In October of 1875, two French Benedictine monks made their way into what was then known as Indian Territory. They were driven by a desire to serve humanity by dedicating themselves to the education of and ministry to the Native American peoples and other settlers in the region. Building upon the Catholic tradition of excellence in education and the ideals of hospitality, respect, community, learning and service articulated by St. Benedict of Nursia in his Rule for Monasteries some fifteen centuries earlier, Father Isidore Robot, O.S.B., and Brother Dominic Lambert, O.S.B., planted the seeds for Oklahoma’s oldest institution of higher learning. Since that time, the efforts of our founders have developed into St. Gregory’s University – an innovative community of higher learning committed to meeting the needs of our students and our rapidly changing world.
In the heart of the St. Gregory’s University mission statement, we affirm that: “St. Gregory’s University promotes the education of the whole person in the context of a Christian community in which students are encouraged to develop a love of learning and to live lives of balance, generosity and integrity.”
To accomplish this, all St. Gregory’s students:
· Participate in a life development program that encourages their personal, spiritual, social, physical, intellectual and emotional growth.
· Undertake a professional development program that teaches them basic skills for surviving in the new business and professional world that we call the "new liberal arts."
· Learn to make wise use of the latest information technologies and laptop computing techniques as a part of St. Gregory’s laptop university program
· Design an integrative major personally tailored to meet their unique interests in cooperation with a faculty adviser.
· Work closely with the career counseling and advisory center to ensure their next step after graduation is a productive, successful career move—whether they move on to graduate school or full-time employment.
· Participate in a creative internship in their respective area of concentration that offers personal experience and learning in their future vocation.
· Are treated as an individual and a respected member of a learning community in the tradition of Benedictine education and hospitality.
Even as we develop such outstanding and innovative academic programs as our personalized degree, provide essential “real-world” experiences through internships, and implement the latest educational technologies, St. Gregory’s recognizes that academic and professional success are only part of the formula for truly successful living. We firmly believe successful living includes the development of a person’s spiritual identity, the ability to form healthy relationships with family and friends and a commitment to serving the community. As a Catholic institution of higher education, St. Gregory’s most important goal is to help students come to know and appreciate the wonder of human life and come to a deeper understanding of their own dignity and the dignity of others. This unique perspective influences everything we do.
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