PRESIDENT’S NOTE

Dear Members of the USF Family,

Welcome to the latest issue of Engaging Mind & Spirit magazine! This publication is one way the University of St. Francis strives to remain connected to you—our alumni, our friends, our parents, our employees, and our supporters—in short, our USF family.

Whenever I have the opportunity to speak to students (and often, their families) who are visiting campus, I like to share the following:

"Like any family, we have our characters... but like any family, we are bound together by a love that makes our family special! Caring about and for each other—and our world—is a big part of how we live our Franciscan values of respect, integrity, service and compassion, and is central to the 'ethic of care' that we aspire to provide to each of our students."

Arvid C. Johnson, Ph.D. President

Our Mission

As a Catholic university rooted in the liberal arts, we are a welcoming community of learners challenged by Franciscan values and charism, engaged in a continuous pursuit of knowledge, faith, wisdom, and justice, and ever mindful of a tradition that emphasizes reverence for creation, compassion, and peacemaking. We strive for academic excellence in all programs, preparing women and men to contribute to the world through service and leadership.

Caring about and for each other and our world is the focus of this magazine issue. As you’ll read, it is a part of our Franciscan charism that is rooted in Saint Francis himself. As the patron saint of animals and the environment, we typically see representations of Saint Francis in nature settings, often surrounded by animals. His love of creation stemmed from his belief and joy in celebrating the presence of God (the bonum, or good) in all things—animals, plants, rocks…and every human being. Thus, when we work toward sustainability, we are walking in the footsteps of Francis. This includes caring about and for each other as part of that creation—and why we link our wellness initiatives with sustainability.

We’re also honoring the legacy and corporate stance of our university’s founding and sponsoring congregation, the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate. “As Joliet Franciscan Sisters, we commit to cultivating a reverent interdependent relationship with the earth and all its peoples." This was a challenge made by Our Sisters to which the university responded with its shared-governance-endorsed Sustainability Statement in 2012. That statement begins like this: "As an expression of our Catholic Franciscan Identity, the University of St. Francis community demonstrates respect for all creation by being responsible and ethical stewards of God’s resources, meeting current needs without sacrificing the survival, health and success of future generations and by advocating on behalf of the underserved in our world…" Thus, in 2021, when Pope Francis called upon Catholic educational institutions to commit themselves to a seven-year process of becoming “Laudato Si' schools" in response to his second encyclical on “care for our common home,” we responded that we were well on our way and joined the initiative.

Indeed, this year’s Winterim session was focused on sustainability in response to Laudato Si'. Even after over a decade of work, the energy, innovation and commitment are stronger than ever among our students, faculty and staff. As you’ll read in this issue, we have made great progress but there is still much that remains “ours to do.” However, for all the reasons discussed above, I am confident that our USF family is up to the task!

So pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit back, and enjoy this latest update about what’s happening at your University of St. Francis. Please know that I consider myself incredibly blessed to serve as your president; and, even in this tenth year of my service, I promise to continue to work hard each and every day to earn the trust that you have placed in me!

Peace and all good things,