UNIVERSITY MISSION

The following statement of the University's mission, character, and priorities was endorsed by the Board of Trustees. It represents an updated articulation of CWRU's fundamental attributes: Case Western Reserve University's mission is to serve society as a leading center for undergraduate, graduate, and professional education, for research that adds to society's store of knowledge and addresses its priorities, and for active, responsible world and community citizenship. The students, faculty, staff, volunteers, alumni and others who constitute the University community pursue and represent this mission through their teaching, research, professional activities, and public service, all marked by a commitment to continuous learning.

Character

The University's mission is sustained by intellectual vigor and honesty, open expression of ideas, independent judgment, a commitment to a just and humane campus community, and a tradition that integrates the dominant themes in modern education: the arts and sciences, technology, and the professions.

Integrity in all of the University's pursuits, both scholarly and administrative, is essential to the search for knowledge. This requires that we respect new ideas and encourage examination and discussion of differing opinions. It requires as well that we recognize the dignity of each individual, that we appreciate and enjoy the rich cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity of our campus community, and that we respect the contributions of all disciplines to the advancement of knowledge.

These characteristics make it possible for the larger society to place trust in the degrees we confer, in the instruction and research we conduct, in the new knowledge we disseminate, and in the judgments we make about academic and administrative matters. To strengthen and preserve these qualities, each member of the University community has a responsibility to serve as a mentor for other members.

Priorities

The University's highest priority is on learning. This encompasses a wide range of activities, from formal classes and extracurricular activities for students to research and other avenues for continuous development of the knowledge and skills of faculty and staff. In the interest of learning, and in recognition of the special role that society assigns to universities, we make parallel and inseparable commitments to teaching and research.

Case Western Reserve enrolls promising students in courses and programs in the arts and sciences, in engineering and the applied sciences, and in the professions of dentistry, law, management, medicine, nursing, and social work. We have no task more important than the superlative education of these students, which includes classroom and laboratory instruction, advising, mentoring and other assistance, and providing a campus environment that supports learning through a challenging curriculum, high standards, and active scholarship. Our goal in this education is to help our students develop in-depth knowledge in a field of special study as well as integrate the humanistic, scientific, technological, and professional cultures that are represented within the University, thus to prepare them to make important contributions to society.

The region, the nation, and the world look to Case Western Reserve and a small number of other universities worldwide to provide the new knowledge upon which society depends. The University's faculty conduct research in the full range of disciplines in which we offer instruction, generally with the active participation of students and with a commitment to share the results of the research widely and, when appropriate, to promote their dissemination through the market. Sustaining this high level of quality in research is vital to preserving an environment supportive of learning.

The University is itself a community, but it exists in several communities as well-University Circle, the City of Cleveland, the State of Ohio, the United States, and the world. We draw from each, and we contribute to each. We are committed to the principle that a great university must be active at each level of community, and that it can be no greater internationally than locally. In support of this principle, we encourage and support activities by faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other members of the University that address community needs and opportunities. We pledge as well that the University will itself be a responsible citizen.

ACCREDITATION

In addition to being accredited at the institutional level by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, several of CWRU's individual programs are accredited by nationally recognized professional associations, including:

State of Ohio Division of Teacher Education and Licensure

The University is chartered as an educational institution under the laws of the State of Ohio and holds a Certificate of Authorization from the Ohio Board of Regents.

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