Mission and Values and History
Meeting the Needs of Oregon—
and the World
Focusing on its current strengths and future potential,
Oregon State University targets its teaching, research
and outreach on five key themes that reflect Oregon’s
needs and goals.
The theme areas are:
• Understanding the origin, dynamics and
sustainability of the Earth and its resources.
• Optimizing enterprise, technological change and
innovation.
• Realizing the potential of the life sciences and the
optimal delivery of public health services in healthy
environments.
• Managing natural resources that contribute to
Oregon’s quality of life, and growing and sustaining
natural resources-based industries.
• Building and maintaining a strong curriculum and
basic inquiry in the arts and sciences that
contributes to all parts of the university.
All of these require a cooperative, multidisciplinary
approach involving many people and departments at
the university. This focused and compelling approach
helps OSU attract and retain talented students, faculty
and staff.
It is designed to help educate a new generation of
students who can communicate clearly and effectively,
think broadly, address and solve complex problems,
and adapt to environments that are enriched by
diversity and characterized by constant change.
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Oregon State University
Students Come First
• OSU is committed to diversity. Our students
come from all walks of life and from all over the
world. And they enter Oregon State with the
highest high school GPA of any school in the
Oregon University System.
• OSU offers a full range of scholarships, grants,
work-study, and loans from federal, state, and
university sources. We will help you get the best
possible financial aid package.
• OSU CONNECT, a five-day orientation program
before the start of fall term, helps students adjust
to campus life. Activities include new student
convocation, welcome receptions, interactive
workshops with students and professors, and
many other educational and social activities
geared towards connecting new students to the
university and Corvallis.
• Our First-Year Experience program helps new
students transition into university life. A variety
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of small-group experiences are offered (such as
OSU Odyssey, a student orientation course) to
connect first-year students to faculty, current
OSU students, and other new students.
The University Exploratory Studies Program
allows students to explore a variety of disciplines
before choosing an academic major.
Our Minority Education Office, cultural centers,
and Educational Opportunities Program work
with African American, Hispanic American,
Asian American, and Native American students
to ensure that their OSU experience is positive.
Oregon State is the only college or university in
the state that offers ROTC programs for all four
services—Air Force, Army, Marines, and Navy.
With more than 300 student organizations, plus
club, intramural, and Pac-10 Conference sports,
students find it easy to keep busy at OSU.
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OSU’s Campus—
The State of Oregon
• The OSU Extended Campus office offers an extensive
range of distance education services and bachelor’s
degree programs throughout Oregon.
• The OSU Extension Service provides services in all
36 Oregon counties.
• Corvallis is an ideal university town of 50,000 people,
offering a wide range of community, religious, dining,
shopping, and cultural opportunities. And the city is just
an hour or two from the Oregon Coast, the snowcapped Cascade Mountains, and Portland—Oregon’s
largest city.
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Oregon State University
Mission
Preamble
Oregon State University is a comprehensive, public,
research university and a member of the Oregon
University System. It is the state’s land grant, sea
grant, space grant, and sun grant institution, and has
programs and faculty located in every county of the
state. OSU views the state of Oregon as its campus,
and works in partnership with Oregon community
colleges and other OUS institutions to provide access
to educational programs.
Mission
Oregon State University aspires to stimulate a lasting
attitude of inquiry, openness and social responsibility.
To meet these aspirations, we are committed to
providing excellent academic programs, educational
experiences and creative scholarship.
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Vision
To best serve the people of Oregon, Oregon State
University will be among the Top 10 land grant
institutions in America.
Goals
Provide outstanding academic programs that further
strengthen our performance and pre-eminence in the
five thematic areas.
Provide an excellent teaching and learning
environment and achieve student access, persistence and
success through graduation and beyond that matches
the best land grant universities in the country.
Substantially increase revenues from private
fundraising, partnerships, research grants, and
technology transfers while strengthening our ability to
more effectively invest and allocate resources.
Core Values
Accountability. We are committed stewards of the
loyalty and good will of our alumni and friends and of
the human, fiscal, and physical resources entrusted to us.
Diversity. We recognize that diversity and excellence
go hand-in-hand, enhancing our teaching, scholarship,
and service as well as our ability to welcome, respect, and
interact with other people.Integrity. We practice honesty,
freedom, truth, and integrity in all that we do.
Respect. We treat each other with civility, dignity, and
respect.
Social responsibility. We contribute to society’s
intellectual, cultural, spiritual, and economic progress
and well-being to the maximum possible extent.
Source: OSU Strategic Plan, February 2004.