Manhattanville College challenges students to develop the values and skills that make our community valiant.  What it means to be valiant was notably expressed by the American abolitionist, orator and clergyman Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887):  

“It is not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learned. It is not what we intend but what we do that makes us useful. And, it is not a few faint wishes but a lifelong struggle that makes us valiant.” *

Our welcoming first-year learning environment encourages students to become active participants in our college’s mission to educate “ethical and socially-responsible leaders for the global community.” Each first-year student engages in curricular and co-curricular learning opportunities rooted in the College’s tradition of education in the Liberal Arts and Sciences and its commitment to the value of academic, experiential, and service learning.  Our diverse, inclusive, and supportive environment allows all students to become effective participants in their own learning and development.  As first-year students join our community of engaged scholars, educators, and professional staff, they are encouraged to develop as independent, ethical thinkers. They are also empowered to search for knowledge, express their creativity, participate in community building, and synthesize a wide range of learning experiences.
 
Our first-year programming challenges students to develop the Valiant skills and values that are at the heart of our college’s mission:

• Respect for themselves and others
• Greater ability to identify and understand the ethical dimensions of problems
• Intellectual curiosity and analytical ability
• Effective written and oral communication
• Active participation in the Manhattanville community
• Compassionate engagement with each other and the world

Each first-year student is matched with a dedicated faculty member who serves a dual role as first-year seminar instructor and academic advisor. Our program also introduces students to the distinctive Manhattanville Portfolio System, which facilitates academic planning, personal reflection, and self-assessment.  Manhattanville students extend learning in the classroom through a variety of opportunities and cultural events in the surrounding area, including New York City.  In and out of the classroom, our first- year students are challenged to acquire the skills, independence and self-awareness they need in order to shape their own academic and personal goals. A Manhattanville Valiant is a well-rounded, self-reflective individual prepared for a life and career filled with personal meaning and with a commitment to life-long learning.

First-Year Valiant Experience Components

• First-Year Program Seminar and First-Year Writing Seminar
• Academic Advising
• Centers for Academic Success
• Living/Learning Communities
• Duchesne Center for Religion and Social Justice
• Career Exploration
• Student Activities and Leadership Training
• Office of International Student Services
• Counseling Services/Support Groups
• Athletics

* Beecher, Henry Ward, qtd. in Charles W. Sanders, Sanders’ Union Fourth Reader. New York: Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor and Co., 1866, p. 261.