Gonzaga University

About Gonzaga University

Gonzaga University started in 1881 with $936 in hard silver dollars. It bought Gonzaga’s founder, Father Joseph Cataldo, S.J., 320 acres of land and water, what people then referred to as “the old piece of gravel near the falls.” Six years later, the Gonzaga College officially opened the doors of its only building for “young Scholastics, whose ambition it is to become priests.” Exclusively for boys, the College was under the charge of the Jesuit priests. Enrollment for the 1887-88 academic year was 18 boys and young men.

Today, it is known as Gonzaga University, a private, four-year institution of higher education. More than 105 buildings dot the 131-acre campus overlooking the Spokane River. Students include both women and men, who can enroll in a multitude of undergraduate or graduate programs. Enrollment for the 2007-08 academic year was 6,923 students.

A constant throughout the years is Gonzaga’s educational philosophy, based on the centuries-old Ignatian model of educating the whole person – mind, body and spirit. At Gonzaga, students discover how to integrate science and art, faith and reason, action and contemplation. "Cura personalis," or care for the individual, is our guiding theme.

Mission Statement

Gonzaga University belongs to a long and distinguished tradition of humanistic, Catholic, and Jesuit education. They, the trustees and regents, faculty, administration and staff of Gonzaga, are committed to preserving and developing that tradition and communicating it to their students and alumni.

As humanistic, they recognize the essential role of human creativity, intelligence, and initiative in the construction of society and culture.

As Catholic, they affirm the heritage which has developed through two thousand years of Christian living, theological reflection, and authentic interpretation.

As Jesuit, they are inspired by the vision of Christ at work in the world, transforming it by His love, and calling men and women to work with Him in loving service of the human community.

All these elements of their tradition come together within the sphere of free intellectual inquiry characteristic of a university. At Gonzaga, this inquiry is primarily focused on Western culture, within which their tradition has developed.

They also believe that a knowledge of traditions and cultures different from their own draws us closer to the human family of which they are a part and makes them more aware of both the possibilities and limitations of their own heritage. Therefore, in addition to their primary emphasis on Western culture, they seek to provide for their students some opportunity to become familiar with a variety of human cultures.

In the light of their own tradition and the variety of human societies, they seek to understand the world we live in. It is a world of great technological progress, scientific complexity and competing ideologies. It offers great possibilities for cooperation and interdependence, but at the same time presents us with the fact of widespread poverty, hunger, injustice, and the prospect of degeneration and destruction. They seek to provide for their students some understanding of contemporary civilization; and they invite them to reflect with them on the problems and possibilities of a scientific age, the ideological differences that separate the peoples of the world, and the rights and responsibilities that come from commitment to a free society. In this way they hope to prepare their students for an enlightened dedication to the Christian ideals of justice and peace.

Their students cannot assimilate the tradition of which Gonzaga is a part nor the variety of human culture, nor can they understand the problems of the world, without the development and discipline of their imagination, intelligence, and moral judgment. Consequently, they are committed at Gonzaga to developing these faculties. And since what is assimilated needs to be communicated if it is to make a difference, they also seek to develop in their students the skills of effective writing and speaking.

They believe that their students, while they are developing general knowledge and skills during their years at Gonzaga, should also attain more specialized competence in at least one discipline or profession.

They hope that the integration of liberal humanistic learning and skills with a specialized competence will enable their graduates to enter creatively, intelligently, and with deep moral conviction into a variety of endeavors, and provide leadership in the arts, the professions, business, and public service.

Through its academic and student life programs, the Gonzaga community encourages its students to develop certain personal qualities: self-knowledge, self-acceptance, a restless curiosity, a desire for truth, a mature concern for others, and a thirst for justice.

Many of their students will find the basis for these qualities in a dynamic Christian faith. Gonzaga tries to provide opportunities for these students to express their faith in a deepening life of prayer, participation in liturgical worship and fidelity to the teachings of the Gospel. Other students will proceed from a non-Christian religious background or from secular philosophic and moral principles.

They hope that all their graduates will live creative, productive, and moral lives, seeking to fulfill their own aspirations and at the same time, actively supporting the aspirations of others by a generous sharing of their gifts.

Accreditation

Gonzaga University is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

The School of Business is accredited by AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, a specialized accrediting board recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

The School of Law is accredited by Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association (ABA). The U.S. Department of Education has recognized the Council as the national agency for the accreditation of programs leading to the first professional degree in law.

The Department of Religious Studies is accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), a specialized accrediting board recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

Programs in English as a Second Language are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Teachers and Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), a specialized accrediting board recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

Programs in the Department of Nursing are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), a specialized accrediting board recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

Programs in Civil, Electrical, Computer, and Mechanical Engineering are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (EAC/ABET), a specialized accrediting board recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

Programs for the certification of elementary, secondary, and Special Education teachers at the bachelor’s level; and Special Education, Initial Teaching (elementary and secondary levels), Principal and Superintendents (Leadership Formation), at the graduate level; and for the certification of post-licensure teachers and administrators (i.e., “professional certification”), are accredited both by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), a specialized accrediting board recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, and by the Washington State Board of Education through its Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

The School Counseling and Counseling Psychology master’s programs are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Program (CACREP), a specialized accrediting board recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

The Special Education, Sports Management, and Physical Education bachelor’s programs, and the Special Education, Sport & Athletic Administration, Leadership & Administration, Master of Teaching At-Risk Youth, Counseling Psychology, Reading & Literacy, and Anesthesiology Education master’s programs, are accredited both by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), a specialized accrediting board recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, and by the Washington State Board of Education through its Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

The Anesthesiology Education master’s program is accredited by the Council of Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Education Programs (COA), part of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA). The Council is a specialized accrediting board recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.