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Jesuits
have been engaged in university teaching,
research and scholarly publication almost
since the foundation of the Society of
Jesus. From astronomy to classical
ballet, from the humanities to theology,
Jesuits try to enter into the languages
and discourses of their inherited or
emerging cultures. They attempt to
discover, shape, renew or promote human
wisdom, while at the same time respecting
the integrity of disciplined scholarship.
They also seek to accompany in faith, the
men and women moulded by the potent
cultural forces inherent in the
university as an institution.
 Today,
approximately three thousand Jesuits work
in nearly two hundred Jesuit institutions
of higher learning, touching the lives of
more than half a million students, while
other Jesuits exercise this mission in
other universities. This activity has an
influence not only on the lives of
students but goes beyond the university.
Universities serve as major channels for
social advancement for the poor. In and
through universities, important debates
take place about ethics, future
directions for economics and politics,
and the very meaning of human existence,
and these debates shape our culture.
The
challenge today is to strengthen the
specific character of each Jesuit
institution both as Jesuit and as a
University. The university connotes a
fundamental autonomy, integrity and
honesty of a place of serene and open
search for and discussion of the truth.
Its mission proper is its dedication to
research, teaching and the various forms
of cultural service, as the indispensable
horizon and context for a genuine
preservation, renewal and communication
of knowledge and human values. The Jesuit
character requires that the university
act in harmony with the demands of the
service of faith in the universal God and
the promotion of justice. A faith that
does justice must find expression in the
life of the University.
Jesuit
universities have found ways to apply
this both in the lives of students
through outreach programmes of mutual
contact and service with the poor, and in
the central teaching, research and
publication aims of the university. The
challenge all Jesuit universities face is
to find new perspectives and new areas
for research, teaching and university
extension services, by means of which
they can contribute to the transformation
of society towards more profound levels
of justice and freedom.
St.
Xavier's strives to be a truly Jesuit University in
these changing times of the 21st Century. Perhaps it is
this which has earned it in 2007, the highest awarded
rating A+ in the re-accrediation by the NAAC, an
autonomous body linked to the University Grants
Commission of India. For the last many years in a row,
the national magazine INDIA TODAY has rated it high
among the first 10 colleges in India. In the June 2000
issue and again in the June 2006 issue, St. Xavier's has
been rated the best Arts College in India and the second
best Science and Commerce College in the country.
Several other publications have paid tribute to
Xavier's. The UGC has awarded St. Xavier's, the "College
with a Potential for Excellence" award in 2006, with
a grant of Rs. 60 lakhs. However, it is the lives our
students lead and their contribution to humanity that
are our best accolades.
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