Our Mission

Alfred University's mission is helping students realize their purpose. People living a life of purpose enjoy longer and happier lives. Alfred University promotes its mission through three core strengths:

Intersections

Nestled in the scenic Allegheny Mountains, Alfred University offers a broad array of curricular and co-curricular options from which students can build impactful educational pathways. There are also intersections with applied, experiential learning opportunities; leadership, communication, and critical thinking development; and engaging with community members who bring different perspectives and backgrounds to our campus. All these intersections contribute to meaningful, professional, and personal outcomes.

Mentorship

We promote connections for students with each other, faculty, staff, and alumni. These connections form the basis of lifelong friendships and mentorship, which positively impact the life trajectories of our graduates.

Thanks to the success of our faculty and staff in securing research grants, our students benefit from faculty-mentored, hands-on research opportunities that investigate cutting-edge problems using state-of-the-art technologies.

Inclusivity

We are deeply committed to the self-realization and success of every student at Alfred University. We foster a sense of belonging among all members of our campus community – faculty, staff, and students – in which our ability to express ourselves thoughtfully, and to listen and learn from others advances the capacity to thrive in the workplace and our communities. These power skills embody our values and are essential to preparing our students for their future careers and lives. 

Alfred University prides itself on being inclusive since our founding in 1836. We were the first higher education institution in the country to be fully open to women and one of the first to admit Native American and African American students. We were the first school to invite a woman to deliver the commencement speech. Renowned orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass visited Alfred University several times in the 1850s and remarked about the friendliness and kindness of our campus community, as well as the beauty of our rural setting.