(These statements are merely examples from other academic and service departments. Some are very detailed others are not. Since the value of a mission statement is its unique application these serve only as samples – neither good or bad – for you to examine.)
A
strong English department is central to liberal arts education because it helps
students become more incisive critical thinkers, more effective communicators,
and more sensitive and intelligent interpreters of texts of all kinds.
As
a department, our aims are:
To
maintain an attractive literature, writing, and cultural studies curriculum
crucial to an excellent liberal arts education.
To
support a general education program that teaches reading and writing, and
undergraduate program that bridges the gap between teaching and research,
and a graduate program that responsibly trains professionals for teaching,
research, and leadership in higher education and elsewhere.
To
support research and publication of original scholarship which advances the
fields of English study and nonfiction writing.
To
conduct research and develop courses in tandem with interdisciplinary,
cross-departmental initiatives that add value to the institution.
The
primary mission of the Department of Geosciences is:
1. To maintain a high quality, intellectually stimulating, open and realistic
educational
environment
2. To produce skilled, employable geoscientists, earth science teachers,
candidates for
graduate
school and/or competent, reasoning college graduates
3. To improve faculty teaching effectiveness and personal growth through
continued
personal
study, research, publication, and participation in professional activities and
associations.
The
Center for Writing Studies is an interdisciplinary academic unit that
facilitates research and promotes graduate study in the areas of written
composition, language, literacy, and rhetoric. For graduate students pursuing
M.A. or Ph.D. degrees in participating departments, the Center offers a program
leading to a specialization in writing studies. Faculty and graduate students
from several departments across the university comprise the Center and come
together to attend courses, discuss teaching, share research, and participate in
the Center's colloquia. The Center's mission is to sustain a community of
scholars in writing studies and to provide graduate students with opportunities
to study various practices and discourses related to written communication.
The
Department of Agricultural Education and Communications' mission at Texas Tech
University
is to generate, integrate, create, broaden, and diffuse knowledge bases in the
human dimension of the agricultural
sciences and natural resources. To positively affect behavioral change for the improvement of social, economic, and/or environmental
conditions of all individuals touched by
our agricultural and natural resource systems, we display an outward focus,
and enthusiastically receive input from our key stakeholders including
practitioners in agricultural communications, public school agricultural teachers, and
extension professionals. This in turn
enables us to provide premier academic programs, effective outreach, and encourages
relevant scholarship.
We
in the Department of Physical Sciences strive to:
Provide
courses for the university core requirement in the sciences that include
primary topics in the physical sciences.
Provide
chemistry and physics courses that support other science curricula,
professional studies, and pre-professional studies.
Provide
courses and an overall curriculum for the physical science major that will
provide the skills needed and the opportunity for entry into the world or
postgraduate study.
Provide opportunities for physical science majors to participate in undergraduate research projects with faculty members in the department, and for pre-health students to obtain appropriate clinically-related experience.
Provide timely advising for physical science and pre-health science students.
Provide professional services in the university and in the local, state, and national community within the context of the overall needs of the department and the university.
Participate in research and other scholarly activities commensurate with the needs, interests, resources, space, and schedule of the department.
Encourage the securement of outside funding for the support of departmental teaching, research, development, and service activities.
Continually review the mission statement and activities of the department to ensure that they are appropriate to the needs of the students and university.
The Office of Student Success was established to
advise and guide students during their academic career and to provide pertinent
information to TSTC administration, faculty and staff to determine student
success, retention and persistence to graduation.