Mission of the University

Mission of the University –

A Special Forum Discussion

held in conjunction with the University Senate meeting

Wednesday, February 14, 2001

3:00 – 4:30 p.m. -- 100 Willamette

Members of the academic community are invited to participate in a forum discussion aimed at examining the mission of the university. University Senate President James Earl notes that last year's faculty survey revealed that a large portion of the faculty feels that the institution has drifted away from its mission. Because the university’s mission figures importantly in many issues currently facing the Senate – the Worker’s Rights Consortium, the Riverfront Research Park, distance learning, non-tenure track instructional faculty, General Educational requirements, campus diversity, funding models, budget cuts, salaries, and athletics, to name a few – a number of mission-related questions arise.

What is a university? What are its obligations to society, the state, politics, the business world, donors, and the sports industry? What changes have overtaken the university and its mission in recent decades, and what changes are in store for it? What's wrong (if anything) with "corporatization"? What's happened to the ideal of liberal education? What are the symptoms of mission dysfunction and mission malaise at the U of O and nationally?

A panel of six faculty members will initiate an open discussion of these and other questions. Please come and share your concerns and thoughts with colleagues and members of the University Senate.

Following the forum, the senate will meet for a short business session from 4:30 – 5:00 to hear a report from the Library Committee.

The University of Oregon is a comprehensive research university that serves its students and the people of Oregon, the nation, and the world through the creation and transfer of knowledge in the liberal arts, the natural and social sciences, and the professions. It is the Association of American Universities flagship institution of the Oregon University System.

The university is a community of scholars dedicated to the highest standards of academic inquiry, learning, and service. Recognizing that knowledge is the fundamental wealth of civilization, the university strives to enrich the public that sustains it through

· a commitment to undergraduate education, with a goal of helping the individual learn to question critically, think logically, communicate clearly, act creatively, and live ethically

· a commitment to graduate education to develop creators and innovators who will generate new knowledge and shape experience for the benefit of humanity

· a recognition that research, both basic and applied, is essential to the intellectual health of the university, as well as to the enrichment of the lives of Oregonians, by energizing the state's economic, cultural, and political structure

· the establishment of a framework for lifelong learning that leads to productive careers and to the enduring joy of inquiry

· the integration of teaching, research, and service as mutually enriching enterprises that together accomplish the university's mission and support its spirit of community

· the acceptance of the challenge of an evolving social, political, and technological environment by welcoming and guiding change rather than reacting to it

· a dedication to the principles of equality of opportunity and freedom from unfair discrimination for all members of the university community and an acceptance of true diversity as an affirmation of individual identity within a welcoming community

· a commitment to international awareness and understanding, and to the development of a faculty and student body that are capable of participating effectively in a global society

· the conviction that freedom of thought and expression is the bedrock principle on which all university activity is based

· the cultivation of an attitude toward citizenship that fosters a caring, supportive atmosphere on campus and the wise exercise of civic responsibilities and individual judgment throughout life