OSU's Land Grant Status:
Vision, Mission & Values
"Oregon State University’s strategic plan is built upon outcomes from the OSU-2007 planning process that involved hundreds of individuals in thousands of conversations since January 2002. The plan reflects ideas and insights from faculty, students, staff, administrators, and constituents and stakeholders.
The plan is also informed by the priorities of the Oregon University System, the Governor, the work of various think- tank groups and initiatives, including the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities, the Oregon Business Plan, and the Oregon Council for Knowledge and Economic Development."
—Edward J. Ray, President (February 2004)
Phase II Imperative
The University will foster exceptional educational, research, and outreach initiatives that sustain human well being and improve the quality of human life.
Acting on this imperative requires understanding diverse, complex interactions among population, demographics, human health, climate, access to natural resources (including safe food, clean water and air, and wood products), sustainability, economic vitality, cultural diversity, and new technologies, among others. Well-being and quality of life are likewise enhanced by the fine and performing arts and the humanities and social sciences, which promote understanding and improvement in human interactions within and across cultures.
A successful response to this imperative requires OSU to meet two commitments:
Commitment #1
OSU will lead in developing a globally competitive workforce and an informed and capable citizenry. Given complex global challenges and the explosive growth of knowledge and technology, student learning must encompass the basic tenets of human thought, the skills of critical thinking and information assessment, and the capacity to work and live in a multicultural world. Students will acquire the understanding of major political, social and intellectual trends – and the functions of the natural world – necessary to address complex academic and research problems.
Commitment #2
OSU will address multifaceted national and global challenges that resist simple technical or social solutions. The University's education, research, and outreach activities must intensely engage broad intellectual and social communities in seeking solutions to these problems. Therefore, OSU will integrate knowledge and exploration in Signature Areas of Distinction with inquiries in the sciences and humanities that open doors to new strategies and solutions.
Three Signature Areas of Distinction for OSU
Three Signature Areas of Distinction, informed by the two commitments above, build upon the thematic areas in the original Strategic Plan in order to provide OSU a competitive edge, a stronger assertion of institutional identity nationally and internationally, and the greatest possible opportunity to have a positive impact. These three areas are:
- Advancing the science of sustainable earth ecosystems.
- Improving human health and wellness.
- Promoting economic growth and social process.