Building a Campus where Everyone Belongs
At St. Mary’s University, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and supportive community where every person is valued, respected, and empowered to flourish.
ABC COMMITMENTS
1. Promote Access
Identify and address barriers to participation in learning, employment, leadership, and campus life.
2. Foster Belonging
Create opportunities for all members of the community to feel welcomed, valued, respected, and connected.
3. Strengthen Community
Support initiatives that build relationships, encourage engagement, and deepen our shared sense of purpose.
4. Encourage Dialogue
Promote respectful conversations that invite diverse perspectives and experiences.
5. Support Learning and Growth
Provide opportunities that deepen understanding, empathy, and intercultural awareness.
6. Advance Reconciliation
Continue meaningful partnerships with First Nations Peoples and communities while honouring truth, respect, and reconciliation.
7. Help Everyone Flourish
Create conditions that enable every member of our community to contribute their gifts and achieve their potential.
8. Cultivate Solidarity
Promote shared responsibility for creating an inclusive campus where everyone works together toward the common good.
Vision:
St. Mary’s University is committed to fostering a campus community where every person experiences a genuine sense of belonging.
Inspired by our Catholic identity and commitment to human dignity, we seek to create an environment where all members of our community can participate fully, build meaningful relationships, and flourish academically, personally, and spiritually.
Mission:
The Access, Belonging & Community Committee champions initiatives that strengthen participation, foster belonging, and build community throughout the University.
Working collaboratively with students, employees, and leadership, we seek to identify and remove barriers, foster belonging, promote dialogue, ensuring community members feel welcomed, and cultivate solidarity so every member of the St. Mary’s community has equitable opportunities to participate and feel empowered to succeed.
What is the ABC Committee
The Access, Belonging & Community (ABC) Committee serves in an advisory capacity to support St. Mary’s University’s commitment to fostering a welcoming, connected, and engaged campus community.
Grounded in Catholic Social Teaching and the University’s mission and values, the Committee works to strengthen access, cultivate belonging, and build community across all areas of university life.
The Committee provides recommendations to University leadership, supports initiatives that enhance the student and employee experience, and helps ensure that every member of the St. Mary’s community has opportunities to participate, contribute, and thrive.
What is Access, Belonging & Community
Access means creating pathways that allow all members of our community to fully participate in university life.
It involves identifying and removing barriers so students, employees, and visitors can engage, contribute, and succeed.
Belonging is the experience of feeling welcomed, respected, valued, and connected.
When people experience belonging, they can participate authentically, share their gifts, and contribute fully to the life of the University.
Community is built through relationships, shared experiences, mutual respect and a commitment to create an inclusive community as a collective responsibility for the common good. By acting with empathy, respect, and shared purpose, we create a culture where everyone can participate, contribute, and succeed.
A thriving community embraces different perspectives while fostering connection, understanding, and collaboration.
Together: Access removes barriers, Belonging builds trust and connection and Community creates shared purpose and solidarity