COLUMN: Importance of mission statements
Tuesday, I went to the Academic Senate meeting — not on assignment, for fun.
Sue me, I can be a nerd.
I was promised that Tuesday’s meeting offered big things to see, but when the first half of the meeting was spent with senior officers describing a new vision statement, I was fully prepared to walk out.
See, the one thing that was not mentioned during their little presentation, bless their hearts, despite all those buzzwords, was that we already have a mission statement, one that was designed by the same high-paid people, some of whom earn well over $50 an hour, less than a year ago.
In fact, at the December 2010 board of trustees meeting, much praise was given to University President George Ross for developing a new mission statement.
The University’s mission statement: “At Central Michigan University, we are a community committed to the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom, discovery and creativity. We provide student-centered education and foster personal and intellectual growth to prepare students for productive careers, meaningful lives and responsible citizenship in a global society.”
How does this help my education? What do mission statements or equally ridiculous vision statements enable these people to do? I sincerely doubt they’ve ever thought of an initiative or a plan and then reconsidered, saying, “Oh, well, this runs counter to our mission statement.”
It’s a silly waste of time, developing these things that are certainly not deserving of any pride.
Hell, we already have a vision statement as well. This one was approved in 2005.
The CMU vision statement: “CMU will be a nationally prominent university known for integrity, academic excellence, research and creative activity and public service.”
Have you ever heard of either the mission statement or the vision statement? Do either of them have an impact on your campus life?
They certainly haven’t had an impact on mine, and these statements are arguably something the university regularly ignores.
What is the purpose of these things?
Now do they have expiration dates? Are they dairy products? Why do we need to develop a new one every six years?
It’s well above my pay grade to say, but I sincerely think developing and redeveloping these is absolutely ridiculous.
It’s a waste of time, not to mention money.
