A Mission Steeped in Timeless History

DURING FOUNDERS WEEK IN SEPTEMBER, THE UNIVERSITY’S NEW MISSION STATEMENT WAS INTRODUCED TO THE Assumption community. While we have a new mission statement, we do not have a new mission. Our mission, shaped by the vision of the Venerable Father Emmanuel d’Alzon, has been handed down to us, as it was to our predecessors, and as it will be to our successors. It is a mission that, in the words of St. Augustine, is ever ancient and ever new. It is ancient in that it reflects the essence and uniqueness of Catholic liberal education that goes back to the origins of Catholic universities, and it is new in that its value and relevance guide and direct all of our academic programs from the traditional arts and sciences offerings to a wide variety of professional programs that gain their distinctive quality from their grounding in Catholic liberal education.

Our mission is a precious gift that has been entrusted to us at this moment in the life of Assumption University. We are stewards of this mission, which means it is not up for debate or multiple interpretations. We are called to embrace and preserve the mission, not as a relic of the past, but as a living, animating force that is the lifeblood of the institution. Faithfulness to this tradition of Catholic liberal education is essential since it’s what makes Assumption distinctive. This is our reason for our being, our raison d’être. Consequently, we have the responsibility to nurture it, protect it, and ensure that it is always properly understood as we prepare students to live meaningful and purposeful lives.

For 118 years, Assumption has honored this mission, adapting to and adopting new academic programs that reflect the societal needs of the time. As such, they retain value and relevance, especially now when parents and prospective students are weighing whether a liberal arts education, and any higher education, is worth the cost. While education should provide a person with intellectual skills and solid professional training, Catholic liberal education should be genuinely liberating, providing the student with an opportunity to reflect on the “big questions,” to seek the truth in every area. St. Augustine believed that learning begins with exploration and appreciation and should culminate in discovery and the joy of understanding. This occurs when every discipline liberates the minds and hearts of our students, allowing them to become what God intends them to be, achieving the fullness of their humanitas. As such, our education should be useful, inasmuch as it helps students understand how to live and to flourish, but not simply utilitarian.

In this context, an Assumption education is truly different. As an institution committed to Catholic liberal education, we ask fundamental questions about why humans thirst for knowledge and how that knowledge informs our love for God and our neighbor. We need minds open to God, to mystery, to wonder, to comprehend the full significance of reality, and to recover a deep love of learning. As the mission statement puts it: “We awaken in students a sense of wonder, discovery, and purpose.”

We awaken that sense of wonder today, as we have done in the past, by adapting to our current situation. This fall, the University announced the naming of the Richard J. and Sophia Catrambone Health Sciences Center and the naming of the D’Amour College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and celebrated the first class of students in the Froelich School of Nursing who began their clinical learning with the Blessing of the Hands ceremony. In addition, the University continues to build upon the valuable community partnerships and collaborations that provide students relevant experience such as our partnership with The New England Center for Children.

Indeed, Assumption is ever-changing, while our mission to deliver an education that “transforms the minds and hearts of students” remains steady, grounded in the enduring value of Catholic liberal education.

Francesco C. Cesareo, Ph.D. PRESIDENT