Duquesne University | Mission and Identity

Education is understood as the primary purpose of every institution of higher learning. At Duquesne University, we view education not only as an end unto itself, but also as the most basic tool for human liberation. Duquesne’s history reveals that many of our students were empowered through education to rise out of the difficult economic circumstances into which they were born. This tradition continues today, with approximately 75 percent of our students receiving financial aid. In turn, a Duquesne education equips students with the knowledge to become future leaders of a more just and compassionate society.

Students prepare for responsible leadership roles in society through a broad-based education in the liberal arts, the very heart and soul of the University. This liberal education enriches and ennobles all their professional training. As a Catholic and Spiritan University, we believe that all students should have every opportunity to encounter the rich and venerable Catholic intellectual, cultural and artistic tradition. To achieve this goal there is a need to recruit competent teachers, scholars, and scientists, who support the University’s mission and identity. Because Duquesne believes in the mutual enrichment of faith and reason, it seeks faculty who can promote a dialog between the two, while respecting the autonomy of every academic discipline.

To this end, our University supports a faculty who are distinguished by excellent teaching and significant scholarly accomplishments in their diverse fields of expertise. Duquesne’s faculty engages in a variety of research, produces numerous works of scholarship, and contributes creatively to the arts. They are affirmed in their quest for knowledge as recipients of numerous grants and awards each year. Duquesne embraces academic freedom in the pursuit of knowledge as inseparable from the search for truth to which the Spirit calls us.

Moral and Spiritual Values »