Virginia Tech (VT) Mission Statement
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) is a public land-grant university serving the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and the world community. The discovery and dissemination of new knowledge are central to its mission. Through its focus on teaching and learning, research and discovery, and outreach and engagement, the university creates, conveys, and applies knowledge to expand personal growth and opportunity, advance social and community development, foster economic competitiveness, and improve the quality of life.
University of Richmond (UR) Mission Statement
The mission of the University of Richmond is to educate in an academically challenging, intellectually vibrant, and collaborative community dedicated to the holistic development of students and the production of scholarly and creative work. A Richmond education prepares students for lives of purpose, thoughtful inquiry, and responsible leadership in a diverse world.
Thoughts
The mission statements of the two institutions I chose for this assignment are Virginia Tech and the University of Richmond. The two universities are located in the State of Virginia, United States. Virginia Tech is a public land-grant university, while the University of Richmond is a private university. I chose the two because I think it is interesting to compare the mission statement of two distinct universities in the state. From the two statements, teaching and learning are the main focus of both institutions, making sense since one of the most important purposes of any higher institution is to impart knowledge. However, I thought that UR’s mission statement was mainly focused on education and the learning environment. This is not surprising, though, since they offer mostly undergraduate programs with very limited master’s programs. In addition, I noticed that UR’s mission statement was related to the courses they offer, which are purely arts. Although I think they may have to revise their mission statement if they start offering science courses and more graduate programs which might require intensive research.
Personally, I can relate to most of the statements on the VT mission statement because I have experienced them first hand, such as research and discovery, outreach, social and community development.
Finally, I don’t usually pay attention to organizations’ mission statements, but I would start focusing on that after this assignment. Properly reflecting on any organization’s mission statement can tell you what they stand for and their core values. This could help to make sound decisions before getting into business with them.