“Creighton is a place where ‘the gospel is in dialogue with culture’ and where ‘faith meets reason.’ Without this identity, Creighton is just another very good to excellent comprehensive university . . . We are not afraid to hold in tension the best of what a university is and what our Jesuit and Catholic nature brings to the academy and our students and patients. There is something unique about a faith-based university that is not replicated at non faith-based institutions. At Creighton that uniqueness is palpable on our campus, in how we educate our students, and in how we care for our patients.”

Since its founding in 1878, Creighton has taken its mission very seriously as this quotation from its 2007 Self-Study for North Central Accreditation indicates. Creighton’s reason for existence has been its Catholic

Jesuit mission.

Now, however, we are at a crossroads as we search for our first president who might not be a Jesuit or possibly even Catholic. We can no longer assume that the incoming president will be imbued with our mission and vision. Therefore we the Mission Catalysts of the College of Arts & Sciences, strongly urge the Creighton Board to make a fit with our Catholic Jesuit mission a top priority in selecting our next president.

The presidential search prospectus includes the short “Fit With Mission” paragraph on page 11. We urge that mission fit be a priority, rather than just another search criteria, because experts including business magazines such as Forbes, state that success is based on living the mission and creating a culture that is unique and representative of the group’s principles. We are fortunate that St. Ignatius bequeathed such a mission to us 500 years ago.

We believe that commitment to mission should clearly inform why we do what we do and how we do it. We adhere to our Ignatian values, especially finding God in all things and the spirit of giving, service and solidarity. Our values are the reason for our success.

Our dean has appointed us as catalysts to promote our Catholic Jesuit mission within our departments and throughout the College of Arts & Sciences and the University. Our work in hiring and curriculum is dedicated to ensuring that (as one catalyst said) “students leave Creighton with a new perspective, an enhanced sense of solidarity with the rest of humanity and a deeper understanding of the role they can play in shaping their — and all of our — world toward the Good.”                               

We need a president who will strengthen our efforts to adhere to and promote the values inherent in our mission. Thank you for

your consideration.

The College of Arts & Sciences Mission Catalysts are faculty members from each department appointed by Dean Bridget Keegan to promote mission awareness.