University of Rochester student poses in front of MELIORA letter installation during Commencement Weekend.

Vision and Values

Living our Meliora values

As a community, the University of Rochester is defined by a deep commitment to Meliora­—ever better. Embedded in that ideal are the values we share: equity, leadership, integrity, openness, respect, and accountability

Together, we will set the highest standards for how we treat each other to ensure our community is welcoming to all and is a place where all can thrive.

Our Vision

The University of Rochester will continue to frame and solve the greatest challenges of the future.

We are a community in which all who work, teach, create, and provide care are welcome and respected, and where all can pursue and achieve their highest objectives for themselves, their community, and the world.

Steeped in Rochester’s rich history of social justice and entrepreneurial spirit, we will always be an inclusive, equitable, sustainable, and responsive organization at every level.

Our Values

We will hold ourselves accountable to these values in the design of our programs, the development and delivery of our services, the evaluation of performance, and the ways in which we interact as a community.

Meliora

We strive to be ever better, for everyone.

Equity

We commit to inclusion and access.

Leadership

We take initiative and share responsibility for exemplifying excellence.

Integrity

We conduct ourselves with honesty, dedication, and fairness.

Openness

We embrace freedom of ideas, inquiry, and expression.

Respect

We value our differences, our environment, and our individual and collective contributions.

Accountability

We are responsible for making our community ever better, through our actions, our words, and our dealings with others.

Freedom of expression

Students relax on the grass in front of the library, engaged in conversation and studying together.

We’re fostering a community where the pursuit of knowledge is celebrated—including learning through the perspectives of others. Respectful discourse, guided by our Meliora values, enriches our understanding and makes our world ever better.

Students relax on the grass in front of the library, engaged in conversation and studying together.