Public service is a responsibility of every academic unit. In addition, each faculty member is responsible for service to the University Community and to his or her profession. The University emphasizes practical research, provides extension services, and works to solve problems confronting the community. The University of Delaware is an intellectual and cultural center for its community and for the citizens of Delaware and the surrounding region, providing lectures, exhibits, performances, and athletic events and facilities. Central to the scholarly and intellectual life of the campus is the University Library, a resource for both the University and the state.
Excellence requires selectivity and focus.
Institutional vitality depends upon maintaining and building from existing strengths, and judging new proposals according to the University's resource base and mission. Priority is given to programs that meet the needs of society, in particular those of the state and surrounding community, or that build on the University's particular strengths and demonstrated excellence. In the development of graduate and research programs, we will continue to reflect our state's and our region's globally oriented economic base, its internationally recognized cultural institutions, and its particular geographical, social, and ecological environment. Mission statements are, by design, non-transitory. They can and should provide an ongoing philosophical grounding for institutional practices and operations.