Since the inaugural address at the founding of the Canterbury Collegiate Union in 1872, this university has stood for accessible higher education, service to community, and the encouragement of talent without barriers of distance, wealth, class, gender or ethnicity.
This Strategy is a clear statement that the University continues to stand for these principles and explicitly aims to produce graduates who are engaged with their communities, empowered to act for good and determined to make a difference in the world.
An overarching driver of this Strategy is an institutional commitment to engagement. A university that commits itself to engagement undertakes to deploy its expertise and knowledge to advance civic purpose and to foster public good.
UC will continue to support staff who are engaged, empowered and making a difference, with the goal of increasing purposeful academic efforts to make a difference regionally and in the world. UC supports academic staff taking the role of critic and conscience of society and an active role in shaping Aotearoa New Zealand society.
The University affirms its identity as a medium-sized, research-intensive, comprehensive university. It strives to deliver excellent, research-informed education, and creative and innovative research.