September 15, 2011:   Burn Down The Mission Statement; or, Pass The Mission Template

Let's play a game.  Match the mission statement (1 through 10) with the institution (A through J).  The name of the institution or the state have been deleted.  (Answers at bottom of blog.)

1) The primary mission of ___ is to move forward the frontiers of human knowledge and enrich and elevate the citizens of the State of ____, the nation, and the world. As the preeminent research-based, land-grant University in the state, ___ embodies the spirit of excellence in teaching, research, scholarship, creative activity, outreach, and engagement attained by the nation's finest public research institutions. 

2) _____ combines a tradition of strong undergraduate and graduate education with a focus on community and public service. We integrate teaching, research, and creative activity in an engaging, challenging, and supportive learning environment to prepare productive citizens for ____ and the world.

3) The mission of the ____ is to discover and disseminate knowledge through the education of a diverse population of traditional and nontraditional students, and through research, artistic and scholarly endeavors, as it becomes the nation's premier public university in an urban setting. In this role, the ____  applies its expertise to the challenges facing the local, state, national and international communities, and it establishes and nurtures relationships with community organizations, government agencies, public schools and the private sector to enhance the educational, economic and cultural vitality of the city of ____ and the state of ___.

4) The mission of ___  is to serve the people of ____ and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.

5)  As an urban research university, our mission is to discover, examine, transmit and apply knowledge that contributes to the positive development and well-being of individuals, organizations and society.  ___  is a national research institution dedicated to preparing students to excel in an increasingly advanced and interconnected global society.

6) The ____ serves the people of ___ , the nation, and the world as a premier, public, urban research university dedicated to undergraduate, graduate, and professional education, experience-based learning, and research. We are committed to excellence and diversity in our students, faculty, staff, and all of our activities. We provide an inclusive environment where innovation and freedom of intellectual inquiry flourish. Through scholarship, service, partnerships, and leadership, we create opportunity, develop educated and engaged citizens, enhance the economy and enrich our university, city, state and global community.

7)  The ___  is dedicated to excellence demonstrated through national and international recognition. As ____ public research university, through freedom of academic inquiry and expression, we create and disseminate knowledge by means of scholarly and creative achievements, graduate and professional education, and outreach. Through our focus on teaching and learning, the University helps every student grow intellectually and become a contributing member of the state, national, and world communities. Through research, teaching, service, and outreach, we embrace diversity and cultivate leadership, integrity, and engaged citizenship in our students, faculty, staff, and alumni. As our state's flagship public land and sea grant institution, we promote the health and well-being of ___ citizens through enhancing the social, economic, cultural, and natural environments of the state and beyond.

8)  ____ is the flagship residential, doctoral-extensive campus of ____. Its mission is to create, disseminate, preserve, and apply knowledge. It does so through its commitments to cutting-edge research, scholarship, arts, and creative activity; to challenging and inspired undergraduate, graduate, professional, and life-long education; to culturally diverse and international educational programs and communities; to first-rate library and museum collections; to economic development in the state and region; and to meaningful experiences outside the classroom. The ____ campus is committed to full diversity, academic freedom, and meeting the changing educational and research needs of the state, the nation, and the world.

9) As a land grant institution committed to teaching, research, and outreach and engagement, ____ promotes economic, social, cultural and environmental progress for the people of ____  the nation and the world. This mission is achieved by producing graduates competitive in the global economy, supporting a continuous search for new knowledge and solutions, and maintaining a rigorous focus on academic excellence, particularly in the three Signature Areas: Advancing the Science of Sustainable Earth Ecosystems; Improving Human Health and Wellness; and Promoting Economic Growth and Social Progress.

10) As the only urban research university in ____, ____ offers educational opportunities for traditional and nontraditional students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels by blending the best of theoretical and applied inquiry, scholarly and professional pursuits, and scientific and artistic expression. As an urban research university with strong disciplinary-based departments and a wide array of problem-oriented interdisciplinary programs, the goal of the university is to develop, transmit, and utilize knowledge in order to provide access to quality education for diverse groups of students, to educate leaders for the ____ and the nation, and to prepare citizens for lifelong learning in a global society.


A) Indiana University
B) Oregon State University
C) Wayne State University
D) University of Connecticut
E) University of Tennessee
F) University of Cincinnati
G) Georgia State University
H) University of Michigan
I)  University of Houston
J)  Indiana State University

Not much to go with, is there?  Almost everyone is global, sees a responsibility to city, state, nation, and world.  Many are land-grant institutions.  Most promote diversity.  All are dedicated to education, some specifying whether that is undergraduate, graduate or both.  Almost all value research and scholarship.

I chose all of these institutions at random just by googling university mission statements.  I made no conscious effort to pick similar ones.  For awhile, I grabbed the urban institutions that popped up, later I snagged the land-grant ones.  And I could have gone on and done the same for liberal arts institutions, private business colleges, and community colleges.  Within each of those categories, there is a cookie cutter recipe for developing a mission statement.  

Some could say I'm entirely unfair to take out the references to the institutions and their communities, saying that these are the very things that make University of Houston (for example) different from the University of Tennessee.  However, I would argue that the above . . . and the matching could have gone on for hundreds of institutions . . . shows that we can't distinguish much from the missions of our centers for learning in America.  

Mission statements may be just as redundant across business, I don't know, and don't care that much. All I know is that Mad Magazine could run one of their classic bits where "you can write a mission statement" by simply choosing a phrase from column one, an adjective from column two, and a a noun from column three.

Colleges and universities are supposed to be the hot beds of creative, original and critical thinking, but mission statements certainly cast great doubt on that idea.

Answers:  1-E, 2-J, 3-I, 4-H, 5-C, 6-F, 7-D, 8-A, 9-B, 10-G