Mission
The University is an innovative, coeducational, independent institution offering undergraduate and graduate students a career-focused education marked by individualized attention, civility, and respect for difference. The University blends the liberal arts with career exploration and planning, complementing a traditional education with applied learning beyond the classroom. The University meets students where they are and supports and challenges them to become reflective and accomplished individuals committed to a lifetime of learning and contribution. Students graduate with the competence and confidence needed to address creatively the opportunities and problems facing their communities, the nation, and the world.
Vision
The University will become a national leader in collaborative career-focused liberal arts education and will equip its graduates to visualize and achieve excellence in a dynamic global community.
Values
At Stevenson, we have created a robust culture for all University members-faculty, staff, and students and their parents alike-by sharing and perpetuating our four values: community, learning, integrity, and excellence. These values comprise the Stevenson Way.
Promoting a Sense of Community: Stevenson’s values are primarily manifested through the existence of a community because it is only through the sharing of values that a community is formed. Without the direct engagement of faculty and staff, no community will be formed. By demonstrating and promoting community, each person inspires others to do the same. A sense of community is generated throughout numerous annual events, from cultural and athletic to academic and social, including sporting contests, Convocation, Commencement, and happy hours.
Fostering Learning: At Stevenson, learning is, by necessity, at the heart of the University’s culture, and the student must always be at the center of the learning process. Learning involves sharing not only facts and information but also meaning and distinctions. Community members constantly strive to grow so that they can impart what they have learned. Effective teaching is necessary for Stevenson to meet its goals–not just inside the classroom through theory, but outside through mentoring and practice. Every moment at Stevenson can be a teachable one for those who embrace this value.
Instilling Integrity: Integrity drives the ability to influence others and transform the world. Without authenticity, integrity is a word, not a value. To remain authentic, people need to be just as willing to offer positive feedback as to admit their own mistakes. “Honesty” is another key word to use in examining the value of integrity. Only by being honest in all endeavors—whether personal, with others, and in the work done inside and outside the classroom–can a person truly maintain integrity. Both our ability to shape the learning process and our value to the community are based on the authenticity that springs from our integrity.
Achieving Excellence: Stevenson’s quest for excellence creates a sense of energy throughout the community. Being effective teachers and leaders, much less making an impact on the world, requires a commitment to striving toward being the best in all efforts. Achieving excellence strengthens character and can motivate others to share the University’s promise to impart a career-driven, liberal arts oriented education. To deliver this end result, all community members must be committed to promoting the principles of education, diversity, and practical experience. Stevenson encourages excellence by illustrating examples and recognizing outcomes.
Strategies
Academic Affairs
The University will support faculty and students in their pursuit of academic excellence by integrating academics with experiential learning and career preparation, and by establishing a solid liberal arts foundation.
University
Stevenson is an innovative institution of higher education that will fulfill its mission, advance its vision, and integrate its values with the engaged support of its faculty, students, staff, and others.
Student Life
The University will engage its community in creative, intellectual, social, and athletic experiences, and it will foster a campus climate characterized by intellectual rigor, wellness, diversity, civility, and environmental consciousness, as well as self-awareness, and national and global awareness.
Financial Resources
The University will enhance its financial resources by increasing revenues, aligning costs with strategic initiatives, identifying additional opportunities, and responding effectively to any associated challenges.