Be Known at Oregon's Christian University

2012-2013 Academic Catalog and Handbook

Mission, Vision and Values

Mission Statement

George Fox University, a Christ-centered community, prepares students spiritually, academically, and professionally to think with clarity, act with integrity, and serve with passion.

Core Themes

George Fox University has identified four core themes that collectively represent the institution’s interpretation of its mission.

Liberal Arts Foundation
Helping our undergraduate students gain a strong liberal arts foundation is central to our mission. It is our desire that our graduates acquire the foundations for participation in work, life and citizenship both at home and abroad. The liberal arts curriculum builds general knowledge and develops students’ rational thought, critical thinking and intellectual capabilities.

Professional Preparation
Our professional programs provide our graduates with an academic background that addresses the specific professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions to which they are called. We provide students with multiple opportunities to practice their professions as they work toward meeting the competencies defined by their respective fields.

Christ-Centered Community
Christ-centered community provides the context for the work of faculty, staff, and students. Christ-centered commitments influence the way in which we teach the content of our disciplines and further apply that knowledge and skill in ways that impact the world. The outcomes listed in our mission statement—to think with clarity, act with integrity, and serve with passion –are pervasive in our community. Faculty and staff seek to help students understand these foundational constructs and then model those ideas for students. They mentor students, giving them feedback, as individuals develop these commitments in their lives.

Local and Global Engagement
Preparing students to serve with passion arises out of a belief that meeting the needs of others is essential to fulfilling our Christ-centered and Quaker commitments. Implicit in this goal is a desire to be intentional about providing service opportunities as well as fostering campus dialogue surrounding significant issues. These experiences are both character-forming and culture-forming; they prepare our students to meaningfully engage and make reflective and responsible decisions with respect to the broader community of which they are part.


Vision

Our vision is to become one of the most innovative and engaging universities in the western United States  known for academic excellence and for connecting the message of Jesus Christ to the global challenges and opportunities of the future. 

Our Values

Living like Christ as Agents of Love and Reconciliation
We are a Christ-centered university rooted in the Friends tradition. We take seriously the challenge of Jesus Christ to be God's agents of love and reconciliation in the world.

Creating a Transformational Learning Community
We maintain the highest standards for serving our community’s academic and spiritual needs. We will continue to attract and nurture an authentic wisdom community of faculty and staff dedicated to providing a dynamic, diverse, and holistic spiritual and educational experience.  

Pursuing Scholarly Inquiry
As a university, we seek to advance knowledge by engaging in and supporting scholarship. Working from Christian premises, we attempt to better understand God and God’s creation. Doing so helps us to teach and serve others more effectively.

Engaging Globally and Connecting Culturally
We value worldwide experiential learning aimed at understanding and improving the human condition. We desire to connect genuinely with people from diverse cultures both locally and globally through relationships and reciprocal teaching and learning.

Reflecting the Diversity of God's People  
All people are created in God’s image. Therefore, George Fox University represents the ethnic, socio-economic, cultural, and gender diversity of the broader Kingdom of God. We provide opportunities for students to dialogue about issues of diversity and to live and study in diverse communities.

Preparing Innovators and Risk Takers in Pursuit of God’s Kingdom
Our community inspires and equips students and employees to take responsible risks in pursuit of God’s kingdom and to discover creative ways to fulfill Christ’s purposes in our university life and the world around us.

Serving and Leading in Communities of Trust
We strive to be a community of trust, camaraderie, and respect where we practice collaborative leadership. We value the contributions of students, faculty, staff, administrators, and trustees and find unity through serving one another.  

Promoting Peace, Justice, and Care of the Earth
Jesus Christ calls us to be peacemakers, to serve the poor, and to engage our world responsibly. We are a community that actively creates peace, promotes justice, and cares for the earth.
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