Mission Statement
Connecticut College educates students to put the liberal arts into action as citizens in a global society.
Core Values
The College has embraced several core values to further that mission. Those values help the College create a challenging academic environment that fosters reflection on a lifetime of learning and community involvement:
Academic excellence
Rigorous academic standards, innovative and engaging faculty members, and a diverse classroom curriculum challenge students to reach their full intellectual potential. The College expects students to learn outside the classroom as well, through such activities as research, travel and internships. The College facilitates those opportunities in the belief that a diversity of experiences is essential for genuine academic excellence. The College also expects and strongly supports faculty scholarship, research and creative work that advances human knowledge and expression and informs excellent teaching.
Diversity, equity and shared governance
In the early 20th century, Connecticut College was founded in the belief that all qualified students, women as well as men, deserve an opportunity to secure an education. The College strives to be a community in which all members feel comfortable, respect each other’s differences and seek common ground. The College promotes understanding by offering a variety of academic and social experiences and is committed to building greater access, opportunity and equity. Students, faculty, staff, trustees and alumni all participate in the governance of the College.
Education of the entire person
The College supports and nurtures the intellectual, emotional, spiritual, creative and physical development of its student body. Connecticut College encourages students to engage in a wide range of activities, including academic pursuits, athletics and physical education, artistic expression and community service. The College fosters an appreciation for the natural and aesthetic connectedness of the mind, body and spirit. It prepares students to be responsible citizens, creative problem-solvers and thoughtful leaders in a global society.
Adherence to common ethical and moral standards
Connecticut College maintains a strong commitment to its long-standing Honor Code. Students are expected to monitor their own faithfulness to the principles of honesty and moral integrity and to display courage in academic and social interactions. The principles of justice, impartiality and fairness, as the foundations of equity are paramount.
Community learning and global citizenship
Connecticut College fosters civic responsibility and enhances academic excellence through a long tradition of community involvement and through courses that provide opportunities for learning. The College promotes an understanding of local, regional, national and international peoples, groups, cultures and issues, and encourages students to take a lifelong interest in them.
Environmental stewardship
Connecticut College is proud of its pioneering tradition of ecological awareness and responsibility and intends to remain a leader in safeguarding the environment. The arboretum campus is an ecological showpiece, and the College's procedures and programs aim to preserve and protect the environment, both locally and globally, and to prepare citizens sensitive to the need for responsible environmental stewardship.