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The University of Mississippi strives to be a great, comprehensive, public institution of higher learning.
The University of Mississippi is a public, comprehensive, research institution that exists to enhance the educational, economic, healthcare, social and cultural foundations of the state, region, and nation. As the oldest public institution of higher learning in the state and as a Carnegie Research University (high research activity), the institution’s primary functions are the creation, dissemination, and application of knowledge through a variety of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs and public service activities. The University's main campus at Oxford emphasizes a traditional, residential educational experience, with a central College of Liberal Arts and professional schools of Accountancy, Applied Sciences, Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Law, and Pharmacy. Through its breadth of academic and research programs and its strong liberal arts tradition, the Oxford campus serves the educational needs of the entire state and also attracts a high percentage of out-of-state students. The University's regional campuses in Tupelo and Southaven emphasize professional offerings and serve adult and traditional learners in North Mississippi. The University Medical Center in Jackson includes the University Hospitals and Clinics as well as Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Health Related Professions, Dentistry, and Graduate Studies.
The University educates students to assume leadership roles in the state, nation, and world through its nationally recognized programs of undergraduate, graduate, and professional study. Its teaching, research, and service missions are characterized by equal access and equal opportunity to all who qualify.
Teaching: The University will provide excellent, student-centered academic and co-curricular programs. Our goal is to produce graduates who have the breadth and depth of knowledge to be lifelong learners, to be successful in their discipline, and to be good citizens. Instruction builds upon a central College of Liberal Arts, the foundation of the institution, with its programs through the doctorate in the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and the arts. Our professional schools provide programs, including continuing education programs, for preparing the following: K-12 and higher education teachers and administrators; lawyers and legal professionals; engineers in a variety of specialty areas; accountancy and business professionals; pharmacists and pharmaceutical science researchers, health care and applied human sciences professionals. Academic programs also include the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, the Lott Leadership Institute, and the Croft Center for International Studies. The Medical Center programs train health care professionals at the first professional, graduate, and postgraduate levels.
Research: The University will produce research and scholarship that is nationally recognized and supports the economic, healthcare, and cultural development of the state, the region, and the nation. The mission to generate new knowledge extends to the sciences, humanities, social sciences, engineering, business, accountancy, applied sciences, educational pedagogy, biomedical sciences, and health care areas. Research centers of national prominence include the National Center for Natural Products Research, the Center for Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management, the National Center for Physical Acoustics, the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, the National Center for Computational Hydrosciences and Engineering, the National Center for Justice and the Rule of Law, the National Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law Center, and the National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology in Oxford and the Jackson Heart Study, the Center for Excellence in Cardiovascular-Renal Research, and the Center for Excellence in Women’s Health at the Medical Center.
Service: The University will be a leader in providing service to the public, through the application and dissemination of its expertise and knowledge, in Mississippi, the region, and the nation. This public service function is fulfilled through a variety of outreach programs involving almost all academic disciplines and extending across Northern Mississippi, with branch campuses in Tupelo and Southaven, and reaching state-wide and beyond in some cases. Prominent among our service/outreach programs are the Barksdale Reading Institute, the National Food Service Management Institute, and the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation. The Medical Center seeks to raise the health level of Mississippians by providing exemplary patient care and by responding to community needs through continuing health care education, outreach programs, and cooperative partnerships.
Additionally, the University is committed to
- developing diverse campuses that recognize and promote the value of individual differences;
- providing the highest quality educational support services and modern health care technologies to enhance the learning and patient care environments;
- maintaining efficient and effective administrative services to support its basic functions;
- supporting and developing a highly qualified faculty and staff; and
- leveraging its strengths and expertise by developing interdisciplinary programs within the institution and partnerships with other IHL institutions for the benefit of the University and the state.
The above statement of Vision, Mission and Commitments pertains to all campuses of the University of Mississippi and has been approved by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning. The University's main Oxford campus, along with the Tupelo and Southaven branch campuses and other programs that are directly managed by the main campus, engage in systematic planning and assessment processes. This includes the re-articulation, approximately every ten years, of a set of Goals Statements and the use of these as guides for planning and assessment. The Goals for 2010 for the Oxford, Tupelo and Southaven campuses, statements which are incorporated into the above Vision, Mission and Commitments for all campuses, are as follows:
- The University will provide excellent, student-centered undergraduate academic and co-curricular programs. Our vision is to produce graduates who have the breadth and depth of knowledge to be lifelong learners, to be successful in their discipline, and to be good citizens.
- The University will provide high quality graduate and professional education in a range of disciplines and will produce research and scholarship that is nationally recognized and supports the economic, healthcare, and cultural development of the state, the region, and the nation.
- The University will provide the highest quality educational support services to enhance the learning environment and to provide access to information for students on the Oxford, Jackson, and regional campuses.
- The University will be a leader in providing service to the public, through the application and dissemination of its expertise and knowledge, in Mississippi, the region, and the nation.
- The University will develop a diverse campus that recognizes and promotes the value of individual differences.
- The University will maintain efficient and effective administrative services to support the University's instructional, research, and public service programs. The University will be a good steward of its resources.
- The University will support a highly qualified faculty and staff and will provide an environment that enables their professional development.
- The University will strive to leverage its strengths and expertise by developing interdisciplinary programs within the institution and synergistic partnerships with other institutions for the benefit of the University and the state.
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