At DeSales University, you'll find a positive approach to life.

Maybe it's the friendly, unpretentious nature of our students, faculty, and staff, or the upbeat spiritual perspective of the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales, who have shaped the University and its character. Maybe it's because of our great academic programs, the personal atmosphere of our small suburban campus in Pennsylvania's scenic Lehigh Valley, and our supportive learning environment. At any rate, there's a remarkable experience to be found at DeSales University.

Mission

It is the mission of DeSales University to provide men and women with quality higher education according to the philosophy of Christian humanism as developed by Saint Francis de Sales and his spiritual heirs. The University imparts knowledge about, and develops talents for, personal, familial, and societal living. DeSales University enriches the human community and enhances the dignity of the individual through its educational endeavors. In its work, the University fosters a vital and respectful dialogue between Roman Catholic faith and human culture.

Philosophy

For DeSales University, Christian humanism means that every aspect of human experience is capable of enlightenment by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This Gospel brings light to each dimension of personal existence (physical, intellectual, social, moral, aesthetic, and religious) and every environmental domain (natural world, social institutions, cultural achievements, historical periods, and religious societies). The encounter between the Word of God and the concrete world of the human person makes a fully meaningful existence possible. DeSales University strives to teach the student what it means to be Christian in a Salesian way, what it means to embrace one's own life, and what it means to bring this Good News to the human family.

DeSales University is firmly and publicly committed to the principles of Roman Catholic doctrine and morality. It also fully recognizes that the search for truth requires an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and that love demands an openness to all that is good. DeSales University distinguishes carefully between the free pursuit of truth, which it guarantees every member of the campus community, and its own commitment to the teachings of the Catholic Church.