Department of Philosophy & Religion Strategic Plan Mission The Department of Philosophy & Religion provides instruction and pursues research and scholarship in the disciplines of philosophy and the academic study of religion. Contributions to these disciplines also provide special resources for interdisciplinary study of the Humanities and ethics, and of issues of cultural diversity. We offer majors and minors in philosophy and in the academic study of religion. We coordinate and play the central role in an interdepartmental and community­involved program in ethics. We are major participants in the General Education program. Members of the department play leadership roles in national professional organizations. In addition to professional service within the university and our disciplines, departmental faculty are often called upon as resources for local and statewide media. We are committed to furthering, through our professional activities, the cultivation of the virtues of broad liberal education and an understanding of and respect for differences of gender, peoples, and cultures both in our society and across the world. Strategic Goals 1. Fully staff with regular faculty, and carry out effectively, the department’s commitment to General Education. 2. Establish an institutionally­recognized, titled agency to coordinate instruction and conduct research and public service I the general areas of theoretical, applied, and professional ethics. 3. Expand the cultural and ethnic diversity of the study of philosophy, religion, and the Humanities. 4. Sustain and substantially expand the international dimension of the study of philosophy and of religion, and of our contributions to General Education. 5. Consolidate and expand the recent gains in focus and appeal of the courses and major in the study of religion. 6. Strengthen faculty development, through support of faculty scholarship, publication, and national and regional professional leadership, as well as development and enhancement of teaching skills. 7. Develop and implement a plan for active and ongoing communications with our students, with the university community, and with the larger community, as well as among the faculty, to increase awareness of the importance and relevance of our disciplines and subject matter and to draw attention and awareness to our programs, resources, and achievements in these areas.