Philosophy Statement

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.

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