Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University

CENTERS OF DISTINCTION

Santa Clara University has three Centers of Distinction that serve as major points of interaction between the University and society. Each center focuses on a theme that is central to Santa Clara’s distinctive mission as a Jesuit university offering an educational environment that integrates rigorous inquiry and scholarship, creative imagination, reflective engagement with society, and a commitment to fashioning a more humane and just world. Each center engages faculty and students from different disciplines, as well as experts and leaders from the community through speakers, conferences, workshops, and experiential learning opportunities.

Center for Science, Technology, and Society
The mission of the Center for Science, Technology, and Society (CSTS) is to promote the use of science and technology to benefit underserved communities worldwide, primarily by working with socially-minded entrepreneurs. The center implements its mission through its signature program, the Global Social Benefit Incubator, its partnership with The Tech Museum in The Tech Awards program, a focus on social capital, and its numerous educational and public engagement activities. The center also sponsors cross-disciplinary research and curriculum development that address the role of science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship in addressing the needs of those living in poverty around the world.

Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education
The Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education is dedicated to promoting and enhancing the distinctively Jesuit, Catholic tradition of education at Santa Clara University, with a view to serving students, faculty, staff, and through them the larger community, both local and global. Through a range of programs, the Ignatian Center provides leadership for the integration of faith, justice, and the intellectual life. In community-based learning, students deepen their Jesuit education through contact with many partner organizations in the San Jose area and through more intensive immersion experiences, domestic and international. Critical reflection and analysis based on these experiences, both from the perspective of faith and from other disciplines, form students to become “contemplatives in action.” Through the generosity of the Bannan Institute for Jesuit Educational Mission, the Ignatian Center sponsors academic events and supports scholarship that specifically furthers the Jesuit, Catholic character of the university. In addition, it promotes the sharing of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola with diverse constituencies of the University.

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics is one of the preeminent centers for research and dialogue on ethical issues in critical areas of American life. The center works with faculty, staff, students, community leaders, and the public to address ethical issues more effectively in teaching, research, and action. The center’s focus areas are bioethics, business ethics, campus ethics, character education, government ethics, and Internet ethics.