Statement on Statements

How USF Engages on Issues and Events

The University of San Francisco is guided by its Jesuit Catholic mission to equip and inspire students to explore, engage, and improve the world.

As an academic community, it is sometimes appropriate for USF to make a public statement about an issue or event that has a direct impact on the university’s academic operations.

The decision whether to issue a statement will be made in consultation with the president's office and senior university administrators.

When crafting a statement we will follow guidelines for how USF engages on issues and events.

How We Engage

The USF community  engages with current issues through our core educational functions and campus events:

  • Students, faculty, librarians, and staff engage with the issues of the day as members of an academic community that calls for discernment and reflection 

  • Students can effect change and have impact through political action, research, philanthropy, volunteering, serving in the public sector, writing, and forming communities

  • Faculty incorporate current events in coursework and foster open, critical discussion

  • Departments and campus groups host lectures, forums, and events for learning and discussion

  • Faculty members provide thought leadership through their research, scholarship, and creative work

  • University Ministry provides space for vigils and reflective gatherings during times of grief or crisis

  • Institutional policies and practices advance equity, inclusion, and campus wellbeing

  •  University leaders provide resources and support to community members affected by current events

When USF Issues Public Statements

USF may issue a public statement in these situations:

  • The issue directly affects USF’s ability, or that of higher education broadly, to fulfill its educational mission

  • The issue has a direct and significant impact on members of the university community in their roles as students, faculty, librarians, or staff

  • A statement provides a meaningful opportunity to provide positive and mission-based support for an issue

When USF Refrains from Issuing Public Statements

The university and its leaders will not issue public statements when:

  • The topic is unrelated to the university’s core academic mission

  • Statements on issues outside the institution’s area of expertise risk undermining academic integrity, credibility, open inquiry, and academic freedom

  • Statements become performative and distract students, faculty, librarians, and staff from more substantive forms of impact, including teaching, research, civic engagement, public service, and community building