Mission and History
A Legacy of Purpose, Guided by Jesuit Values
Since its founding in 1878, Creighton University has been shaped by a mission rooted in Jesuit tradition: to form women and men who are committed to service, justice and academic excellence. Inspired by the vision of St. Ignatius of Loyola and made possible by the generosity of the Creighton family, the University continues to educate students who use their knowledge and compassion to make a difference in the world. This enduring commitment to faith and service remains at the heart of Creighton’s identity.
Creighton's Mission Statement
Creighton is a Catholic and Jesuit comprehensive university committed to excellence in its selected undergraduate, graduate and professional programs.
As Catholic, Creighton is dedicated to the pursuit of truth in all its forms and is guided by the living tradition of the Catholic Church.
As Jesuit, Creighton participates in the tradition of the Society of Jesus, which provides an integrating vision of the world that arises out of a knowledge and love of Jesus Christ.
As comprehensive, Creighton’s education embraces several colleges and professional schools and is directed to the intellectual, social, spiritual, physical and recreational aspects of students’ lives and to the promotion of justice.
Creighton exists for students and learning. Members of the Creighton community are challenged to reflect on transcendent values, including their relationship with God, in an atmosphere of freedom of inquiry, belief and religious worship. Service to others, the importance of family life, the inalienable worth of each individual and appreciation of ethnic and cultural diversity are core values of Creighton.
Our faculty members conduct research to enhance teaching, to contribute to the betterment of society, and to discover new knowledge. Faculty and staff also stimulate critical and creative thinking and provide ethical perspectives for dealing with an increasingly complex world.
The Jesuit, Catholic Values That Set Us Apart
Finding God in All Things
St. Ignatius of Loyola taught that all created beings owe their existence to a loving God who is revealed in the world and in human beings. In turn, a commitment to “finding God in all things” invites us to encounter and experience God’s active love in others, in the world around us, and in everyday encounters and circumstances (not just the explicitly religious), trusting that each act of “finding” has the potential to deepen our knowledge of, relationship with and responsiveness to God.
Cura Personalis
The Latin phrase cura personalis translates to “care for the whole person” or, more accurately, “care that is personal.”
Recognizing that each person is a unique gift of God, created in God’s image and likeness and endowed with inherent dignity, we believe that God desires all persons to discover how to live more fully, more freely and more authentically. To help people do this, we endeavor to reverence, accompany and educate each individual as a whole—intricately unique—person. We strive to express a care that is personal and holistic, supporting the intellectual, physical, artistic, social, psychological, moral and spiritual health and well-being of all.
Reflection and Discernment
In lives filled with activity and no shortage of distractions, reflection and discernment calls us to intentional attentiveness and interiority. The development of regular habits of daily reflection, such as the Ignatian Examen, hone our ability to “find God in all things” and, in turn, to grow to recognize the voice of God in our lives and in our hearts. In consistently recognizing the voice of God, we are then able to better discern God’s unique invitations for each of us.
Magis “More”
Magis summons us to discern and to pursue the more universal good, that which best serves our fuller flourishing and God’s greater glory. The Latin phrase Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, meaning “For the Greater Glory of God,” the motto of the Society of Jesus, encompasses the spirit of magis.
For and With Others
Our Jesuit tradition summons us to forgo narrow self-interest and to instead live as people who are “for and with others,” people committed to fostering authentic relationship with individuals and communities who are poor and marginalized. Through such relationship, we deepen our understanding of kinship and foster a sense of solidarity that summons us spend our God-given gifts, time and selves laboring for a reality that ever more fully coheres with God’s vision for humanity and the earth we share.
Faith that Does Justice
In our Jesuit, Catholic mission and identity, we recognize that a call to love in action is integral in our faith. Through faith, we are called to co-labor with God and one another for the common good and an increasingly more just reality.
