vision statement

Vision, Guiding Values, and Mission for the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences

10-Year Vision for the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences:

The College's faculty, staff, students and graduates are internationally recognized for their contributions to the knowledge of the environmental systems that manifest in weather and climate, the interdependencies between societies and their natural environments, and the transition to a sustainable civilization.
 

Guiding Values for the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences:

• People - A professional community of talented, productive faculty, staff, and students with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences that contribute to an integrative understanding of environmental systems.
• Collegiality - Open and honest communication, coordination, and collaboration among the College's faculty, staff, and students, with an emphasis on fostering mutual benefit;
• Synergy - College-level strategic goals, planning, and support services are in balance with the vision, mission, goals, constraints, and aspirations of each of its academic, research, and outreach programs, such that the whole is always greater than the sum of the parts;
• Education - Innovative undergraduate and graduate education to nurture a fundamental and holistic understanding of the environmental systems from the atmospheric, geographic, and spatial-computational perspectives that are strategically important to society at present and in the future;
• Teaching - Rigorous and authentic instructional approaches that foster critical thinking, creativity, problem solving skills, collaborations, and lifelong learning both inside and outside the University community.
• Research and Scholarship - Outstanding and leading-edge research and scholarship that address environmental and societal challenges of regional and global significance in geography, geoinformatics, and atmospheric science; and
• Extension and Outreach - Information and technical applications, training, and professional development, and economic opportunities that benefit the University, commercial and government partners, disciplinary science communities, and society.

Mission of the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences: Administer, guide, and direct an academic enterprise in geography, geoinformatics, and meteorology so as to become the international leader in weather- and climate-related education and training, environmental and sustainability studies, research and development, and extension and outreach.

The College accomplishes this mission by championing:

• Internationally renowned scholarship in geography, geoinformatics and meteorology.
• Transdisciplinary initiatives that bridge traditional disciplinary boundaries within the College and beyond to explore new areas of research and advance the missions of the University, the College, and its academic and research units.
• Innovative undergraduate curricula enriched through hands-on research, multidisciplinary approaches, experiential and service learning, synergistic collaborations, and linked local, regional, and global perspectives.
• Economic development and entrepreneurial activities that extend beyond the University to translate scientific discoveries to regional, national, and international impact.
• Recognized programs that engage pre-college students; enhance science teaching; promote geographic, spatial-computational, and atmospheric literacy; and foster diversity.