Previous Mission Statement
New Mission
Statement
Speakers' Commentary
Dr. Rich Becherer
Dr. Ron Cox
Dr. Debbie Ingram
Dr. Wilfred McClay
Dr. Mark Mendenhall
Dr. Gail M. Meyer
Dr. Irven Resnick
Dr. David Sachsman
Dr. James Tucker
Dr. Kim Wheetley
Dr. Michael Whittle
Review Session Summaries
September 20, 2001
September 26, 2001
A Commentary on the Mission Statement Review Process at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Richard C. Becherer
Clarence E. Harris Chair of Excellence in Business and Entrepreneurship
A mission statement is one of the most important and fundamental management tools available to any organization, including universities. It is the guiding light that articulates the direction, values, goals, dreams, behavior, culture and strategies of the university. Preparation of a mission statement is a process not unlike the athlete who creates a mental picture of the perfect routine in preparation for competition.
Often, however, a university mission statement represents a compromise, a reflection of both the fact that it was designed by a committee and the reality that universities must be cognizant of, and are often expected to cater to, the desires of a number of different constituencies. This may result in a university commitment to a vague and perhaps historically driven mission. Often this is further constrained by current budget allocations and a general reluctance by organizations to embrace change.
The US Constitution is perhaps one of the world's best examples of a successful statement of purpose, in essence a mission statement that we can regularly revisit to interpret our guiding principles 214 years later. When crafted well, a mission statement can and should guide an organization's direction for several years. Periodic review however, can ensure that the organization's mission statement continues to be relevant and realistic. In a university setting, the mission statement is particularly critical. While profitability maybe a primary objective in the corporate sector, " achieving the mission" is certainly the overriding goal in the non-profit sector.
Role of a Mission Statement
A mission statement by its very nature does more than explicitly define the direction of an organization. It delineates priorities, within the context of the values of the organization, and the manner in which it wants to conduct its business. Moreover, the mission statement also implicitly defines what activities are not included in the primary mission of the university, and what programs and activities are not priorities. A mission statement forces the university organization to make choices--- tough choices in a university environment that thrives on collegiality. A reality in any organization, and particularly in the situation universities find themselves in today, is that resources are limited. Part of the mission statement process is to identify important priorities where sufficient resources must be allocated, and as a result, areas where resources must be adjusted or reduced.
When formulating our mission statement, UTC must examine and make choices about our priorities regarding a number of issues. As an example, does UTC want to continue to fund a broad range of programs across the board, or should resources be increased and focused on certain high priority programs? Similarly, UTC needs to decide whether we are willing to continue to concede larger proportions of freshman and sophomore students to community colleges. Or, will we reallocate resources to ensure that we have a general education program that meets students' needs? For example, are enough sections offered at the appropriate times, and are courses designed and taught in a manner that does not encourage students to use the community colleges? These are examples of difficult fundamental issues that must be addressed as UTC formulates a mission statement. Reallocation of resources does not necessarily require abandoning all of the programs that are not given a high priority, but with limited resources, a university must prioritize program decisions and reflect them in budget allocations.
The Basis for a Mission Statement
A mission statement should reflect the collective perspective of a wide range of university constituencies. At the same time, the best mission statements are concise. When they are brief, they are more easily understood and remembered by everyone--- employees and stakeholders. A single paragraph illuminating the main thrust of the mission accompanied by a delineation of the key elements in the mission statement would do much more to clearly communicate the direction of the university than one or two pages of narrative. When was the last time most of us at the University read the entire mission statement? UTC should strive for a one-paragraph mission statement covering key points. If you can easily communicate the essence of UTC's mission in a 15-second radio commercial, you'll probably meet the tests of brevity and understandability.
An added benefit is that the mission statement can be an effective way to empower employees to behave in a manner that reflects the university mission as they make choices and make decisions. Studies have shown that when employees understand and "buy-in" to the mission statement, they are much more satisfied with their job, more committed to the organization, and more effective at job performance.
This again highlights the need for a very straightforward mission statement that can be integrated everywhere on campus. When an administrator, faculty member, or staff member is in doubt of how to handle a situation, a clear and concise mission statement can serve as a guide. When Tylenol executives were under pressure in determining their response to their product-poisoning incident, it is said that they returned to the Johnson and Johnson mission statement for guidance on how to proceed. Even in a time of unbelievable crisis, the organizational mission statement allowed the company to maintain direction and make sound decisions.
An Opportunity to Invest in Priorities
The revision of a mission statement represents a unique opportunity for an organization. It is an opportunity to reflect on the progress thus far, to review the performance of individual units, reevaluate priorities, assess current strengths and weaknesses, and set a course for the future. UTC is at a particularly interesting crossroad as our review and restatement of our mission statement comes at a time when our financial resources are the best they have been in several decades. While previous budget cuts require that some of these new resources pay for "catching up" (e.g., the repair and refurbishing of many of our programs and facilities), we also have the opportunity to make an investment in the priorities that will define our future.
Without serious review and restatement of the mission statement, UTC risks that the new dollars added to the budget over the next three years will simply fund existing programs and initiatives without a view to the future and what UTC wants and needs to accomplish. This is a risk despite the availability of new capital. Even multi-million dollar lottery winners can go bankrupt when they spend without a plan and without a vision of their future lifestyle. Without a sense of mission, we give up the opportunity to focus on priorities and then fund and organize to achieve excellence in those priorities.
As an example, if UTC wants to grow, it is imperative to identify programs that can grow and provide these programs the additional resources they need to grow. Some departments face increasing demand and others have no current potential for growth. As previously mentioned, more resources must be shifted to departments that cannot offer enough general education sections to meet student demand. Bottlenecks in required courses could create a five-year UTC undergraduate program, which only discourages prospective students. Resource enhancement or reallocation is required if growth is part of the UTC mission. To permanently shift resource allocations among departments as we go forward, one-time funds can be creatively used to fund early retirement or buyout programs. This represents a means of shifting resources to priority programs and mission objectives without increasing the overall budget or demoralizing employees.
The UTC Mission Statement
The UTC mission statement must be student-focused and student-centered. This is a value that is already part of the UTC culture, although resource shortages have somewhat lessened our ability to deliver on this value over the past few years. Our concern, interest, and dedication to students is a value that differentiates UTC from other educational institutions both in the region and nationally. Implementing this aspect of our culture and our mission relates to class size, faculty access, and the systems and procedures that we employ to manage the campus and curriculum. "Student focused" connotes an attitude, and also a willingness to allocate resources to improve student life, course availability, student advising, and student services in general.
UTC has made positive strides to improve the recruiting and admission processes. This is already reflected in our significant enrollment increases this year. Now all offices that work with students need to reevaluate their hours of operation, operating procedures, staffing and student friendliness to become more student centered. Similarly, we need to reexamine how and when we schedule courses to better accommodate the thousands of part-time and nontraditional students in our student body who need more evening and weekend courses. Despite our growing role as a metropolitan university, we sometimes organize and operate as a traditional, 9-to-5, residential campus.
The UTC mission statement should reflect our role as a significant member of the University of Tennessee system ,as well as, our role as a university located here in Chattanooga. While we at UTC are certainly proud of Chattanooga and all of its resurgence, the mission statement at UTC must take more of a "world view". The concepts we teach, the research we conduct, and the aspirations we have for our students must reflect a perspective that relates to areas far beyond East Tennessee. The East Tennessee/Chattanooga region, however, can and should serve as a real world laboratory for UTC related activities and programs. In business this is often summed up as "Think global, act local." Through the continuing interconnectiveness between UTC and Chattanooga, the university can play an important role in the continuing growth and prosperity of our region.
The UTC mission statement is a significant part of the mission of the prominent nationally and internationally recognized University of Tennessee system. While UTC is not charged with a mission to become a "tier one" research institution, our role is not any less important or less rigorous. Our mission must reflect a direction that is challenging, it must charge us to create and implement cutting edge programs, and it must expect excellence within the niche that defines UTC as a metropolitan university.
The Metropolitan University Mission
While the term "metropolitan university" is a prominent part of our existing mission statement and a term frequently used on campus, it is important that we re-examine what the concept really means, and how we implement it. The main thrust of a metropolitan university refers to a university that is part of the surrounding community, rather than separate and distinct. Many institutions of higher learning pride themselves on the pure "ivory tower" environment that they have created, where issues can be discussed and explored irrespective of their relevance or the sentiments of the surrounding community. A metropolitan university takes pride in the fact that they represent a current, realistic, and relevant perspective, and a willingness to get involved in the world outside the campus boundaries. At Cambridge University, one of the ivory tower variety, it is said that there is a small sign posted as you leave campus that says "reality check." A "reality check" should not be required at UTC.
The metropolitan university concept at UTC refers to the connectiveness that we have enjoyed with our surrounding community. Connectiveness and partnerships represent our strengths, and they must be continued. It is important for the UTC mission statement to further delineate our connectiveness to the constituencies beyond the campus borders: our students, alumni, corporate and governmental units, and other stakeholders. While maintaining our existing relationships, it is important to foster additional connectiveness to individuals and entities far beyond the local environment, insuring that our goals reach high enough and our initiatives can have maximum impact. By clearly setting priorities and developing our own niche as a metropolitan university, UTC can become a national model of a university "connected" to its constituencies.
Teaching, Research and Service
With connectivity as a central theme in the UTC mission statement, the traditional teaching, research, and service paradigm takes on a unique focus. Relative to teaching, a connectivity theme adds emphasis to curriculum initiatives that are current, state of the art, and a teaching methodology that helps students learn by "doing" or "experiencing". Effective transfer of classroom knowledge to life and integration of current thought and practice into the classroom place increased emphasis on practicums and internships. Additionally, it is important to maintain and foster connectivity with alumni and their places of employment long after graduation. Implementation of this aspect of the mission requires the creation of offices and personnel in each College dedicated to practicum and internship identification and placement, curriculums that require a 100-hour practicum for graduation, and additional resources directed at both placement and alumni efforts. The synergy that evolves from this model generates two-way corporate, governmental and institutional relationships through the UTC alumni and students that work in our partner organizations. It is a concept that over time will pay important rewards to the university by simply creating and maintaining these two-way relationships.
In terms of the research component at UTC, the connectivity niche places an emphasis on applied research. This will result in ongoing relationships with corporations or other institutions both in the East Tennessee region and in other parts of the country, and most certainly will put an emphasis on research activity among faculty and students that will be more valued by university stakeholders. While it may be difficult to apply this concept evenly across all units in the university, this aspect of our niche is likely to increase interest in funded research from corporations and special interest foundations. Research that focuses on current issues and practical application is often more respected and is expected by many organizations that would willingly partner with UTC.
A UTC mission emphasizing a metropolitan connectivity niche puts a high priority on faculty interaction with off-campus entities within their respective disciplines. A reallocation of resources to fund additional sabbaticals will allow faculty to spend time with government agencies, corporations, museums, hospitals and other institutions to experience first-hand, current issues and practices in their discipline. The net result of this type of initiative is greater faculty development, more relevant research, more current classroom teaching, and generally a fresher and more highly motivated faculty.
Similarly, connectivity in the mission statement places a high priority on the extent and nature of how the university interacts with the community. While it is difficult for individual faculty to effectively contribute to these efforts as single entities, through a center or an institute, the university has an opportunity to provide faculty and student expertise to the community. The new Lupton Center for Urban Planning and Economic Development represents a major step in providing the necessary infrastructure to allow expertise on campus to be concentrated and organized to provide support to the community. To fully realize the potential of how UTC could be connected to the community, other centers need to be established in other disciplines. Perhaps a Center for Educational Leadership, or a Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, or a Center for Undergraduate Scientific Research could provide a means to use the resources on campus to benefit community needs. The scope and mission of these centers, however, must extend to interested constituencies throughout the country, through the programs they develop and the conferences they host.
Implementation of the Mission Statement
A mission statement that is developed by the broad spectrum of university constituencies represents only words on a page unless steps are taken to: 1) achieve support for it, 2) communicate it, 3) integrate and implement it within the university culture, and 4) revisit it again when necessary.
Achieving support for the mission means that mission statement team members must work closely with University personnel to gain "buy in." The mission statement must be explained and clarified, and in some cases, translated into the realm of each employee's job. It should contain elements that all employees can relate to in their day-to-day activities. If growth is a vital element to the UTC mission, all employees must add "Ambassador to Students" as part of their job description. Successfully implementing our recruiting and retention strategies demands this perspective.
Communicating the mission, both externally as well as internally, means that we intend to live up to our UTC values and our constituencies' expectations. A truly effective mission statement will have "passion" and it will have "soul." It should serve as a constant source of motivation and direction and help the entire university remain focused. At a minimum, a concise mission statement should be widely published and posted in buildings and offices around campus. Some companies even choose to print their mission statements on employee ID cards or business cards. While this may not be possible for UTC, perhaps three or four core values could be made part of all forms of UTC communication--from business cards to student IDs to television commercials to letterhead and brochures. There is a reason why everyone knows that "Avis tries harder." It is because they have been telling us that everywhere, in every way, every day.
Integrating and implementing our mission means that top administrators throughout the university must personally commit to the mission and behave and manage in a way that demonstrates this commitment consistently. Once a mission statement is adopted and implemented, managers are better able to delegate to subordinates and hold them accountable relative to the mission. The mission must be made part of our university goal-setting processes, our job descriptions, our EDO and other evaluation processes, and, most importantly, our reward systems. When promotions, raises, tenure, benefits, and even new office furniture are all tied to mission statement accomplishment, true integration has occurred.
As Jeffrey Abraham in The Mission Statement Book puts it, "the mission statement represents the first step in a long march." The pace and enthusiasm of everyone participating in the march increases, however, as those at the head of the line demonstrate their commitment and fervor for the mission.