About Us
Mission Statement
Vision Statement
By the end of the decade, we will be a widely recognized college in the Northeast Region that enriches student character and deepens intellectual inquiry to prepare men and women for success in a complex and diverse global community.
Adopted by the Board of Trustees, June 2012
Concise Mission Statement
St. John Fisher College is a collaborative community dedicated to teaching, learning, and research in a student-centered educational environment. The College is guided by its liberal arts tradition and its Catholic heritage, as expressed in the motto of its founders, the Basilian Fathers: “teach me goodness, discipline, and knowledge.” Fisher engages individuals in lives of intellectual inquiry, professional integrity, and civic responsibility, where diversity and service to others are valued and practiced.
Adopted by the Board of Trustees, June 2012
About Us
St. John Fisher College is an independent liberal arts institution in the Catholic tradition of American higher education. Guided since its inception by the educational philosophy of the Congregation of St. Basil, the College emphasizes liberal learning for students in traditional academic disciplines as well as those in more directly career-oriented fields. In keeping with the openness that is characteristic of its Basilian heritage, Fisher welcomes qualified students, faculty, and staff regardless of religious or cultural background.
Our commitment to individuals from varied backgrounds and with differing educational needs reflects both our emphasis on lifelong learning and our direct involvement in the community of which we are a part.
As an institution of higher learning, we engage our students in the quest for knowledge and truth, believing that such engagement will equip them to make sound judgments as individuals, family members, and citizens. We provide individual guidance to students as they develop values that will guide them in meaningful and productive lives. Our dual emphasis on intellectual and personal growth derives from our belief that learning is valuable for its own sake, for the sake of those who learn, and for the sake of society as a whole.
We recognize continuing research as an indispensable part of effective teaching and seek to maintain a faculty whose creative participation in the development of the arts and sciences will inspire students to love and respect learning. Faculty members strive for superior academic quality by placing a high priority on teaching and a dedication to the growth and development of each individual graduate student.
St. John Fisher College is located in Pittsford, New York, only a few minutes by car or bus from the center of the city of Rochester. The city is noted for its excellent philharmonic orchestra, an art gallery with a diverse and valuable collection, a science museum, the Strasenburgh Planetarium, as well as the historic George Eastman House with its museum of photography. Rochester also has a high concentration of some of the finest hospitals and health care facilities in the nation, giving students an excellent opportunity to study and practice in clinical settings.
Our urban proximity provides both support to the regional professional communities and a significant source of hands-on experience for graduate students. Over the years, students have had enriching opportunities to work on projects, consult, complete internships, and otherwise involve themselves in the business, health care, human service, educational, and government communities at our doorstep. Additionally, representatives of these professions visit the Fisher campus regularly to supplement classroom theory via guest lectures, seminars, workshops, and adjunct teaching.