Achieving Distinction
2000:
The Strategic Plan For
The University Of Iowa
STATEMENT OF CORE VALUES
Founded by Iowa's first legislature in 1847, and entrusted with a threefold
mission of teaching, research, and public service, The University of Iowa is
rooted in a culture that values education. In planning, setting priorities,
and making decisions the university is guided by five interdependent commitments.
Learning
The University of Iowa is dedicated to discovering, disseminating, and preserving
knowledge and to the development of an educated citizenry. Through teaching,
research, scholarship, creative endeavor, clinical practice, and public outreach,
the university develops ideas, enlarges understanding, and extends its resources
to society. Recognizing the need for constant inquiry and continuous reinterpretation
of knowledge, the university vigilantly protects free expression of thought,
respects difference and diversity, and fosters opportunities for all members
of the community to generate and discuss ideas and contribute to the vitality
of the educational environment.
Community
The University of Iowa recognizes that its students, faculty, staff, and alumni
are the source of its strength: collectively, they determine the institution's
character, quality, and effectiveness. On a safe and well-maintained campus,
the university offers a supportive and humane environment in which people from
a wide variety of backgrounds and traditions may encounter each other in a spirit
of cooperation, openness, and mutual respect, to form a richly diverse and intellectually
stimulating community.
Responsibility
The University of Iowa is obligated to exercise responsible stewardship over
the intellectual and material resources entrusted to it. As a public institution,
the university aims for accessibility, affordability, and quality, so that a
broad array of qualified students from Iowa and elsewhere may obtain an excellent
education at reasonable cost. The university recognizes the responsibility of
its faculty to determine what students should learn and to shape the body of
knowledge that will be passed on to future generations. It is also the university's
obligation to engage all members of its community in collective reflection on
their responsibilities not only to their disciplines and professions but also
to the institution and to society.
Integrity
In fulfilling all areas of the university's mission, members of the University
of Iowa community hold themselves to the highest criteria of honesty, fairness,
and professional and scholarly ethics.
Quality
As a center of learning, the University of Iowa measures itself by exacting
standards, honors high aspiration and achievement, and expects all persons associated
with the university to strive for excellence.
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Last updated on December 23, 1996 by campus communications