Diversity Vision Statement

Members of the Fairfield University community are committed to respecting and valuing one another, finding the common good rooted in us all, and working collaboratively to achieve our potential as a modern Jesuit Catholic institution. We aspire to be an inclusive, welcoming community that is representative of an ever-changing and diverse global populace. The Jesuit tradition of cura personalis, care for the whole person, animates our mission. We educate people who serve for and with others within the rich tapestry of cultures that comprise our contemporary world.

By encouraging dialogue, communication, community partnerships, and a culture of understanding, we foster in our students, faculty, and staff the capacity and desire to build a better world through productive citizenship and societal stewardship.

At Fairfield University, we advance this mission through:

  • Inclusive Excellence as a critical dimension of our academic mission. We strive to educate through engaging with the broadest possible range of dynamic ideas, perspectives, and identities in an ever-changing world. Embracing the challenges of competing viewpoints is integral to the rigor of our academic enterprise, pushing the horizons of what is known and possible as we pursue our commitment to excellence in teaching and learning.
  • A Diverse Community, which is a distinguishing hallmark of Jesuit education. We recognize the inherent value and dignity of each person, guided by our Jesuit heritage as informed by the contemporary context. Fairfield is committed to shaping a community of learners from diverse social, economic, racial, cultural, national, and religious backgrounds.
  • Global Engagement as a defining outcome of a modern Fairfield education. We hope to develop people to serve as global citizens, at home in the world, able to engage in diverse cultural circumstances with an open mind and the capacity to empathize with the perspectives of others. We actively promote an awareness of and sensitivity toward the full range of differences within and well beyond our community of learners.
  • Radical Hospitality as a way of relating with others, shaped by our Jesuit traditions. Fairfield recognizes the importance of learning about, and living in, an increasingly interconnected, intercultural world and reflects this by striving to become a microcosm of the global community, in which the other is unconditionally welcomed, respected, and valued.

Through radical hospitality, we welcome and invite all into our learning community. We are committed to pursuing shared standards of excellence. In these ways, Fairfield University strives for the magis ("the more") in a way that defines modern Jesuit Catholic education. We welcome you to learn more and read our University Diversity Narrative.