Mission
As a higher education institution, The Citadel’s mission is to educate and develop students to become principled leaders in all walks of life by instilling the core values of honor, duty, and respect in a disciplined and intellectually challenging environment.
Core Values
The Citadel develops principled leaders in a climate shaped by the core values of Honor, Duty and Respect. Upon graduation, students are well-equipped to embrace the opportunities and challenges presented by an increasingly globalized environment. Achieving this mission requires an integrated effort involving all members of The Citadel community.
Honor requires adherence to The Citadel Honor Code. The commitment to honor extends beyond the gates of The Citadel and is a lifelong obligation to moral and ethical behavior. In addition, honor includes integrity: “doing the right thing when no one is watching.” Finally, honorable behavior includes exercising the moral courage to “do the right thing when everyone is watching.” The Honor Code is the foundation of The Citadel’s academic enterprise and leader development program.
Duty means accepting and completing the responsibilities assigned. At The Citadel, a cadet’s primary duty is to perform academically and then to perform as a diligent member of the Corps of Cadets and the campus community. A cadet accepts the consequences associated with his or her performance and actions. Once a cadet has held himself or herself accountable for his or her actions, the cadet will hold others accountable for their actions. Finally, duty means that others can depend on a cadet to complete his or her assignments and to assist others with their assignments. Duty is also a call to serve others before self.
Respect means to treat other people with dignity and worth. Respect for others eliminates any form of prejudice, discrimination or harassment. In addition, respect for others means to respect the positions of those in authority, including faculty, staff and the leadership of the Corps of Cadets. Finally, respect includes a healthy respect for oneself.