Marquette’s deans and vice presidents are requesting feedback from the Marquette community on a draft of the university’s guiding values by Oct. 14.

“In order for people to behave in ways that align with the guiding values, they must believe in them and agree with them,” said Margaret Callahan, interim provost and dean of the College of Nursing, in an email. “We want to hear from the university community to ensure we did not overlook any guiding values that are important to the way we carry out our mission each day. Individuals may also have ideas about how to shorten or combine guiding values or creative ways to display the guiding values as a reminder to the campus community.”

Members of the Marquette population can provide feedback on an online form until Tuesday, Oct. 14. The deans and vice presidents are asking students if the proposed values state the values of the Marquette community and if there are any values the student body does or does not specifically agree with.

This feedback will be collected, incorporated into the guiding values and subsequently presented to the University Academic Senate, University Staff Assembly and Marquette Student Government for endorsement, according to a news release.

“The University Academic Senate at Marquette is the main deliberative body that works with central administration in addressing academic issues at Marquette and we use a shared governance approach to review issues and develop the most effective proposals and policies for moving forward,” said Tim Melchert, chair of the Academic Senate and an associate professor in the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology, in an email. “The Senate includes mostly faculty, but we also have three student members and a number of administrators. They are all very capable and will provide very useful feedback.”

At a leadership retreat in late August 2014, Marquette’s deans and vice presidents constructed the guiding values, which Callahan said, “make explicit the values and behaviors expected of faculty, staff and students, which have been at the core of Marquette University for the past 133 years.”

The university created these values in order to, “link ongoing operational and strategic planning, frame issues, guide decisions, direct operations and behaviors and prioritize actions,” according to the guiding values’ frequently asked questions page.

The proposed guiding values are currently that members of the university will:

• Pledge personal and holistic development of students as our primary institutional vocation
• Pursue academic excellence and educate students to be global citizens who are men and women for and with others
• Embody a spirit of interdisciplinary curiosity, exploration, discovery, innovation, entrepreneurship and application to change and improve ourselves, our community and our world
• Nurture an inclusive, diverse community that fosters new opportunities, partnerships, collaboration and vigorous yet respectful debate
• Live as servant leaders with a commitment to social justice for all people, beliefs and faith traditions
• Create bold, ambitious plans enacted with agility, authentic accountability and a willingness to sacrifice individual needs for the greater good

Members of the Marquette community should expect to see these values, or at least a variation of these values, embodied around campus in the weeks to come.

“In the weeks ahead, we will raise awareness of the guiding values and highlight them in our work as a university community,” the FAQ page stated. “We will also help each other when we are falling short of the values we strive to live by.”