History of Arrupe Jesuit University
Arrupe Jesuit University (AJU) is an autonomous international academic institution, owned by the Zimbabwe Province of the Society of Jesus on the behalf of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM). The Society of Jesus is a religious order of priests and brothers within the Roman Catholic Church. The Jesuit University is named after Father Pedro Arrupe, who was Superior General of the Jesuits from 1965 to 1983.
Arrupe Jesuit University grows out of Arrupe College which was founded in 1994 with the initial aim of providing part of the training needed by young Jesuits on their way to effective Christian ministry, either as priests or as brothers. Today it has become an excellent centre for learning, educating responsible men and women through the Ignatian and Jesuit pedagogy.
It is also the preferred school for philosophical and humanistic formation for a number of other religious congregations operating within Zimbabwe and in neighboring countries. Since 1996, the College has enjoyed the status of association with the University of Zimbabwe, and affiliation with the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
The Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education granted Arrupe College a provisional charter as a university on December 7, 2017, as Arrupe Jesuit University. The JCAM President, and Chancellor of the University, Fr. Dr. A.E. Orobator, SJ, inaugurated AJU on February 24, 2018. And on December 3, Zimbabwe Council For Higher Education granted Arrupe full accreditation and registration as an independent degree awarding institution of higher learning.
Our mission
Our vision
Our core values
- Excellence
- Accountability
- Service
- Innovation.
Our Motto
Ever to Love and to Serve
Affiliate status
with the University of Zimbabwe, the major state university in the country. This relationship is administered through the University’s Department of Religious Studies, Classics and Philosophy. The quality of the programmes is ensured by reputable and internationally recognised external examiners who moderate every examination process.
Recent external examiners have included Professor Terence McLaughlin of the University of London (Institute of Education) and Cambridge University; Professor Stephen Rowntree of Loyola University, New Orleans, USA; Dr Gerry J. Hughes of Campion Hall, Oxford University, UK; Prof Nigel Dower of Aberdeen University, Scotland; and Prof Phillip Rossi, Marquette University, USA.
Owing to this relationship, Arrupe Jesuit University is able to present candidates who have completed its programme of studies in philosophy and other humanities to the University of Zimbabwe for the award of their Diploma in Philosophy and Theology, BA Honours in Philosophy degree, and MA in Philosophy.
Pontificia University Gregoriana
The university is also affiliated with the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome which awards successful candidates a Baccalaureate degree in Philosophy.
Our Partners
Like any other high institution of learning in this century, Arrupe, too, is opening its doors to a wider academic world. This exercise recently started with the entering into a Partnership Agreement with the largest Jesuit institution in the US, Loyola University Chicago, in view of collaborating in areas of mutual concern.