The University of Oregon has a new mission statement. This week the new U of O Board of Trustees approved the document.
Barbara Altmann is Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. She says every institution of higher education needs to have a mission statement. The mission has to reflect everyone in the organization including students, faculty, staff and the larger University community. Altmann says the process involved getting a lot of input from that community.
"Really at the heart of it, it's a values statement and an exercise in self-definition. So it really does guide what we do and reflects what we do and it needs to align with our institutional priorities."
One of the big challenges, Altmann says, was to distinguish the U of O from other research Universities.
The U of O this year became independent from the State Board of Higher education. It's now run by its own Board of Trustees. A search is underway for a new University of Oregon president.
University of Oregon Mission Statement, Approved Draft November 5, 2014:
Mission
The University of Oregon is a comprehensive public research university committed to exceptional teaching, discovery, and service. We work at a human scale to generate big ideas. As a community of scholars, we help help individuals question critically, think logically, reason effectively, communicate clearly, act creatively, and live ethically.
Purpose
We strive for excellence in teaching, research, artistic expression, and the generation, dissemination, preservation, and application of knowledge. We are devoted to educating the whole person, and to fostering the next generation of transformational leaders and informed participants in the global community. Through these pursuits, we enhance the social, cultural, physical, and economic well-being of our students, Oregon, the nation, and the world.
Vision
We aspire to be a preeminent and innovated public research university encompassing the humanities and arts, the natural and social sciences, and the professions. We seek to enrich the human condition through collaboration, teaching, mentoring, scholarship, experiential learning, creative inquiry, scientific discovery, outreach, and public service.
Values
We value the passions, aspirations, individuality, and success of the students, faculty, and staff who work and learn here.
We value the pursuit of academic freedom, creative expression, and intellectual discourse.
We value our diversity and seek to foster equity and inclusion in a welcoming, safe, and respectful community.
We value the unique geography, history, and culture of Oregon that shapes our identity and spirit.
We value our shared charge to steward our resources sustainably and responsibly.
