ORGANIZATION

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is both a major undergraduate and a regional graduate campus in the statewide University of Wisconsin System, which ranks among the top educational systems in the nation; it is one of 13 four-year campuses in the system. Control of the system rests with the state, a Board of Regents and an administrative head with the title of president. Each campus is administered under the leadership of a chancellor.

HISTORY

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh has a long and distinguished academic history, having served Wisconsin since opening its doors as the Oshkosh Normal School in 1871. Keeping abreast of educational trends, the school was designated Wisconsin State Teachers' College in 1925 and upon the approval of curricula in the liberal arts in 1949, became Wisconsin State College, Oshkosh. Recognizing the growth in enrollment and programs and the inauguration of several graduate degrees, the college was designated as Wisconsin State University Oshkosh in July 1964. Upon the merger of the Wisconsin State University and University of Wisconsin systems, the campus became the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 1971.

THE CAMPUS

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is located in the city of Oshkosh in the heart of the Fox River Valley, a thriving business, manufacturing and cultural center. Situated in the near northwest section of the city, the modern campus of 52 buildings is arranged along a central mall and boulevard and bordered on the west by the Fox River.

GOVERNING IDEAS FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN OSHKOSH

Abridged Select Mission Statement*

In sum, the Select Mission of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is to serve people by:

Providing students with access to a high-quality, affordable, comprehensive education that enables them to develop their general intellectual capacities, specific interests and abilities through academic programs and personalized student development services.

Fostering the scholarly activities of faculty, students and staff related to teaching, research, intellectual activities, creative expression and service.

Sharing its intellectual and specialized capabilities with individuals, organizations and communities in the Wisconsin region and beyond in a way that is responsive to the needs of the people we serve.

* The Abridged Select Mission Statement would be added to the existing Select Mission statement.

Select Mission of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

In addition to the System and core missions, UW Oshkosh has the following select mission**:

Ours is a comprehensive public university with unique ties to both urban and rural environments. We have a tradition of strong programs in the arts and sciences and in select professional career fields. Our faculty and staff are united in believing that the fundamental purpose of a university education is to develop thinking men and women capable of independent growth and adaptation in all roles of life. Accordingly, our select mission as a university is:

a. To acquire, preserve and disseminate knowledge.

b. To provide undergraduate coursework designed to develop learning proficiencies and to cultivate the values and perspectives of educated citizens — in particular, respect for human dignity and cultural diversity, commitment to personal excellence and the habit of taking thought.

c. To challenge students to develop their talents, intellectual interests and creative abilities; to promote an appreciation for both continuity and change; to provide the impetus for a lifelong commitment to and enthusiasm for, learning; and to prepare persons for critical evaluation and decision making.

d. To expect scholarly activity, including research, scholarship and creative endeavor that supports its programs at the associate and baccalaureate degree level, its selected graduate programs and its special mission

e. To provide a broad range of undergraduate degree programs in the arts and sciences, business administration, education and nursing.

f. To offer an array of master's and specialist level graduate programs which grow clearly from areas of undergraduate strength and meet the emerging needs of the regions which we serve.

g. To develop and offer programs and services responding to the needs of the people, institutions and communities which we serve.

** The existing Select Mission as adopted by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Vision: Engaging People and Ideas

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh will be a national model as a responsive, progressive and scholarly public service community known for its accomplished record of engaging people and ideas for common good. It will be admired for:

Enrichment and Leadership that emphasizes intellectual, civic, ethical and personal development for students, faculty and staff.

The Centrality of the Student-Faculty Relationship that is distinguished by active learning, mutual respect and collaborative scholarship.

Teaching Excellence that is characterized by diversity, discovery, engagement, innovation, dialogue and dissemination.

Scholarly Achievement that furthers new knowledge through diverse methods of inquiry and is applicable to multiple audiences.

Partnerships that mutually serve, stimulate and shape the University and the broader public.

Six Sets of Core Values

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh community values:

• Knowledge and Continuous Learning. We believe that the pursuit of knowledge, understanding, meaning and personal development should be encouraged across all stages of life.

• Diversity and Inclusiveness. We believe that a university community connects the perspectives and backgrounds of diverse social and academic groups of people. To meet this aim, a university community must be inclusive in its composition and support a civil atmosphere and a tolerant environment for learning.

• Quality and Achievement. We believe that the university should provide a wide range of high-quality educational and scholarly opportunities that stimulate activity and recognize achievement by students, faculty and staff.

• Freedom and Responsibility. We believe that members of a university community must be free to pursue academic, artistic and research agendas that are essential to the University mission, while contributing to an open and collegial environment that promotes reasoned inquiry, intellectual honesty, scholarly competence and the pursuit of new knowledge.

• Engagement and Support. We believe the vitality of ideas is supported by mutually reinforcing relationships that involve students, faculty, staff, administrators and the broader community. The student-faculty relationship is the most central relationship in the University. This spirit of engagement must also extend beyond the borders of our campus as we seek to stimulate, serve and shape our society.

• Social Awareness and Responsiveness. We believe that educators and students should explore and engage the challenges that confront regional, national and global communities, using their intellectual and creative capabilities to understand, investigate and solve problems. Social awareness will allow us to respond to domestic and international needs for equitable and sustainable societies.

Five Strategic Directions

1. Develop a Diverse, Engaged Community of Lifelong Learners and Collaborative Scholars.

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh will be regionally based and globally connected. We are a community of critical, creative and constructive thinkers who approach academic and social issues in an informed and principled way. Our learning community is distinguished by a pervasive commitment to diversity and inclusiveness, international perspectives, support for those with disabilities or special needs and engaged community service.

2. Enhance Teaching Excellence, Active Learning and Dynamic Curricular Programs.

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh will enhance the scholarly and physical environment we provide for teaching excellence, active learning and dynamic curricular programs. The university will encourage, support and intensify efforts to engage students inside and outside of the classroom.

3. Foster Research, Intellectual Activity and Creative Expression.

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh will sustain, support and enhance a vigorous scholarly environment for research, intellectual activity and creative expression. We will encourage faculty, students and staff to generate and maintain connections to professional communities and the people, institutions and communities we serve. Faculty, staff and students will seek opportunities to work together to discover, share and apply knowledge.

4. Expand Regional Outreach and Domestic and International Partnerships.

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh will expand and support collaborative relationships that contribute to the development of knowledge and its application in new situations while maintaining its core values. We encourage principled and responsive relationships that draw on the ideas, ambitions and talents of the University and its external partners.

5. Promote Representative Leadership, Responsive Shared Governance and Flexible Resource Stewardship.

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh will promote accessible, representative and altruistic leadership, responsive shared governance and flexible resource stewardship. We will be broad, open and inclusive in governance processes and will align our human, physical and financial resources to meet our established priorities.

Administrative Leadership Principles

• Maintain an open, inclusive, non-threatening environment

• Embrace responsive shared governance

• Treat people with respect and integrity

• Encourage risk taking

• Respect the ideas, roles and talents of all members of the team

• Nurture, promote and integrate diversity of people and ideas

• Preserve the ideals of altruistic leadership

• Recognize, reward and celebrate success

• Advocate for all aspects of the University

• Empower and support others

• Communicate honestly and constructively

• Recognize our accountability to our internal and external constituencies

• Listen carefully and respond clearly

• Make decisions based on the priorities integral to the Governing Ideas of the University

SHARED PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE INTERACTIONS AMONG MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY

The purpose of this document is to provide a framework of beliefs to promote respectful relationships among all members of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh community. Wherever possible, existing policies have been referenced to demonstrate translation of beliefs into practice.

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is a community of scholars whose members include students, faculty, academic staff, classified staff and administrators. The mission of UW Oshkosh is to discover and disseminate knowledge and to extend the application of knowledge beyond the university for the betterment of society; to develop in its members heightened intellectual, cultural and humane sensitivity; to enhance its members' scientific, professional and technological expertise and capacity for critical judgment; and to inspire in its members a passion for learning and a sense of values and purpose. Each individual plays an integral role in this common enterprise and, therefore, has a responsibility to ensure that UW Oshkosh fulfills its mission of providing the best education possible.

Achievement of these goals requires that all members of the UW Oshkosh University community understand and respect their mutual obligations. All members of the University have a responsibility to promote and a right to expect:

• A shared commitment to education as a dynamic learning process.
• A deep respect for the individuality of each member of the University community ... and the preservation of each member's dignity and privacy.
• The highest standards of personal integrity in all interactions within and beyond the University.
• The widest possible range of free inquiry and expression.
• An environment that is free of harassment and free of insulting and demeaning comments and epithets based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, military status, socioeconomic status, family status or political views; and consistently enforces federal, state and university protections against discriminatory treatment yet is free from any official speech codes.