Statement of Institutional Mission

Instruction. The university is committed to offering the highest quality undergraduate, professional and graduate programs, comparable to the best obtainable anywhere in the nation. As the AAU research university of the state, the University of Kansas offers a broad array of advanced graduate study programs and fulfills its mission through faculty, academic and research programs of international distinction and outstanding libraries, teaching museums and information technology. These resources enrich the undergraduate experience and are essential for graduate-level education and for research.

Research. The university attains high levels of research productivity and recognizes that faculty are part of a network of scholars and academicians that shape a discipline as well as teach it. Research and teaching, as practiced at the University of Kansas, are mutually reinforcing with scholarly inquiry underlying and informing the educational experience at undergraduate, professional, and graduate levels.

Service. The university first serves Kansas, then the nation and the world through research, teaching, and the preservation and dissemination of knowledge. The university provides service to the state of Kansas through its state- and federally funded research centers. KU's academic programs, arts facilities and public programs provide cultural enrichment opportunities for the larger community. Educational, research and service programs are offered throughout the state, including the main campus in Lawrence, the KU health-related degree programs and services in Kansas City and Wichita, as well as the Regents Center at the Edwards Campus and other sites in the Kansas City metropolitan area, Topeka and Parsons.

International Dimension. The university is dedicated to preparing its students for lives of learning and for the challenges educated citizens will encounter in an increasingly complex and diverse global community. Over 100 programs of international study and cooperative research are available for KU students and faculty at sites throughout the world. The university offers teaching and research that draw upon and contribute to the most advanced developments throughout the United States and the rest of the world. At the same time, KU's extensive international ties support economic development in Kansas.

Values. The university is committed to excellence. It fosters a multicultural environment in which the dignity and rights of the individual are respected. Intellectual diversity, integrity and disciplined inquiry in the search for knowledge are of paramount importance.

The University of Kansas Medical Center, an integral and unique component of the University of Kansas and the Kansas Board of Regents system, is composed of the School of Medicine, located in Kansas City and Wichita; the School of Nursing; the School of Allied Health; the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City; and a Graduate School. The KU Medical Center is a complex institution whose basic functions include research, education, patient care and community service involving multiple constituencies at state and national levels. The following paragraphs chart the KU Medical Center's course and serve as a framework for assessing programs, setting goals, developing initiatives and evaluating progress.

The University of Kansas Medical Center is a major research institution primarily serving the state of Kansas as well as the nation and the world, and assumes leadership in the discovery of new knowledge and the development of programs in research, education and patient care. The KU Medical Center recognizes the importance of meeting the wide range of health care needs in Kansas -- from the critical need for primary care in rural and other underserved areas of the state to the urgent need for highly specialized knowledge to provide the latest preventive and treatment techniques available. As the major resource in the Kansas Board of Regents system for preparing health-care professionals, the programs of the KU Medical Center must be comprehensive and maintain the high scholarship and academic excellence on which the reputation of the university is based. Our mission is to create an environment for:

Instruction. The KU Medical Center educates health-care professionals to primarily serve the needs of Kansas as well as the region and the nation. High-quality educational experiences are offered to a diverse student population through a full range of undergraduate, graduate, professional, postdoctoral and continuing-education programs.

Research. The KU Medical Center maintains nationally and internationally recognized research programs to advance the health sciences. Health-related research flourishes in a setting that includes strong basic and applied investigations of life processes, inquiries into the normal functions of the human body and mechanisms of disease processes, and model health-care programs for the prevention of disease and the maintenance of health and quality of life.

Service. The KU Medical Center provides high-quality patient-centered health care and health-related services. The University of Kansas Medical Center will be the standard bearer in the development and implementation of model programs that provide the greatest possible diversity of proven health-care services for the citizens of Kansas, the region and the nation.

Approved by the Kansas Board of Regents 12/17/92

The mission of the University of Kansas Edwards Campus is to serve the workforce and economic and community development needs of the region by bringing the high-quality academic programs, research and public service of the University of Kansas to the greater Kansas City community.