuing Education.

1987

The School of Graduate and Continuing Education was separated into two schools: The School of Continuing Education and the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions.

1989

Acquired the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur property.

1990

Graduate School of Communication closed.

1994

Acquired Bridgeport Engineering Institute. Masters of Science in Nursing and Masters in Business Administration Program offered.

1995

Accepted into Phi Beta Kappa.

1997

Granted accreditation into the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International).
Master of Arts offered in American Studies.

1998

Master of Science offered in Management of Technology and Software Engineering.

1999

School of Engineering becomes a separate undergraduate school.

2000

Master of Science offered in Mathematics.
School of Business named to honor Cablevision founder Charles F. Dolan.

2002

School of Continuing Education renamed University College.

2004

ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ's eighth president was installed.

2008

MFA in Creative Writing launched.

2009

Master's in Communication offered.

2010

Doctor of Nursing Practice offered.
Bellarmine Museum opened.

2012

University College closed.

2013

Master of Public Administration launched.

2015

School of Nursing named to honor Marion Peckham Egan.

2017

ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ Celebrates its 75th Year of Jesuit Education.

2018

The Robert J. and Elizabeth K. Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality named in memory of the parents of ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ alumnus and University Trustee Robert J. Murphy Jr. ’71.

The Magis Core is Endowed with generous funding from a single family, a Core Curriculum endowment is established, ensuring an intensive liberal arts focus will always remain a staple of a ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ education.

2019

ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ rises to #1 in the Northern Region in the annual U.S. News & World Report, Best Colleges 2019 ranking.

Our Values & Identity