"The Mission of St. Stephen's University is to prepare people, through academic, personal, and spiritual development, for a life of justice, beauty, and compassion, enabling a humble, creative engagement with their world.

"[2] Planning for St. Stephen's University began in 1971, and it officially launched on July 15, 1975 with six students and a small group of faculty and staff.

[9] According to the booklet of the strategic plan, it "contains five priorities that are divided into a total of twenty-two goals, all of which are waypoints on the reimagined and recharted pilgrimage route ahead of us.

[11] SSU receives its accreditation to offer its academic programs through its charter by the Province of New Brunswick to grant baccalaureate and master's degrees and graduate certificates.

The main building, Park Hall, dates to the time of Canadian Confederation in the 19th century and is built in the Italian Renaissance Revival style of architecture.

After the suspension of SSU's undergraduate programs, the University is in the process of forming a new co-housing community of mature and independent adults who value learning and personal growth who will live in Park Hall.