In the context of higher education, institutional mission statements are typically designed to describe a college or university’s purpose (why it exists), values (what it believes in), and overarching strategy and operational policies (what it does/how it works to achieve its purpose)[i]. In the shadow of the looming climate crisis[ii] and in light of recent, global-scale student-led uprisings against climate injustices[iii], I was curious to take a cursory look at how environmental justice concerns are reflected in university mission statements. Here, I examine the mission statements of four different universities: Virginia Tech (VT), the University of Georgia (UGA), Colorado State University (CSU), and Thompson River University (TRU). I chose the first two because of my personal connection to these schools. I am currently enrolled at VT for my doctoral degree, and I attended UGA for both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees (go DAWGS!). I chose to also look at CSU and TRU, because they are rated as the most sustainable universities in the US and Canada by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)[iv].
Virginia Tech’s Mission Statement
Inspired by our land-grant identity and guided by our motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech is an inclusive community of knowledge, discovery, and creativity dedicated to improving the quality of life and the human condition within the Commonwealth of Virginia and throughout the world.[v]
As might be predicted by its Ut Prosim motto (which I can honestly attest is well-embedded in Hokie culture), VT’s mission emphasizes the promotion of social justice. This shows up both in the ‘why’ (“improving the quality of life and the human condition”) and the ‘how’ (via an “inclusive community”) aspects of the mission statement. However, the VT mission statement fails to mention anything about the environment or the relationship between environmental health and human wellbeing. Also, environmental sustainability is not mentioned anywhere on VT’s About webpage[vi]. So, while VT’s messaging aligns with the social concerns of environmental justice, it does not explicitly address environmental concerns.
University of Georgia’s Mission
The University of Georgia, a land-grant and sea-grant university with statewide commitments and responsibilities, is the state’s oldest, most comprehensive, and most diversified institution of higher education. Its motto, “to teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things,” reflects the University’s integral and unique role in the conservation and enhancement of the state’s and nation’s intellectual, cultural, and environmental heritage…
With its statewide mission and core characteristics, the University of Georgia endeavors to prepare the University community and the state for full participation in the global society of the twenty-first century. Through its programs and practices, it seeks to foster the understanding of and respect for cultural differences necessary for an enlightened and educated citizenry. It further provides for cultural, ethnic, gender, and racial diversity in the faculty, staff, and student body. The University is committed to preparing the University community to appreciate the critical importance of a quality environment to an interdependent global society.[vii]
I was intrigued and also puzzled by the fact that UGA has more of a multi-page mission declaration than a mission statement (of which the above paragraphs are only excerpts). While this allows for much more detailed descriptions about what the university is and does, it also lacks the focused simplicity (and, thus, the impact) of a more succinct and distilled mission statement. Nonetheless, the statement does address issues of environmental health (i.e. quality) and its “critical importance… to an interdependent global society” and emphasizes the need to conserve our “environmental heritage.” Interestingly, while UGA explicitly addresses environmental issues, I do not think it does as nice of a job as VT in promoting the social aspects of an environmental justice agenda. For example, it emphasizes conserving and enhancing intellectual and cultural heritage and fostering “an enlightened and educated citizenry,” but it does not mention human wellbeing. Also, while it waxes poetically about understanding and respecting diversity, it doesn’t mention inclusion. Diversity without inclusion is like being invited to a party, but then not being asked to dance.
Colorado State University’s Mission Statement
Inspired by its land-grant heritage, Colorado State University is committed to excellence, setting the standard for public research universities in teaching, research, service and extension for the benefit of the citizens of Colorado, the United States and the world.[viii]
As a university that prides itself on being the most sustainable university in the US, I was rather underwhelmed by the CSU mission statement. The only ‘whys’ it discusses are (in my opinion) overly general and uninspiring: “excellence” and “the benefit of the citizens of Colorado, the United States and the world.” I was much more inspired by the content of CSU’s What We Stand For webpage[ix], according to which CSU stands for inclusion, responsibility (which is described in terms of sustainability and commitment to community), and leadership. I don’t think CSU’s mission statement adequately showcases the motivation and vision that seemingly drives its sustainability and inclusion efforts.
Thompson River University’s Mission Statement
TRU is a comprehensive, learner-centered, environmentally responsible institution that serves its regional, national, and international learners and their communities through high quality and flexible education, training, research and scholarship.[x]
TRU’s mission statement nicely explains ‘what’ the university believes in and ‘how’ (i.e. through what means) it seeks to realize its aims. It also explicitly emphasizes the need to be environmentally responsible. However, like the CSU mission statement, its ‘why’ element is weak and overgeneralized: ‘to serve its learners and their communities.’ This is akin to communicating that you are off on a journey to somewhere important, but then failing to divulge this destination.
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Examining these four university mission statements has made me appreciate the importance of including all of the why, what, and how elements in these kinds of statements. CSU’s mission statement (which gives a very general ‘why’ and doesn’t mention ‘what’ the university stands for) seems particularly underwhelming. The TRU mission statement also gives a very general ‘why’ (although it does give a ‘what’), which I think detracts from its strength. These weaknesses and the length of UGA’s statement emphasize how difficult it is to adequately capture an institution’s purpose, values, and strategies/policies in a succinct mission statement.
None of the examined university mission statements fully embodied the tenets of an environmental justice agenda, though both CSU and TRU seem closely aligned in their actual practices. I would be curious to learn VT and UGA administrators’ perceptions of the environmental justice tenets “missing” from each of their mission statements. Would they view these tenets as missing or simply absent?
References
[i] https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2017/12/20/what-do-universities-want-to-be-a-content-analysis-of-mission-and-vision-statements-worldwide/
[ii] Steffen, W., Richardson, K., Rockström, J., Cornell, S. E., Fetzer, I., Bennett, E. M., . . . Sörlin, S. (2015). Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet. Science, 347(6223), 1259855.
[iii] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/21/across-the-globe-millions-join-biggest-climate-protest-ever; https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/27/climate-crisis-6-million-people-join-latest-wave-of-worldwide-protests; https://www.fridaysforfuture.org/statistics/graph
[iv] https://reports.aashe.org/institutions/participants-and-reports/?sort=rating; https://www.bestcolleges.com/features/greenest-universities/