OUR CORE VALUES

 

Christian Tradition. CCSI’s commitments are strong, but not sectarian. We welcome a mutually enriching discussion between Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions. We embrace the breadth, depth, and diversity of the historic Christian faith as expressed, for instance, in the ecumenical creeds of the early church, the confessions of the Protestant Reformation, and the spirit of vitality and renewal in evangelical awakenings around the world today. CCSI’s salaried faculty and staff share this faith commitment; however, we welcome men and women to enroll in classes and to participate in study center programs and events without regard to faith commitments, and we support their academic and religious freedom without discrimination.

Learning Community. CCSI is committed to providing a supportive environment for living and learning. Because learning in community is essential to our understanding of human flourishing and our desire to shape people to be successful in their relationships, professions and service to the world, CCSI is committed to establishing residential student communities wherever possible in which young men and women interact with fellow students, faculty, staff and other adults in a variety of ways.  Study Centers include undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, staff and local men and women who want to engage the mainstream academy and Christian perspectives in scholarship, and do it in the context of intentional community.

Constructive Engagement. CCSI is committed to rigorous and thoughtful interaction with the brightest and best minds within and outside the Christian tradition. We strive to model a positive and constructive engagement with culture in a diverse academic environment through our intentional location next to major research universities and our commitment to a mutually beneficial relationship with them.

Academic Excellence. CCSI faculty and staff seek to model, nurture and recognize high standards and distinguished academic achievement.

Character and Influence. At CCSI we are committed to helping students become certain kinds of people. Our goal is to help them become men and women of character and integrity, with habits and skills that will contribute to a life-long pattern of moral excellence, or what the ancient world referred to as virtue. We are committed to training a generation of men and women whose character, words and actions influence others in healthy ways.

Service to the World. At CCSI we seek to harness all of these things to the task of serving others. We believe that the world should be a better place because we have passed through it.