Core values

February 16, 2023

What difference does Xavier's Core Curriculum make?

How would you answer that? If you were talking with a prospective student or parent? With a student in your office or classroom? With a candidate for a faculty or staff position? With a friend in the community?

To answer that, you need to understand the vision, goals, and objectives of the Core that we last revised in 2015. Nearly a quarter of our faculty and staff have joined the college since that time.

Looking forward, our Core will be more important than ever. Implementing the university's next strategic plan, which we'll officially launch at the Cintas Center next Monday, will require us to lean into and continue strengthening various elements of the Core.

That's why I announced a new expectation on Monday at the CAS College Meeting: Every faculty and staff member of the college should learn how to describe the distinctiveness of Xavier’s Core Curriculum.

Next week I'll ask the same of our Board of Trustees. Translating into the language of business, my question to them will be: how would you characterize the Core Curriculum's "value proposition."

At the College Meeting, Dr. Annie Ray offered her own pitch for Xavier's core.

How will you develop your own? You might start by reviewing what our colleagues wrote about the Core back in 2015.

And then watch this space. I'll be asking CASCA to partner with the Core Curriculum Committee in the months ahead to provide additional opportunities to learn, so that you can explain Xavier's Core Curriculum to others.

David Mengel