Marianist Educational Values
The Characteristics of Marianist Universities are a concise statement of ways Marianist universities, including Chaminade University of Honolulu, distinguish the education they provide. The Characteristics of Marianist University are:
Educate for Formation in Faith
Educate in Family Spirit
Provide an Integral, Quality Education
Educate for Service, Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation
Educate for Adaptation and Change
Educate for Formation in Faith
Catholic Universities affirm an intricate relationship between reason and faith. As important as discursive and logical formulations and critical thinking are, they are not able to capture all that can and ought to be learned. Intellectual rigor coupled with respectful humility provides a more profound preparation for both career and life. Intellectual rigor characterizes the pursuit of all that can be learned. Respectful humility reminds people of faith that they need to learn from those who are of other faiths and culture, as well as from those who may have no religious faith at all.
Provide an Integral, Quality Education
In the Marianist approach to education, excellence includes the whole person, not just the technician or rhetorician. Marianist universities educate whole persons, developing their physical, psychological, intellectual, moral, spiritual, and social qualities. Faculty and students attend to fundamental moral attitudes, develop their personal talents and acquire skills that will help them learn all their lives. The Marianist approach to education links theory and practice, liberal and professional education. Our age has been deeply shaped by science and technology. Most recently, information and educational technologies have changed the way faculty and students research and teach. At Marianist Universities, two goals are pursued simultaneously: appropriate use of information technology for learning and the enhancement of interaction between students and teachers. As Catholic, Marianist Universities seek to embrace diverse peoples and understand diverse cultures, convinced that ultimately, when such people come together, one of the highest purposes of education is realized: a human community that respects every individual within it.
Educate in Family Spirit
Known for their strong sense of community, Marianists have traditionally spoken of this sense as “family spirit.” Marianist educational experience fosters the development of a community characterized by a sense of family spirit that accepts each person with loving respect and draws all in the university into the challenge of community building. Family spirit also enables Marianist universities to challenge their students, faculty, and staff to excellence and maturity. This is possible because of the acceptance and love of a community that gives its members the courage to risk failure and the joy of sharing success.
Educate for Service, Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation
The Marianist approach to higher education is deeply committed to the common good. The intellectual life itself is undertaken as a form of service in the interest of justice and peace and the university curriculum is designed to connect the classroom with the wider world. In addition, Marianist universities extend a special concern for the poor and marginalized and promote the dignity, rights, and responsibilities of all people.
Educate for Adaptation and Change
In the midst of rapid social and technological change, Marianist universities readily adapt and change their methods and structures so that the wisdom of their educational philosophy and spirituality may be transmitted even more fully. “New Times calls for new methods” Father Chaminade often repeated. The Marianist University faces the future confidently, on the one hand knowing that it draws on a rich educational philosophy and on the other fully aware that in order for that philosophy to remain vibrant in changing times, adaptations need to be met.
Selected from Characteristics of Marianist Universities: A Resource Paper Published in 1999 by Chaminade University of Honolulu, St. Mary’s University, and University of Dayton.