Vision and Mission Updated to Clearly Communicate U of A Purpose, Direction

University Relations

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – An update of the University of Arkansas' vision and mission statements will go before the University's Board of Trustees for review and formal approval at their next meeting in September. The statements cap more than two years of strategic work that also resulted in the creation of guiding priorities, a new academic strategic plan and the development of unifying messaging themes for communicating about the university.

"The university's primary mission hasn't changed significantly in many years, but we realized the way we were expressing our vision and mission could be enhanced to more accurately reflect where we're headed and the strategic priorities we need to be focusing on to get there," said Chancellor Joe Steinmetz.

The University of Arkansas remains committed to its original land-grant vision of creating a better future for individuals and society as a whole through access to higher education. And as the flagship institution of the University of Arkansas System, the U of A's mission includes serving the state of Arkansas as a partner, resource and catalyst.

Updated U of A Vision and Mission (pending Board of Trustees' approval)

Vision: The University of Arkansas represents the best of public higher education, advancing Arkansas while building a better world.

Mission: The University of Arkansas is determined to build a better world by providing transformational opportunities and skills, promoting an inclusive and diverse culture, nurturing creativity, and solving problems through research and discovery, all in service to Arkansas. 

Since 1871, our fundamental purpose as a land-grant institution and state flagship remains unchanged — to serve the state of Arkansas as a partner, resource and catalyst by:

• Providing access to a comprehensive and internationally competitive public education, and fostering student success across a wide spectrum of disciplines.

• Utilizing research, discovery and creative activity to improve the quality of life, develop solutions to the challenges we face and drive the state's economy.

• Contributing service and expertise through outreach, engagement and collaboration.

"One of the challenges of having a large campus community is creating awareness of collective goals and strategies," Steinmetz said. "The university's vision and mission statements help keep us on track by serving as concise reminders of our purpose and direction."

Campus feedback generated during the strategic planning process was used to guide the vision and mission update. The planning process included:

• More than 75 individual meetings with academic departments, centers and programs.
• Departmental summaries of their strengths, weaknesses, challenges and future direction.
• Dean, faculty, staff and student working group discussions and university-wide theme development.
• Development of guiding priorities and key initiatives.
• Alignment of college-level and unit-level strategic plans with the priorities.
• Development and implementation of the university's strategic plan.

Feedback received during the development of unifying messaging themes for university communication also influenced the vision and mission update. The development process included survey responses from more than 8,000 university stakeholders, a series of 87 in-depth interviews representing 16 different stakeholder groups and feedback from four working groups representing faculty, staff and students.

Questions or suggestions regarding the vision and mission update should be sent to feedback@uark.edu.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.