The Purpose of an Ambrose Education

Ambrose University prepares men and women for wise, joyful and redemptive engagement in the church, society and the created order through excellent Christian post-secondary education.
 

Educational Principles

Ambrose’s mission-related values (in italics) provide direction for our teaching and learning practices. Ambrose University follows five guiding principles by which we create learning opportunities for students.

1. Christian Faith

   1. We integrate faith and learning and anchor our teaching and research within the Christian intellectual and spiritual tradition.
      1. We follow after God, and in so doing we pursue the true, the good, and the beautiful.
      2. We educate students for Christian formation, believing that scholarship is a means to wisdom, joy, and love.
   2. We believe that every person is created in the image of God and worthy of dignity and respect.

2. Pursuing Excellence

   1. We provide high-quality education as well as co-curricular experiences that prepare students for their future lives and vocations.
      1. We foster learning environments that give students opportunities to:
         • improve their understanding of humanity and the world;
         • become creative and critical thinkers;
         • identify and solve significant problems;
         • communicate effectively in written, oral, and artistic forms;
         • situate their learning in diverse practical contexts (e.g., practica, internships, capstone courses, travel study);
         • grow in curiosity and develop a desire for lifelong learning.
      2. Within the breadth of the liberal arts tradition, undergraduate students acquire competence in one particular scholarly or professional discipline.
      3. Seminary students acquire competence in theological disciplines, personal formation, and vocational effectiveness for redemptive action in the world.
   2. We pursue excellence in all that we do. Our efforts evidence love, wisdom, thoughtfulness, knowledge, scholarship, and skill.
      1. We pursue excellence in teaching, scholarship, and artistic expression.
      2. We embrace academic freedom to uphold honesty, integrity, and intellectual independence in the pursuit of truth.
   3. We are accountable to the Government of Alberta, our accrediting bodies, and our founding denominations. We also recognize our obligation to provide students with the learning environment set forth in the Academic Calendar.
      1. We are in good accountability relationships with our stakeholders.

3. Holistic Formation

   1. We create intentional, holistic, formational, experiences in and out of the classroom.
      1. We help students to discern their vocation.
      2. We nurture the development of the whole person: intellectual, creative, relational, physical, and spiritual.
      3. We foster character formation and the development of Christian virtue.
   2. We model lifelong perseverance in intellectual and spiritual formation.
      1. We remain committed to growing intellectually within the scholarly community at Ambrose and within the scholarly communities of our academic and professional disciplines.
      2. We remain committed to growing spiritually within the Christian community at Ambrose and within the Christian communities of our church congregations.

4. Service

   1. We commit to shaping servant leaders who will honour Christ in their vocations.
      1. We prepare students to pursue redemptive engagement in the church, society, and the created order.
      2. We foster a commitment to active and engaged citizenship both locally and globally.
   2. We shape culture through our scholarship, research, and artistic expression.
      1. We pursue partnerships with other organizations: ecclesiastical professional, educational, or community based.
      2. We work to bridge theory and practice and to provide opportunity for students to serve others humbly and compassionately in Christ’s name.

5. Community

   1. We collaborate to foster a welcoming, hospitable, generous, just, and truthtelling community that strives to fulfill the university’s mission.
      1. We are committed to learning in community.
         • We create safe campus environments that value healthy relationships between students, faculty, and staff.
      2. We are a vibrant and diverse academic and spiritual community.
         • We welcome students from all walks of life, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
      3. We promote the health and wellness of our community members.
      4. We celebrate the flourishing of diversity, and in the face of systemic injustice, we affirm that in Christ there is hope for redemptive change and reconciliation.
         • We work to recognize and repent of systemic injustice so we can adjust behaviours and systems to promote healing, justice, and reconciliation.
         • We listen to, learn from, and support those who are marginalized and suffer injustice.