As a major public research university, the University of Washington is responsible for an important mission in our state's system of higher education. It is a place where knowledge is not simply stored and then transmitted to students; rather it is where new discoveries are made, knowledge is augmented, and students are drawn into the act of discovery itself. Having the UW as a public resource guarantees that these discoveries directly benefit our state and that this highest caliber of education is available to all our citizens regardless of their socio-economic position.
In addition, a research university, with its synergy between teaching, research, and service, is an invaluable resource in a democratic society. Teaching and scholarship, in combination, create a learning environment rich in the generation, synthesis, evaluation, transmission and application of new ideas. This type of full-service educational institution is crucial to instilling the ideals of citizenship and developing in students the skills that are so fundamental in a modern knowledge-based society: the capacity for critical thinking, the ability to consider a variety of opinions, and the leadership skills necessary to motivate a community to accomplish common goals. Furthermore, the university's many professional and graduate schools train the future leaders of our state in law, business, engineering, humanities, sciences, and medicine.
The faculty members of a research university, individually and collectively, bear multi-faceted responsibilities: they are individual instructors, mentors, and researchers; they are practitioners of their respective disciplines and units; they are stewards of the university with responsibility for its governance; they are providers of important skills and knowledge to the local community; and they are educators in the most general sense. Faculty rewards are derived from all these distinct, but interrelated, facets. Thus, it is crucial to articulate the mission of the university and the roles of its faculty in that mission in order to have the appropriate context for understanding and evaluating the findings and recommendations that follow.
Traditionally, the university's and the faculty's activities are divided into the broad categories of teaching, research, and service. However, such a division isn't always possible or useful. Indeed, the strength of a research university lies in the linkages among these three elements.
Teaching extends far beyond the classroom and transcends the mere transmission of facts from one person to another. It is the development and delivery of an integrated curriculum designed to impart a coordinated set of analytical skills that will serve students throughout their entire lives and to transmit the values of citizenship our society holds high. Teaching is mentoring and apprenticeship, i.e., working side-by-side in the process of creation, discovery, analysis, and evaluation of new ideas and their communication to others. It follows that teaching is at its best when it is tied to research and encourages students to experience academic inquiry first-hand and takes them through all the phases of creation, discovery, analysis, and scholarship. Experiential learning also takes the form of service to the community and internships in industry. Understanding the problems and constraints faced by the neighbors of the university offers an invaluable opportunity, not only to hone skills but also to become better citizens. Experiencing first-hand the business environment broadens students' appreciation of how their education is preparing them for life and allows them to bring that vision of the future back into their classrooms and labs.
Research is the creation, discovery, evaluation, dissemination, and application of new knowledge. It is an integral part of education in that students must not only understand the results of discovery but also the processes that lead to it. It is an engine of improvement for our standard of living and economic development. It serves to satisfy our curiosity for how the natural and humanly constructed worlds operate in all their complexities. As such, it is not simply a market-oriented enterprise. Indeed, it must be insulated from the marketplace and be forward-looking, even in directions that may not have short- term financial benefits. The knowledge gained from it must be in the public domain so that our entire society may benefit from it.
Service is the application of new knowledge and the learning process to community, state, national, and global needs. Teaching can incorporate service by providing students with the opportunity to practice knowledge gained in their discipline. Research can be directed to the long-term needs of the community. Faculty service also includes the governance of the university itself, which includes the setting of the standards and the review processes designed to ensure continuing improvement and rigor in all disciplines. The university serves the state by providing access to its educational and research programs to as many citizens as possible, through a wide range of programs offered in an ever-increasing number of venues.
The University of Washington has been immensely successful in all these areas and is, by all measures, a superb investment for the taxpayers of the state. However, there should be continuing introspection to determine what can be improved or what structures changed to make the enterprise more efficient and better at serving its mission.
