This is WHY I choose USFCA Education, Education!

Holiday Message From the President

Students,

This holiday season, our celebrations can be tempered by the steady news of the suffering, evil, and injustice around the world. The rash of mass killings in the Holy Land, across Africa, in Paris, and close to us in San Bernardino, diminishes our joy and increases our unease. We are likewise troubled by the images and reality of migrant families fleeing war, risking their lives, desperately seeking somewhere, anywhere, they can find food, shelter, and safety, to which they have a fundamental human right. And also close to home, we are confronted by images of deadly violence involving police officers and young black men. Rather than these crises bringing us together as a nation, as happened after 9/11, we see divisions deepening, rhetoric laced with anger and bigotry, and increased levels of fear.

The feasts of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa allow us time to step back from these temptations to anger and fear and to dwell instead, both as individuals and as a learning community, on that which unites us: the Jesuit values at the core of our mission to educate hearts and minds to fashion a more just, humane, and sustainable world — the world for which we long. These are the values we strive to foster in our students, so they can make a difference in uniting our communities for generations to come. 

Here are three of USF's core values I commend to you for reflection:

• We respect and promote the dignity of every person regardless of age, national origin, race, sexual orientation, gender expression, or socio-economic status.
• We see learning as a humanizing activity that transcends the interests of particular individuals or groups and seeks instead the common good, with a particular attention to those persons and communities most in need of our help and protection.
• We see diversity of perspectives and traditions as essential to a quality education in a global context. We seek unity in our diversity for the sake of inclusive excellence.

For over four centuries, Jesuits have placed their hope for future generations in an education centered on values such as these, the very kind of education in which you invest yourselves every day. These are not just ideas; they are a call to action.

I invite you to reflect on your Jesuit education and, with it, the values we believe can change our world, more in need now than ever. And I thank you for your contributions, both small and large, to peace on earth.
Sincerely,


Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J.