Mission and Vision of the Beach

I would like to take this time to go ahead and take a breather from the insanity and bedlam and activity thereof on this blog, and give you a special announcement from my university's president. Enjoy.

Dear CSULB Students:

I am pleased to share with you the result of a year-long collaborative effort to revise our campus statements of mission, vision and values to better reflect our current self-conception of CSULB as a university of rising excellence with a global perspective, as a destination of choice for talented students, and as a source of highly-valued degrees.

This revision is the product of last fall’s Academic Senate retreat that focused on mission, vision and values. That lively event, with terrific student participation, yielded many exciting ideas about how to portray our rising excellence.

An experienced committee representing all four University divisions and including the Senate Chair sifted through those exciting ideas. That committee shared drafts and solicited further ideas from the full Academic Senate twice during the spring 2007 semester. The University Vice Presidents, working with the Senate Chair, Staff Council Chair and myself, put finishing touches on the statements over the summer.

Our prior mission statement, written in the early 1980s, was a lengthy two-page document and contained long lists of generic ideas. With our emerging University excellence and our new comprehensive (fund-raising) campaign, we needed to develop more concise statements of our mission, vision and values. The new statements are included in this email message and can be found on our campus website:

CSULB continues to be a vibrant engine of economic and social mobility for many students. The access and excellence that we provide make essential educational opportunities available to thousands of students each year. Thus, I am particularly excited about highlighting the fact that our University is a place that is “changing lives for a changing world.”

Each and every member of our campus community has contributed to the rising excellence of our University. Any statement of our mission or vision for the future is really a tribute to the hard work and dedication of faculty and staff to make CSULB a center of excellence and a gateway to educational opportunity. I hope you like our new, more concise language to portray the excellence that you have helped create over the years.

Warmly,

F. King Alexander
President

Mission Statement

California State University, Long Beach is a diverse, student-centered, globally-engaged public university committed to providing highly-valued undergraduate and graduate educational opportunities through superior teaching, research, creative activity and service for the people of California and the world.

Vision Statement

California State University, Long Beach envisions changing lives by expanding educational opportunities, championing creativity, and preparing leaders for a changing world.

Values


Educational Opportunity
Excellence
Diversity
Integrity
Service

Academic Purpose

Our academic purpose is to graduate students with highly-valued degrees.

Envisioned Future

CSULB is committed to being an outstanding teaching-intensive, research-driven university that emphasizes student engagement, scholarly and creative achievement, civic participation, and global perspectives.

Teaching-Intensive, Research-Driven University


CSULB students have many opportunities in their studies to gain a love of ideas; an appreciation of artistic expression, science, and technology; and an understanding of varied cultures.
CSULB faculty members fully integrate the results of their research and creative activities into their teaching, invigorating and enhancing student learning.
Students receive the advising and mentoring they need to realize their dreams because of the student-centered philosophy of CSULB's faculty and staff.
CSULB faculty members are widely recognized for their outstanding teaching, research, and creative activities.
The University has the highest average graduation rate and the lowest average time to graduation among the public master's-degree-granting universities in the West.
The University continues to enhance the highly collegial climate that enables broad and deep collaboration in research, creative activities, and teaching.
CSULB graduates have the necessary skills for successful careers in various fields and disciplines.
CSULB is recognized for the rich diversity of its student body and the accomplishments of its students will demonstrate that it is both possible and essential to offer broad access to high quality education.

Student Engagement


CSULB is widely recognized for its high quality of services, activities and programs for students.
CSULB has strong partnerships with faculty, staff, student and community groups so that we may serve as primary advocates to meet the needs of our diverse student population.
CSULB embraces a culture of evidence that strives for continued quality improvement in our programs and services.
CSULB invests in our human and technological resources so that we may optimally respond in a dynamic environment.
CSULB makes a positive contribution to the greater society by developing responsible citizens, with highly valued degrees, for the 21st century.
CSULB students graduate as skilled problem-solvers and practitioners of their disciplines through participation in research projects, creative endeavors, community service learning, and internships.
"Beach pride" is pervasive not just among current faculty, staff, and students, but among graduates and friends of the campus, and most alumni will retain significant ties to campus programs, return to campus often, and support the campus financially.
Other universities look to CSULB as the source of best practices in student engagement, instructional innovations, academic technologies, and student services.
Each CSULB student has the opportunity to enhance his or her educational experience through co-curricular activities that include student-to-student relationship-building in clubs, cultural activities sponsored by departments and colleges, and international programs and events.
CSULB faculty receive adequate and appropriate recognition and reward for engaging in pedagogical practices such as community service learning that prepare students for responsible civic participation.
CSULB is recognized as an "engaged campus," where students, faculty, and staff are actively involved in campus life and activities.

Scholarly and Creative Achievement


The expertise and research interests of CSULB faculty are recognized and valued nationally and internationally for their advancement of knowledge.
CSULB faculty members receive both internal and external support for their research and creative activities.
CSULB faculty researchers make significant contributions to resolving community and regional problems and planning for future needs of our region and the nation.
Research/technology parks in the Greater Long Beach area include a high proportion of small companies spun off from campus-originated faculty-staff-student research projects.

Community Engagement


CSULB faculty, staff, and students are intensely involved in community service and partnerships with community agencies and non-profits, schools, and local government agencies.
One of the fastest growing areas of campus activity is the business and technology "incubator" program, whereby faculty-staff-student research teams work together to bring ideas developed through external funding into the marketplace.
All students have the opportunity and necessary financial support to earn credit toward degree through internships with area companies and community organizations.

Global Perspectives


The variety and scope of the University's international curricular offerings are continuously broadened and deepened.
Through a wide variety of curricular and extracurricular stratagems, all CSULB students are significantly exposed to a global perspective and many will develop multi-lingual abilities.
Faculty and staff are significantly supported in internationally-related teaching and research.
The international strengths of the University are promoted and communicated, both internally and externally.

Services and Support


CSULB is widely recognized as providing the best services in the CSU System.
CSULB provides facilitative, quality, customer-oriented services.
CSULB provides the campus community with a flexible physical environment and user friendly services.
CSULB provides logistical, financial, and technological support to the campus community.
CSULB maintains and enhances the University’s infrastructure.
CSULB provides an inviting environment that promotes respect and collaboration.

-Dr. F. King Alexander
President, California State University Long Beach