Mission

The University of Portland, an independently governed Catholic university guided by the Congregation of Holy Cross, addresses significant questions of human concern through disciplinary and interdisciplinary studies of the arts, sciences, and humanities and through studies in majors and professional programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. As a diverse community of scholars dedicated to excellence and innovation, we pursue teaching and learning, faith and formation, service and leadership in the classroom, residence halls and the world. Because we value the development of the whole person, the university honors faith and reason as ways of knowing, promotes ethical reflection, and prepares people who respond to the needs of the world and its human family.

The mission includes three core themes: Teaching and Learning, Faith and Formation, and Service and Leadership. These three core themes are explicitly identified in the mission and each of the three sentences further explain the core themes. The three core themes capture the essential elements of the mission and collectively express the essence of the University of Portland.

The goals/objectives supporting the core themes are:

• Core Theme: Teaching and Learning — A university with premier academic programs and services in the Holy Cross tradition of educating the whole person: head, heart, and hand.
• Core Theme: Teaching and Learning — Recruitment, development, and retention of excellent mission-centered faculty and staff.
• Core Theme: Faith and Formation — A campus-wide culture promoting human formation that involves the integration of reason, faith, and ethical values.
• Core Theme: Service and Leadership — A community that demonstrates service and leadership for the common good.
• Core Theme: Service and Leadership — Innovative and sustainable stewardship of resources in support of the mission.

The University uses the core themes and the following mission commitments to plan and pursue its distinctive excellence:

• The statement of mission and the institutional goals affirmed by the board of regents guide the University’s planning and actions.
• The University of Portland is a Catholic institution characterized by a special relationship with the Congregation of Holy Cross and the Archdiocese of Portland, a reverence for and study of Catholic teaching, and a public expression of faith and religious experience. The University welcomes the contributions of those of other faiths and respects their religious traditions.
• The University remains committed to the special values of a broad, liberal arts education as essential to its baccalaureate education and influential to specialized graduate education.
• The University remains committed to the high quality graduate programs in the College of Arts and Sciences and in the professional schools that reflect its mission.
• The University employs a principle of selectivity and a focus on distinctive programs that fulfill our mission as it assesses and monitors academic offerings.
• The University supports the hiring and development of distinctive faculty by emphasizing teaching excellence, collegiality, and an interest in developing interdisciplinary curriculum.
• The University regulates full-time undergraduate and graduate enrollments so they match the resources and infrastructure needed for excellence.
• The University commits to the success of its students in their academic programs and its athletes in NCAA Division I athletics.
• Residentiality is an intentional component of the University’s focus on community and development of the whole person.
• The University prioritizes recognized excellence in programs, services, and personnel, and withdraws support where excellence seems unattainable.
• The University values access to higher education and uses institutional student aid to recruit retain students.
• The University remains committed to a balanced annual operating budget, vigorous efforts to increase financial resources, and wise stewardship of existing resources.