Gettysburg College is a residential, undergraduate college of the liberal arts and sciences that prepares students from across the nation and around the globe to pursue lives of personal and professional fulfillment and to engage the complex questions of our time through effective leadership and socially responsible citizenship.
This statement is grounded in the core values of the institution:
- The worth and dignity of all people and the limitless value of their intellectual potential;
- The commitment to a diverse and inclusive learning environment;
- The power of a liberal arts education to help students develop critical thinking skills, broad vision, effective communication, a sense of the inter-relatedness of all knowledge, sensitivity to the human condition, and a global perspective, all necessary to enable students to realize their full potential for responsible citizenship;
- The enrichment of the traditional liberal arts and sciences curriculum with the most promising intellectual developments of our time;
- The free and open exchange of ideas and the exploration of their ethical and spiritual dimensions;
- The value of a lifelong commitment to service, and the role of the College in both providing an example of public service for students and fostering a commitment to service among our young people;
- The value of ethical leadership that is inclusive, collaborative, and directed towards effecting change for the greater good;
- Our conviction that a residential college best promotes the sense of community, central to a liberal arts education, in which personal relationships between students, faculty, and staff can flourish.
This statement was adopted by the Gettysburg College Board of Trustees and Faculty Council in the Fall of 2016.