Throughout all the changes that UP is undergoing, faculty and President Aretz, welcomed the opportunity to look back on the heritage of our ministry of the Sisters of Providence, founded to provide teacher education for the American West, and to design a Catholic liberal arts curriculum for the 21st century. This resulted in the new Lumen de Lumine core curriculum, focusing on key courses in the arts, sciences, and humanities, and on high impact topics and practices like Integrated Learning Communities (ILCs), Service Learning, Sustainability, and Global Engagement. The Core Curriculum was revised to be more rooted in Catholic identity, providing more flexible courses. Dr. Sarah Spangler, Core Director, stated, “Our way of thinking is keeping with original intent of the core curriculum that existed in 1968 when Sister Rita Mudd was our president.”
- Cultivate intellectual skills and dispositions necessary for the pursuit of truth and common good;
- Communicate effectively through active listening and excellent command of oral, written, and technological skills, while maintaining the dignity of all;
- Learn and engage with the living Catholic Intellectual Tradition;
- Engage with diverse cultures and consider the inherent value in all creation;
- Demonstrate familiarity with major moral and ethical theories in order to act with sound ethical judgment in contemporary contexts;
- Reflect, learn, and live lives of integrity and compassion.
“During my time at University of Providence, I was trusted with many positions of leadership. I have acted as an officer for Providence Formation Program (a service-learning organization comprised of volunteer service, small reflection groups, and community), president of the Forensic Science Club, vice president of Argo Honor Society, and both a Resident Assistant and Assistant Resident Director for University of Providence Residential Life. The university certainly provided me with opportunities to grow as a leader, but more importantly, University of Providence opened my mind and challenged my thinking in terms of human dignity and social justice. The concept of human dignity has radically transformed my way of looking at my fellow human beings. While one naturally assumes some value in human beings, this Catholic concept supplies evidence that every human being has an intrinsic dignity that cannot be ignored. I have always made a point to take core and elective classes which would both broaden my perspective and truly provide me with a liberal arts education.” –Haley Fallang, senior.
