Our Mission
Rockhurst University exists to transform lives by creating a learning community centered on excellence in undergraduate liberal education and graduate education. Rockhurst is Catholic and Jesuit, involved in the life and growth of the city and the region, and committed to the service of the contemporary world.

Our Values
Catholic and Jesuit. Rockhurst is a Jesuit school, whose educational philosophy is rooted in the spirituality of the founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius of Loyola, who believed that God's Spirit is constantly at work in all of creation and especially in every human being whose gifts and talents mirror the goodness and grandeur of God. Ignatius treated everyone with reverence and respect, and strove to bring forth each person's best gifts. He had a deep appreciation for the value of education, believing in the ultimate harmony between faith and reason, and he knew that solid intellectual work was one of the best means to develop one's gifts and to appreciate God's presence in creation. Rockhurst expresses its Catholic liturgical life, by its ecumenical openness to other religious traditions.

Learning. Rockhurst University has gained national recognition because we have faculty who are committed to developing a deep understanding of how students learn and discovering ways to share that understanding with their peers at Rockhurst and at other educational institutions. It is through excellence in teaching that Rockhurst supports the growth of the very best of what each student has to offer. Rockhurst believes that every one of our students is a unique reflection of God and without the fullest development of that student's gifts and potential the world will be diminished. Rockhurst seeks to teach its students how to think. Students learn to analyze information and make sense of it, to appreciate new concepts and expand their understanding of the world, and to listen with respect to different viewpoints and make informed ethical judgment about critical issues.

Liberal and Graduate Education. Rockhurst believes in the enduring value of liberal education, an education which emphasizes core studies in disciplines such as literature, rhetoric, history, philosophy, theology, natural and social sciences, mathematics, art, and music in order to develop the very best gifts in each of our students. A Rockhurst education is education for life, intended to cultivate those dispositions of mind and spirit which keep the love of learning and the awareness of moral responsibility alive in us. At the same time, a Rockhurst education prepares men and women in depth, through specific majors in the arts, sciences, humanities, and business and with excellent graduate programs in business, education, and allied health sciences.

Service. Rockhurst education is education for citizenship. Thus, Rockhurst devotes its resources to enhancing the quality of life of all citizens, rich and poor alike, of metropolitan Kansas City, of its own neighborhood, and of all the other communities in which its students and alumni live and work. At the same time, students must become citizens of the world, conscious that all of their personal decisions have economic and moral implications for themselves and others. They should look upon all men and women as one human family whom they serve.