AJCU

The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) is a national organization that represents Jesuit higher education among its various constituencies; provides a forum for the exchange of information and experiences in Jesuit higher education; and encourages and facilitates collaborative initiatives among its member institutions. Those initiatives include: fostering Jesuit, Catholic identity and mission; educating for a faith that does justice; supporting national, international and online collaborations between campuses; and sponsoring professional and leadership development programs.

The 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States are located in 17 states and the District of Columbia. The institutions range from major research universities to comprehensive universities; from smaller colleges and universities that combine the liberal arts and professional studies to one strictly liberal arts college. (Click here for a list of graduate and professional programs offered by our institutions.)

In addition to being among 221 Catholic institutions and 1,600 independent colleges and universities in the United States, American Jesuit colleges and universities are part of a network of approximately 188 Jesuit institutions of higher learning throughout the world, thus having the distinction of being at once local, national and international.

In 1970, AJCU became its own national organization with the following purposes:

1. Continued study of new educational problems in the light of Jesuit policy and practice,
2. Continued effort to improve educational effectiveness of Jesuit colleges and universities,
3. Effective promotion of inter-institutional cooperation, especially among Jesuit institutions,
4. A unified influence in national organizations, programs and developments,
5. Effective assistance in participating in Federal and other national programs supporting research and educational projects,
6. Effective dissemination to member institutions of important information, and
7. To be a forum for exchange of experiences and information.

AJCU has sponsored, encouraged, and facilitated the work of various AJCU Conferences that have increasingly become the locus for collaboration among our 28 member institutions (in 2019, Wheeling Jesuit University became disaffiliated from the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus; in 2020, St. John’s College in Belize became a full member of AJCU). The Conferences have also served as forums for exchange of ideas and information, and have supported the professional development of administrators, faculty and staff. In 1972, there were 20 Conferences; today, there are 35.