On-Campus Housing

The Justice Houses are a living and learning community, empowering a select group of students to connect their passion for (a) Earth and the environment, (b) social justice, or (c) legal advocacy and justice to their life on campus—spanning the academic, residential, and social dimensions of the college experience. Students in the Justice Houses live and work together with classmates who share their passions, engaging in projects and activities that build connections across our campus and beyond. Students in the Justice Houses have unique access to peer mentors—advanced students (juniors and seniors) who share their knowledge and experience—as well as faculty advisors who serve as academic mentors and plan a wide range of trips, activities, and events for students in the Houses.

The Justice Houses are open to students from all majors (including AEP) in each of Niagara University’s colleges. Students in the Justice Houses gain interdisciplinary knowledge, diverse skills, and real-world experience that is relevant to multiple disciplines and fields. Faculty and student mentors provide vital support, and immersive hands-on learning promotes each student’s academic, professional, and personal growth. From classroom to extracurricular activities to the unique residential community, this holistic experience will engage, inspire, and promote student success.

The Justice Houses also offer connections to cutting-edge initiatives and programs on campus, including:

• Student internships and research projects at the United Nations (NU–UN Partnership)
• Disaster relief trips and a credential in International Humanitarian Assistance
• The Pre-Law Advisement Program’s Public Interest Track, featuring internships, shadowing, and hands-on research
• VIP access to nationally recognized leaders and scholars in our Social Justice Speaker Series and Film Series

Centered in Niagara University’s Vincentian mission, the Justice Houses are founded on a set of core principles and philosophical ideals that bind us as members and residents, and inform our behavior. These are aspirational, and serve as the basis of envisioning an on- and off- campus community that is unified and cooperative. They guide our actions and inspire our choices. Each year students in the Justice Houses come together to reimagine and reaffirm the Justice Houses Shared Statement of Values, a living document created by students to articulate the community’s ideals, principles, and standards.

Recent national studies have emphasized the extraordinary potential for living and learning communities to positively impact student success in college:

• Students perform better in class
• They feel more connected to their peers
• They connect with the faculty and the university
• They are more likely to stay in college

In the Justice Houses Living and Learning Community we have enhanced these benefits by establishing core courses that give students the tools needed to succeed in college and provide a platform for pursuing justice on campus and in the community. What’s more, the faculty advisors and peer mentors in the Justice Houses sponsor a broad array of activities, trips, and events at no extra cost to students. Students in the Justice Houses can enhance their college experience by traveling with faculty and peers to attend talks and participate in conferences, taking part in field trips and experiential learning opportunities, joining reading groups and film discussions, enjoying group dinners, study breaks, and nature hikes, and much, much more.

Because we’re committed to justice for everyone, we’ve made the Justice Houses the least expensive housing on Niagara University’s campus. The Justice Houses are located in historic and picturesque Varsity Village at the center of campus. These Tudor-style houses each have six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a living room (with TV), full kitchen, washer and dryer, and outside patio with picnic tables. The Justice Houses also feature a library of books and movies provided by the faculty advisors and peer mentors.