Vision Statement

As a citizen-department of the College of Humanities & Social Sciences, Foreign Languages espouses the vision of the College:

To become a "Tier I Balanced" college -- nationally recognized for excellence in both instruction and research/scholarship - in which:

1. all students receive excellent instruction directly from tenure-track faculty,
2. undergraduate and graduate students are actively involved in creative/research activities,
3. graduates are well regarded by employers and graduate and professional schools,
4. faculty are well rounded academics who take equal pride in instructional, scholarly/research, and service activities,
5. instruction and research/scholarship are equally valued and rewarded,
6. the scholarship of teaching and innovation in instruction are promoted and rewarded,
7. the quality of the research, scholarship, and creative activity of the faculty are well regarded internationally,
8. seeking extramural funding for research/scholarship is promoted and rewarded,
9. outstanding scholarship is valued regardless of the attraction of extramural funding,
10. extramural funding for research is used to support students and engage them in the production of knowledge and understanding,
11. an active cross-disciplinary intellectual environment is present that promotes creative interactions of faculty and students,
12. students and faculty are actively engaged in the community,
13. service to the college and the profession are encouraged, valued, and rewarded

As an independent department, Foreign Languages strives

To become a department which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in all classroom-taught target languages -- nationally recognized for excellence in both instruction and research/scholarship—in which:

1. Classroom target-language offerings include American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Korean & Spanish.
2. Additional strategic languages will be phased into classroom offerings while other target languages will be offered on demand by the critical languages approach.
3. On-going & constant cultural enrichment opportunities, including service learning, for the civic and academic communities play an integral role.
4. Majors & minors participate in target-language-based study abroad.
5. Majors & minors demonstrate measurable proficiency in all five skill areas: listening, speaking, reading, writing & culture.

As part of a “Tier I Balanced" college, our department goals are to have:

1. Graduate programs that are specifically designed to meet the needs of working professionals.
2. Faculty tie scholarly activities & accomplishments to teaching.
3. Faculty constantly strive to expand the breadth of their instruction and research/scholarship.