USF Statement

"As a Jesuit institution of higher learning, like many Jesuit projects for the past four and a half centuries, we like to stand with our two feet straddling frontiers and boundaries: between faith and reason, between charity and justice, between the past and the future, and always, between cultures and countries. We have a long tradition of the service of faith, constituent to which is the quest for justice, improving social structures so that it is easier for people to glimpse the divine within the mundane. Providing an education to students who are the descendants of immigrants from long ago alongside students who come to USF from abroad to study is a great example of this Jesuit preference. So too is our practice of educating 'DREAMers,' students who themselves stand with one foot each in two worlds, though often precariously."

USF President, Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J

Association of Jesuit College and Universities (AJCU) Statement

First, that Catholic Social Teaching is clear in its insistence that every human person deserves dignity and opportunity to better one's state in life. 

Second, we recognize that the history of Jesuit institutions of higher education in this country is inextricably linked to first- and second-generation immigrant populations.

Lastly, we continue to affirm that Jesuit colleges and universities are morally committed environment, where our students are inspired and encouraged to understand and address issues of justice, fairness, political involvement, and a preferential option for those whom society has marginalized. We will continue to support our students -- both documented citizens and not -- as full members of our campus communities and of society at large, where their voices and personal narratives deserve to be acknowledged. 

Download the full statement and signatories at the following link: AJCU President's Statement PDF.

cAMPUS CONTACTS

USF ALUMNI CONTACTS