Impactful Knowledge Creation

Goal G: Impactful Knowledge Creation

Promote knowledge creation and dissemination

We honor our traditional role as a teaching institution, and, as such, we know that it requires us to work according to the notion of both how research and creative activity advance our teaching mission and how research and creative activity advance our mission as an institution serving public purposes. The three activities—teaching, research and creative activity, and service—must be conjoined so that we can better address the needs of our students and the region.

To achieve this goal, we must strengthen our research and creative activity infrastructure so that faculty, students, and our community partners can create socially impactful knowledge. One of the bases for strengthening our infrastructure means that we cannot privilege basic research over applied and other forms of research and creative activity. In fact, we see the former as being capable of laying a groundwork for the latter.

Additionally, we acknowledge that much of scholarly and creative activity is dependent on the inherent risk involved in expanding beyond disciplinary boundaries or settled knowledge. Therefore, we will promote open debate, especially on controversial or politicized positions, so that such debate be regarded as a natural outgrowth and a crucial feature of the knowledge creation enterprise.

Lastly, because generating research and creative activity requires funding, physical resources, and materials, we will encourage faculty, staff, and community partners to envision and co-create a culture in which scholarly and creative activities are both valued and actively cultivated. To that end, we will engage with federal, state, and local governments and with businesses and nonprofit organizations to support knowledge creation that is impactful.