Mission, Vision, and Goals

The Department of Psychology comprises a faculty of scientists whose mission is to contribute to our understanding of human and animal behavior; to disseminate this knowledge to students, other scientists, and the public; and to apply this knowledge to human health problems. Our graduate instructional mission is to train students in the methods, philosophies, and ethics of scientific inquiry so that they will become scientists capable of contributing to the base of scientific knowledge about psychology, and to train psychologists who will apply this knowledge in medical and therapeutic settings. Our undergraduate instructional mission is to provide a liberal arts education in the context of a research university; to help our students learn to think rationally, creatively and critically; to communicate clearly, correctly, and persuasively; to gather and interpret data; and to engage in arguments with others with understanding and respect.

Vision

Psychology will be central to human progress in the new millennium. Students at this University and others have come to recognize the centrality of psychology as a liberal arts discipline, and its relevance to the endeavors they will engage in upon leaving the university. Psychology, once a newcomer on the academic block, is now the most populated major at this University and most others in the U.S. At the same time, the field of psychology is evolving, with all areas being invigorated by new biological perspectives. The understanding of human and animal behavior is the next frontier in the scientific investigation of the natural world, and our discipline promises to achieve major advances in this quest. Our vision is to redesign our department to fully reflect psychology's biological core, the field's centrality to the University and society, and its great potential for solving human health problems. We developed our vision by articulating several principles and by using these as the groundwork for redesigning our department:

• A modern psychology department should dynamically reinvigorate itself by identifying and leading major new directions in the field; by hiring new faculty to spearhead new directions, and by reflecting these directions in curricula, classrooms and laboratories.
• Undergraduate students will learn most from a psychology curriculum that has the following features: (a) explicit attention to the diverse goals of general-education students and majors; (b) a logical sequence of courses; (c) small interactive learning contexts; (d) opportunities to participate in the research discovery process; and (e) application of psychological principles to real-world human and social problems.
• Graduate students will benefit most from a graduate program that directs them swiftly into research, teaching, and clinical training, and promotes a student culture of innovation, collaboration, and excitement in discovery.
• Faculty and students are most productive in an academic environment that values and promotes collegiality, mutual respect, and a social context of academic exchange.
• Psychology is a rich source of knowledge and skills that will benefit students with a wide range of career aspirations and will serve community needs. Our department should foster and maintain links with the outside community and former students.

Goals

Our overarching goal is to improve the quality of the academic environment and educational experience for undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty. Actions that improve the academic environment for one of these three groups will usually benefit the others as well. Our specific goals and objectives are as follows:

1. Build a psychology department that fully reflects major new directions in the field.
2. Revise the undergraduate curriculum so that it (a) differentiates and customizes courses for general education and major students; (b) provides a logical sequence of courses; (c) features small interactive learning contexts; and (d) provides opportunities to participate in the research discovery process and the application of psychological principles to real-world human and social problems.
3. Revise our graduate curriculum to enhance its coherence, to emphasize and diversify research experience, to improve training in teaching, and to facilitate interaction and collegiality.
4. Strengthen the sense of intellectual community to support and enhance the social context of academic exchange.
5. Expand public communication and outreach.

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