2001-2003 Iowa State University

Iowa started an education revolution as the first state to accept the 1862 Morrill Act terms. The act allowed Iowa to sell federal land to finance a new college open to all regardless of wealth, race or gender; offering a practical education in agriculture, engineering and military science as well as classical studies; and sharing research knowledge with all Iowans. Iowa State University officially opened in 1869 and was the first coeducational land-grant school. Iowa State's mission statement reflects our institutional commitment to these founding qualities.

Mission, role and scope statement
(Approved by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, November 1989)
Iowa State University of Science and Technology is a public land-grant institution serving the people of Iowa, the nation, and the world through its interrelated programs of instruction, research, extension, and professional service. With an institutional emphasis upon areas related to science and technology, the University carries out its traditional mission of discovering, developing, disseminating, and preserving knowledge.

Iowa State University provides high quality undergraduate programs across a broad range of disciplines, as befits the institution's stature as a university. In its dedication to excellence in teaching, the University strives to instill in its students the discernment, intellectual curiosity, knowledge and skills essential for their individual development and their useful contribution to society. A common goal of undergraduate education is to assure that all students, regardless of disciplinary major, acquire literacy in science and technology, an understanding of humane and ethical values, an awareness of the intellectual, historical, and artistic foundations of our culture, and a sensitivity to other cultures and to international concerns. Consonant with its role as a teaching and research institution, Iowa State University has a strong commitment to graduate education that, at both the master's and doctoral levels, emphasizes the development of professional, research, and scholarship skills.

As an integral part of the learning process, Iowa State University fosters the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge by supporting research, scholarship, and creative activity. The University also uses existing knowledge to address problems and issues of concern to the state of Iowa in particular, as well as to the national and global community. The University's research and scholarly endeavors are supported by public and private resources and are conducted in an environment of open scientific inquiry and academic freedom. Extension, professional service, and continuing education activities are conducted through innovative and effective outreach programs that provide the people of Iowa, and beyond, with practical knowledge and information derived from leading instructional and research efforts at Iowa State University and elsewhere. Through its outreach programs, the University stimulates and encourages progressive change.

Iowa State University enrolls academically qualified students who represent diverse age groups, socio-economic levels, racial ancestries, ethnic heritages, and international cultures, and who provide a gender balance. Through the use of a variety of educational opportunities, advanced instructional technologies, and student services, the University supports the development of both traditional and non-traditional students, preparing them for citizenship and life-long learning in a rapidly changing world.

Finally, Iowa State University participates in international efforts to alleviate world hunger and poverty, to prepare students and faculty to be productive and responsible citizens of the world, and to contribute to increased cultural, educational, economic, scientific, and socio-political interchange and understanding between and among Iowans and other members of the world community.

Role Statement
The role of Iowa State University is defined by the institution's status as the state of Iowa's land-grant university and by its relationship to the other institutions of higher education within Iowa.

- Iowa State University must strive to develop and maintain instruction, research, extension, and professional service programs that fulfill the responsibilities of a major land-grant institution.
- Iowa State University shares with the other public institutions of higher education within Iowa the joint responsibility of providing a full range of high quality educational opportunities. Coordination among these institutions with respect to programs, clientele, and geographic areas is necessary to ensure that the priority needs of all Iowans are addressed and to avoid unnecessary duplication.
- Iowa State has a statewide system for extension education and information dissemination.
- Iowa State continues to be a leading higher education institution with institutional emphasis on science and technology.
- Consistent with its historic role, Iowa State University contributes to the economic development of the state of Iowa by attracting public and private organizations seeking proximity to leading authorities in particular fields, by participating in technology transfer, and by assisting efforts to strengthen and diversify the economic base of Iowa.

- Iowa State University assumes responsibility for helping to protect, maintain and improve Iowa's natural resources through the discovery and diffusion of knowledge and technology.

Scope Statement
Consistent with the university's role and mission statements, the current scope of Iowa State University is described below.

• Iowa State University of Science and Technology, a broad-based university with an orientation towards science and technology, has sufficient scope and depth in its instruction, research, and extension and professional service functions to enable it to continue to be a distinguished land-grant university. In addition to its undergraduate and graduate work in the physical, biological, mathematical, and social sciences, it will maintain and develop strong undergraduate programs in the arts and humanities, and will offer such master's and Ph.D. programs in this area as are justified to meet the needs of the state of Iowa and to maintain the overall strength and desirable balance of the university as a whole.
• In Iowa State University's professional programs, principal emphasis will be given to the maintenance and development of strong programs in the sciences, agriculture, engineering, veterinary medicine, design, education, business, and family and consumer sciences. Interdisciplinary programs are offered that seek to combine the perspectives and methods of more than one discipline to better address the questions and problems confronting Iowa, the nation, and the world. The international efforts of Iowa State University are to be expanded and enhanced.
• Iowa State University will offer no major undergraduate or graduate programs in law, library science, human medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, hospital administration, occupational therapy, physical therapy, or speech pathology.
• Future programs will be determined by the continuing assessment of existing programs and of developing needs. Programs will be curtailed or eliminated when the assessment of need and resources dictates that the resources could be better used for other programs. The university approaches the addition of new programs with considerable caution.

Generally, new programs are fashioned out of existing programs in response to developing needs. But if the university is to remain vital, it must be prepared and able to develop, at appropriate times, new programs that are within its general mission and that meet the changing needs of the students and society.

Iowa State’s values
As Iowa State University works toward creating an environment where continual learning serves the promises of a better world, all members of the university community are called upon to act in harmony with our core values.

• Land-grant values of:
access to education and success 
learning, encompassing practical and liberal education
discovery, encompassing basic and applied research
engagement, encompassing service and outreach
• excellence
• quest for knowledge
• shared leadership
• integrity
• commitment
• collaboration
• mutual respect
• inclusiveness
• global perspective

Non-discrimination and affirmative action policy
Iowa State University is committed to developing and implementing a program of nondiscrimination and affirmative action, a responsibility the university accepts willingly because it is the right and just thing to do. Because an educational institution exposes the youth of Iowa and of the nation to a 
multitude of ideas that strongly influence their future development, it is an area of our society where removing barriers is critical. ISU insists on promoting the concept of inclusion and participation. 

This commitment is part of a larger commitment to developing a safe and supportive climate for all members of the ISU community in classrooms and laboratories, in offices, in the residence hall system, and throughout the campus. Iowa State University recognizes that a non-discriminatory environment complements a commitment to academic inquiry and intellectual and personal growth.

The goal is to provide a non-discriminatory work environment, a non-discriminatory living and learning environment and a non-discriminatory environment for visitors to the campus. Iowa State University herein recommits itself to comply with all federal and state laws, regulations, and orders, including the policies of the Iowa Board of Regents, which pertain to nondiscrimination and affirmative action.All administrators and personnel providing input into administrative decisions are directed to ensure that all decisions relative to employment, conditions of employment and access to programs and services will be made without regard to race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. Vietnam Era Veteran. 

Exceptions to this directive may be made in matters involving bona fide occupational qualifications, business necessity, actions designed to eliminate workforce underutilization, and/or where this policy conflicts with federal and state laws, rules, regulations, or orders. Iowa State University does not and will not tolerate unlawful discrimination. Iowa State will recruit, hire, train and promote persons without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, or sexual orientation. Iowa State University will base employment decisions so as to further the principle of equal employment opportunity and diversity.

No otherwise qualified person will be denied access to, or participation in, any program, activity, service, or the use of facilities on the basis of factors previously enumerated. Reasonable accommodation will be made to facilitate the participation of persons with disabilities in all such activities consistent with applicable federal and state laws, orders and policies.

Further, all supervisory personnel will be responsible for maintaining an environment that is free of racial, ethnic or sexual abuse and harassment. The University has adopted policies and procedures on Racial and Ethnic Harassment and Sexual Harassment. Copies of these policies and procedures may be obtained from the Affirmative Action Office, at the address listed below. Acts by anyone that adversely affect another person's employment, conditions of employment, academic standing, receipt of services, and/or participation in, or enjoyment of, any other activity, will be regarded as a violation of university policy and thereby be subject to appropriate disciplinary action. Retaliation against persons filing complaints, for bringing the violation of this policy forward for review, or for assisting in a review, pursuant to a filed complaint or grievance, is prohibited.

Iowa State University's commitment to nondiscrimination and affirmative action is of the highest priority and is to be adhered to as such. It applies to all university-sponsored programs and activities as well as those that are conducted in cooperation with the university.

Iowa State University has designated Carla Espinoza as the affirmative action officer and assigns overall program responsibility to her as the Director of Affirmative Action. Questions regarding complaints and/or compliance with affirmative action or equal opportunity should be directed to: 

Carla Espinoza 
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-2038
515-294-7612. 

Iowa State’s points of pride
• The first electronic digital computer was designed by Iowa State math and physics professor John Vincent Atanasoff and graduate student Clifford Berry. Their invention, the ABC computer, built in the late 1930s, has been called the most important technological innovation of the 20th century, and is an excellent example of the ongoing spirit of innovation and advancement at Iowa State. Today the Iowa State community benefits from that innovation through Project Vincent, a computing system that provides students with powerful software for class work and research, e-mail access, space for their own Web pages and a speedy on-ramp to the Internet. 

• More than 16,000 workstations on campus are networked with access to InternetII and vBNS, fast new connections that allow work with complex computer models and links to supercomputers throughout the nation. Excellent computing facilities and Internet services to students have landed Iowa State on Yahoo!Internet Life magazine's "100 Most Wired Colleges" list.

• The university is a leader in virtual reality research and its C6 is the first six-sided virtual reality theater in the United States, designed to completely immerse the user in images and sound. The C6 provides students and companies a world-class facility for research and product development. It is housed in the College of Engineering's new Howe Hall, the first building of the Engineering and Teaching Research Complex to be completed.

As evidence of the university's reputation for excellence, Iowa State is one of only 62 major research universities in the United States and Canada named to the prestigious Association of American Universities.
Iowa State consistently ranks in the top four percent of the private and public institutions enrolling National Merit Scholars.

At Iowa State, more than 500 student-run organizations and academic clubs offer between 7,000 and 8,000 student leadership positions, allowing students to exercise and develop all of their skills and interests.
Our nationally and internationally renowned professors teach classes for both majors and non-majors, extending students' opportunities to study with leaders in a variety of disciplines.

• Every state and more than 100 foreign countries are represented in the student body, exposing students to ideas from other cultures both in and out of the classroom.

• Our nearly 2,000 acre, park-like campus includes 161 buildings, many of which are included on the National Register of Historic Places. The campus is rated one of the 25 most beautiful in the nation and is one of only three university campuses in the nation to be named a 1999 Centennial "Medallion Site" by the American Association of Landscape Architects.

• ISU graduates include George Washington Carver, an internationally respected plant scientist; Darleane Hoffman, a 1997 National Medal of Science winner, who discovered the new element 106 - seaborgium; David Nicholas, whose process to more efficiently convert text into digital information resulted in facsimile machines becoming an office staple around the world; Carrie Chapman Catt, who helped women win the right to vote and start the League of Women Voters; and Randy Dvorak, who designed Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox. Our alumni also include CEO's of Fortune 500 companies, Pulitzer Prize winning journalists, and elected government officials both in the United States and abroad.

Iowa State’s history
Iowa State is one of the nation's oldest and most respected land-grant universities. Created by the Iowa General Assembly in 1858, the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm was designated the nation's first land-grant college when Iowa became the first state to accept terms of the federal Morrill Act in 1864.

The school, which was the first land-grant institution to be co-educational from the beginning, opened its doors in the fall of 1868. A class of 26 was graduated at the first commencement in 1872. Graduate study was offered almost as soon as classes began, and the first graduate degree was conferred in 1877. Experimentation and research also started early in agriculture, home economics, engineering, science, and veterinary medicine.

As Iowa State adapted the land-grant philosophy to the changing needs of the 20th century, it adopted special teaching responsibilities in science and technology, an extension education program throughout the state, and extensive research interests to advance the frontiers of learning. Since 1959, it has been known as Iowa State University of Science and Technology.

Strategic Plan - to become the best.
Strategic Plan - to become the best land-grant institution in the nation.
The aspiration to become the nation's best land-grant university was set forth in the strategic plans that have guided Iowa State University since 1990, and Iowa State's new plan for 2000-2005 continues this commitment. In addition, Iowa State's new strategic plan reflects the expectations of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, Strategic Plan and its four key result areas of quality, access, diversity, and accountability.

The Engaged University
In order to become the nation's best land-grant university, Iowa State embraces the concept of engagement as defined by the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities. Engagement is an evolution and a transformation of traditional outreach. It is two-way outreach; an institution reaching out to provide programs and services to constituents, resulting in a greater connectedness between public universities and the larger society they serve. Intrinsic to engagement is the creation of partnerships with government, business, and the nonprofit world. These partnerships are defined by mutual respect for what each partner brings to the table in addressing the issues that confront us. This definition of engagement encompasses all aspects of our mission—academic and research programs, as well as extension and other outreach programs and services.

Goal 1: Learning - enhance learning through exceptional learner-centered teaching, services, and enrichment opportunities
Iowa State believes that learning is at the heart of our university. It occurs in many contexts and by all members of the community. As a land-grant institution, Iowa State University is among the world leaders in providing post-secondary access. However, access to success through Iowa State University will mark our commitment to enhancing learning, and it will be accomplished by providing exceptional learner-centered teaching, services, and enrichment opportunities; and by paying attention to lifelong learning needs.

Goal 2: Discovery - Promote discovery and innovation characterized by preeminent scholarship, including increasingly interdisciplinary and collaborative activities. Iowa State believes that discovery and innovation characterized by preeminent scholarship encompassing research, creative activities, teaching/learning, and extension/professional practice, will mark our commitment to discovery, thereby enhancing our national and international distinction. Institutional agility and interdisciplinary collaboration will allow Iowa State to undertake bold visionary initiatives with special attention to ethics and social, economic, and environmental responsibility.

Goal 3: Engagement - Engage with key constituencies through synergistic sharing and partnership of knowledge and expertise to address needs of communities and society. Iowa's engaged land-grant university, Iowa State will synergistically devote its knowledge and expertise toward increased responsiveness and productive involvement in improving Iowa's communities and the larger society, at home and abroad. This will be marked by our commitment to sharing- to enrich and to learn, two-way partnerships with internal and external constituencies to achieve shared goals and to demonstrate the public purposes of Iowa State University.