As members of the human species, students belong to a moral community composed of all human beings. The members of the SMSU campus community affirm their citizenship in the larger world community by ensuring that differences of nationality, ethnicity, or social-economic class do not become barriers between us. Helping students to become responsible citizens at all these different levels takes time and deliberate effort on the part of all educators. Public affairs in higher education is not restricted to politics, humanities, or the social sciences. It is present in all areas of life that require knowledge, participation, civic skills, and the willingness to work for the common good.
Public affairs involves educating persons to become responsible citizens and leaders.
The university should define the skills of responsible citizenship and ensure that the entire experience of higher education develops these skills. In order to educate for public life, the university must foster a community where all individuals are called upon to act and to respond to public affairs issues and to develop a sense of public spiritedness, as well as tolerance and understanding of multicultural concerns. Students are exposed to a common core of knowledge through the General Education Program in order to promote the general welfare of community, state, nation, and globe. This common core imparts historical and comparative perspectives on public affairs - e.g., problems of order, justice, liberty, equality, stability, and avoidance of civil and international strife. Capstone courses allow the student to investigate in depth a particular social problem or issue of his or her choice.