However, DePaul University went farther beyond the process of core values enacting than what is presented in Table 6.1. It founded a separate organizational unit named the Office of Mission and Values, which aims at assisting the university community in achieving Goal VI of VISION twenty12, which states that responsibilities for the Catholic and Vincentian identity will be assumed by board, faculty, and staff.¹¹ The main purpose of this unit is reflected in its mission:

Guided by the university’s strategic plan, VISION Twenty12, the Office of Mission and Values collaborates with university constituencies in ways that measurably enhance their understanding and support of DePaul University’s Catholic, Vincentian, and urban identity. Together we provide the leadership that enables the university to fulfill its distinctive educational mission, serve its diverse student body and maximize its strategic capacities. As the premier international resource for Vincentian studies, the Office also serves a wide range of external constituencies who seek to deepen their engagement with Vincentian history, spirituality and service.¹²

The main areas of Office of Mission and Values may be divided into: Introducing and Orienting, Building Community, Educating and Enriching, Developing Leadership Capacity, Rewarding and Recognizing, Promoting Research and Scholarship, and Serving Community. For each of these activities may be then distinguished particular actions for enacting and protecting core values. For example

• for Introducing and Orienting they are such as: new staff orientation, new trustee orientation, premiere DePaul parent orientation;

• for Rewarding and Recognizing they are such as: McHugh Quality of Staff Service Award, service awards, Spirit of DePaul Award, St. Vincent de Paul Award, Via Sapientiae Award and 21year club;

• for Educating and Enriching they are such as: annual Vincentian lectures, DePaul Reads Together, Vincentian Heritage Days;

• for Developing Leadership Capacity they are such as: international Vincentian scholars, Vincentian Endowment Fund, Vincentian Mission Institute.

The Office of Mission and Values annually prepares a strategic plan that includes detailed information on purposes, actions within a particular area of activity taken and to be taken for institutionalization of university’s core values.

Table 6.2 presents examples of achievements within particular areas of activity of the Office of Mission and Core Values in 2008–2010 and the objectives formulated for 2010–2011 that are included in annual reports (executive summary of the Office of Mission and Values at DePaul University).

To create a base of examples for patterns of conduct and to outline basic principles of academic ethics, as well as giving an opportunity for fulfilling the objectives connected with core values, the Office of Institutional Compliance, along with members of the DePaul community, have developed a Code of Conduct, which highlights the policies most critical to working in higher education and at DePaul. Every action and decision of DePaul faculty, staff, and student workers, full-time, and part-time employees is guided by the instruction in this document. The main purpose of the Code of Conduct is to inform the academic community about the fundamental expectations DePaul University has for every one of its faculty and staff members, like, for example, to be honest and responsible with the university’s resources, to treat each other with dignity and in a collegial manner, and most importantly, to prepare DePaul’s students for a fulfilling and successful life ahead. In addition to statements relating to certain conduct policies, the Code gives sample situations in which the policies apply. These samples serve as scenarios to clarify the university’s stance on certain policies. All DePaul employees are responsible for knowing and adhering to the policies mentioned in the Code of Conduct, in addition to its sources, the Management Standards Handbook, the Faculty Handbook, and the University’s Policies and Procedures website. The Code is updated and available online as well as the policies are often updated, and new policies are continually being considered. The faculty and staff of DePaul University are expected to handle properly and protect its financial resources, operations, strategies, and reputation. To fulfill this duty and goal the Office of Institutional Compliance was formed. Its main purpose is to foster a culture of compliance and accountability that is consistent with DePaul’s mission. It has been stated clearly that

Any concerns regarding compliance or alleged compliance violations should be addressed through managerial channels when appropriate. However, if there is an instance where a manager is part of the alleged noncompliance, or if an employee feels uncomfortable seeking resolution this way, he or she should report the concerns using one of the following methods

• A letter stating an alleged impropriety can be mailed to the Office of Institutional Compliance.

• The compliance department can be called directly regarding any questions or concerns.

• Other resources exist at the university, depending on the situation:

° The Office of the University Ombudsperson (for confidential discussions or support).

° Internal Audit.

° Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity.

° Human Resources.

° Public Safety Office.

° Misconduct Reporting Anonymous Hotline.

In addition, students in DePaul University are supported by the special codes and policies that have been designed especially for them. They are able to realize core values of the university in an active way by establishing behaviors that enact those values as well as by defining behaviors that threaten those values.

The Code of Student Responsibility serves as an example. The Code was developed by Student Affairs to give formal recognition to the rights and responsibilities of students at DePaul University and is based on the following principles: (a) the intrinsic value of the person stands above other values; (b) the student is respected as a responsible person; (c) the University is by definition a corporation; and (d) DePaul University recognizes that freedom to teach and freedom to learn depend on opportunities and conditions in the classroom, on the campus, and in the larger community. By voluntarily joining the DePaul community, a student assumes the responsibility for abiding by the standards that have been instituted by DePaul. However, students must take responsibility for confronting behaviors exhibited by their peers that negatively impact their experiences and violate established standards of behavior. It is imperative that students work in partnership with University faculty and staff members to protect the rights that have been afforded them.¹³

The policies and procedures established by DePaul University not only specify rights and responsibilities of academic community (faculty mentors, staff, students) for the compliance with the values of academic ethos, but they also define behaviors that are threatens to those values. In Academic Integrity Policy we may find the following note:

Violations of academic integrity include but are not limited to the following categories: cheating; plagiarism; fabrication; falsification or sabotage of research data; destruction or misuse of the university’s academic resources, alteration or falsification of academic records; academic misconduct; and complicity.¹⁴

The consequences of such a statement is a specified procedure that explains the incorporated aspects of the judicial review process that includes student’s right to “bring one Advisor to an Administrative Hearing, a Judicial Board Hearing, or any other meeting included within this Judicial Review Process” as well as to “bring Witnesses to an Administrative Hearing or a Judicial Board Hearing to support their statements.”¹⁵ Members of the Judicial Board pool at DePaul University consist of: six current students with at least sophomore status nominated by the Student Government Association, six faculty members nominated by the Faculty Council, and six staff members nominated by the Staff Council.¹⁶ Judicial hearings are described as follows.

• Administrative Hearing:  An Administrative Hearing is a hearing in which the hearing officer is a University designee, such as the Dean of Students or another Student Affairs professional.

• Judicial Board Hearing:  A Judicial Board Hearing is a hearing in which the hearing officers are selected from the Judicial Board pool of members.¹⁷

We may also find information about judicial sanctions; what is particularly important is that all the policies and procedures are easily available both for faculty members and for students. They are included in the Faculty Student Handbook that may be easily located and accessed at appropriate points on the University’s website. Parents/guardians of students are also perceived by the University’s authorities as active participants in the process of shaping the University’s desired identity:

As parents and family members, you have an important role in supporting your student in all areas of the college experience—academically, socially and financially. The staff of DePaul’s Office of Financial Aid is here to help you with the financial piece of that puzzle. (…)

[Parents] have several key responsibilities in helping your student apply for and receive financial aid. They fall in three areas: the aid application, completing the award process, and receiving funds.¹⁸

Regardless of the fact that the University elaborates and constantly updates appropriate policies, procedures, and codes in order to enact the core values, the members of the academic community may be supported by the independent unit of University ombudsmen in situations of ethical dilemmas:

Established in 2001, the University Ombudsperson provides a confidential, neutral and independent resource for all of DePaul’s faculty and staff. [This institution is] available to listen to and investigate issues or complaints, to explore informal resolution of conflict, clarify university policies and procedures or help you find the right person or department within the university to respond to your questions. The Ombudsperson offers an alternative informal, safe place to work with you in suggesting possible responses to any questions you might have-and if we don’t know the answer, we will seek to find it for you. (…)

The University Ombudsperson subscribes to The Ombudsman Association Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.¹⁹

During 2008–2009, 282 clients received services from the ombudsperson.²⁰ Moreover, the interested person may find information about the history of the International Ombudsman Association, its mission, vision, and core values, code of ethics, and explanation of specific terminology.

Core values of DePaul University are not only reflected in strategic plans of the University but also used as a base for creating codes, policies, and procedures that enable their enactment; in fact, they are expressed in a dynamic assortment of academic programs, operational support services, and student services.²¹ The main responsibility for core values protection is through the Office of Mission and Values. The main initiatives taken and realized by this organizational unit include an orientation program, divided into new employee orientation and student orientation.

As a mission-driven institution it is very important for the university to ensure that all new students, faculty, adjunct faculty, staff, senior leadership, and trustees receive a thorough introduction to the university’s history, mission, and values as they begin their relationship with the Institution.²²

The orientation focuses on topics such as benefits, technology, university policies and procedures, and the mission and values of the university.

A representative from the Office of Mission and Values will present an overview of DePaul’s mission and values, ensuring that each new member of the DePaul Community is introduced to the Vincentian, Catholic, and urban identity of the university.²³

The Office of Mission and Values staff is available to any student group or class for a presentation of DePaul University’s mission and values, or to facilitate a discussion on the history, mission and values of the University. The student presentations are well received whether they are given to first year students or to seasoned student leaders. In the past, students were impressed with “The connection to present times and Vincent DePaul’s values” and they “enjoyed hearing about Vincent ‘the man’ rather than Vincent ‘the ideal.’” Students also reported that “It was made very clear that being Catholic, or of a specific race, gender, orientation, etc., was not required. I felt very accepted.”²⁴

There are many courses, programs, minors, and majors in the Departments of Catholic Studies and Religious Studies that cover virtually every facet of DePaul’s Catholic, Vincentian mission in a diverse and pluralistic environment. For example:

• Alternative Break Service Immersions that provide DePaul students the unique opportunity to work, live, and build relationships with over 12 marginalized communities throughout the United States and the Americas. 

• University Ministry Community Service that provides students with service opportunities to communities in need, while encouraging students to develop their faith lives in light of their service involvement.²⁵

DePaul University cares for not only current members of its academic community, but also its former employees. In 2007, the Emeritus Professors’ Society merged into the DePaul Emeritus Society, what strengthens ties between the university and its retirees, and fosters their continued participation in the DePaul University community.

Members of the academic community at DePaul University are being constantly motivated and rewarded for their behaviors that are compliant with core values supported in the process of creating a unique identity. Examples of those rewards are as follows:

The Spirit of DePaul Award was instituted during DePaul’s Centennial celebration to highlight institutional Vincentian Values and their relation to the achievement of DePaul’s mission. The award also seeks to personally honor and recognize diverse members of the DePaul Community for their leadership and service in the spirit of Saint Vincent de Paul.²⁶

In order to recognize quality service provided by staff members to DePaul, the University and Staff Council introduced in 2003 the annual Ken McHugh Quality Service Award. Awards are presented to those individuals who have enhanced university initiatives by promoting collaboration and teamwork to support the institution’s mission.²⁷

Another example of action for the University’s core values cultivating is “service to others” such as Tag Days during which volunteers at the Lincoln Park campus gather funds to benefit food pantries, local shelters, and those families and individuals who can benefit most from social outreach… “[In the year 2010] 22 volunteers collected $788.62.”²⁸

Vincentian Heritage Days, Vincentian Heritage Tours, and the faculty and staff Vincentian tour are the next examples of actions for institutionalization of values such as human dignity, diversity, and individual “personalism” expressing the Vincentian identity of DePaul University.

Vincentian Heritage Days [are] a series of community events that bring together faculty, staff, and students for discussions and celebrations in the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul.²⁹

The Office of Mission and Values offers regular opportunities for members of the university community to deepen their understanding of the university’s patron, by participating in guided Vincentian Heritage study tours to locations in Paris and throughout France associated with the life and works of St. Vincent de Paul.³⁰

Participation in tours is open, on a competitive basis, to all full-time faculty and staff who have a demonstrated interest in the Vincentian heritage, mission, and values of the university. Applicants must provide a personal statement as to how they envision this trip helping to deepen their commitment to the university’s mission as they live it out in their own departments. They also must provide a letter of endorsement from their supervisor.³¹

Another initiative taken in 2004 by the Office of Mission and Values is DePaul Reads Together, a program encouraging professors to join a book club that focuses on the DePaul missions and values. Small groups meet for robust discussion, followed with an overall panel gathering.³²

Describing initiatives for core values implementation at DPU must include “The DePaul Leadership Project”:

The work of the Project began in April 2002. Today the Project carries out the vision of the Hays to develop an awareness of Vincent-inspired leadership concepts and practices within the University community and Vincentian communities worldwide.

(…)

The de Paul Leadership Project is a concrete response to the increasingly urgent need for leadership succession planning. The initial stage of research (from April to August 2002) identified the needs and expectations for the research project.

• Assessment of existing Vincentian characteristics of leadership and management among lay and religious people at DePaul University and other Vincentian founded institutions.

• A timely response to leadership succession planning in religious and lay organizations, especially within the Vincentian family of higher education, social service and charitable service providers.

• Publication and delivery of educational materials, articles and training modules that advance Vincentian leadership concepts and practices.³³

Such initiatives by members of academic community as those aforementioned create the base for identity, development, and communicating value-driven leadership practices inside university and at Vincentian organizations worldwide.

The variety of actions taken by DePaul University with the aim of implementing its core values is so great that for their description there should be created as a separate book or even some books. That is why I will describe just the one another example that proofs for complexity and model professionalism in managing values of academic ethos in DePaul University.

In 2002, Joseph Ferrari, PhD (LAS: Psychology Department) and the Office of Mission and Values developed “self-reporting” faculty, staff, and student assessments, gauging the perceptions of the university’s Catholic, Vincentian, and Urban identity; the assessments also measured the university’s success rate at exhibiting that identity.³⁴ Since then the monitoring research on the level of core values implementation are conducted regularly. The research also refers to the effectiveness of applied policies, procedures, and actions.

The actions described earlier aimed at core values institutionalization have a substantial purpose as they communicate the most important issue to academic community—values that create its identity. DePaul University utilizes a broad spectrum of tools for core values communication (materials and internal publications, writing about tradition, ceremonies and rituals used for promoting the university, trainings, seminars, and websites); what is most important is that every action taken by Office of Mission and Values and by the top management is undeniable evidence that core values at DePaul University are authentic, shared, constant, and alive.

Actions truly speak louder than words, especially in the presentation of core values. DePaul University clearly exhibits its core values in a multiplicity of ways: through its goals, objectives, the foundation of a special unit responsible for protecting those values, a new member orientation program, the Spirit of DePaul Award or Tag Days, and the Vincentian Heritage Tours, to name a few. These methods communicate DEPAUL UNIVERSITY’s core values of its academic community and present a model way for creating a message that DePaul University does really “walk the talk.”

Case Study 2: Wright State University

Name: Wright State University³⁵

Country: United States of America (Dayton, Ohio)

Date of foundation: founded in 1964 initially as the Dayton branch of both Miami University and Ohio State University, in 1965 transformed into a separate university

Motto: “Making a Living, Making a Life”

Form: It is a public research university

Rector/President: David R. Hopkins, P.E.D.

Structure:

Wright State University includes eight following colleges: Education and Human Services, Engineering and Computer Science, Liberal Arts; Nursing and Health, Raj Soin College of Business, Science and Mathematics, University College, and Lake Campus;

and three schools: Boonshoft School of Medicine, Graduate School, and Professional Psychology.

University colors: Green and gold

Enrollment: More than 19000 students

Employees/Administrates: 2385, including 860 faculty and 1525 staff

Alumni: 104,557

Notable alumni: Javed Abidi (disability rights activist), David Albright (founder of Institute for Science and International Security), Brian Anderson (professional baseball player, assistant coach), J. Todd Anderson (film storyboard artist), Jim Baldridge (local news anchor), Siva S. Banda (aerospace engineer), Michael R. Barratt (astronaut), Joyce Beatty (member of the Ohio House of Representatives), Andrea Bendewald (actress), David S. Brown (historian and professor at Elizabethtown College), Iman Crosson (actor, Obama impersonator, Internet personality), Kevin DeWine (chairman of the Ohio Republican Party and former member of the Ohio House of Representatives), Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (author), Christopher Easton (artist), Bill Edwards (professional basketball player), John B. Ellington, Jr. (Air National Guard general), Irene D. Long (Chief Medical Officer at the Kennedy Space Center), Steve Molla (author), Robert Pollard (singer and songwriter), Anthony Shaffer (U.S. Army intelligence officer), Brad Sherwood (actor and comedian), Joe Smith (professional baseball player), Chase Whiteside (journalist, documentary filmmaker, and founder of New Left Media), DaShaun Wood (professional basketball player)

Brief history:

Founded in 1964, Wright State University was originally the Dayton branch campus of both Miami University and Ohio State University. At that time it comprised only a single building, Allyn Hall (named for Stanley Allyn, then-president of National Cash Register and one of the University’s founders).

A 1965 act of the Ohio General Assembly created the University. Several names were considered, including Dayton State University, Southwest Ohio State University, Shawnee University, Four Rivers University (after the four nearby rivers: the Great Miami, the Mad, the Stillwater, and Wolf Creek), and Mad River University. Wright State University was eventually chosen to honor the Wright brothers, residents of Dayton. On October 1, 1967, the university met enrollment criteria set by state legislature and Senate Bill 212 passed to actually create a new university. This led to the official charter of Wright State University.

Despite this, it has a Dayton address. Prior to current president David R. Hopkins’ appointment, Wright State University had five other presidents: Brage Golding (1966–1973), Robert J. Kegerreis (1973–1985), Paige E. Mulhollan (1985–1994), Harley E. Flack (1994–1998), and Kim Goldenberg (1998–2006).

In 2007, Wright State University celebrated its fortieth anniversary in connection with the Presidential Inauguration of David R. Hopkins. To mark this milestone in university history, Wright State created a 40th Anniversary website to highlight the events, history, and vision of its community.

Vision, Mission, and Core Values of Academic Ethos at Wright State University

Studying the history and documentation of Wright State University, we may have an impression that the academic community at this university has always known why it exists and what is most important for its continued success. It is something that distinguishes this school from others. In other words, the axiological assumptions of this university from its beginning have been deeply rooted in the “spirit” of its academic community.

Despite this fact, the university’s leaders have been fully aware that Wright State University’s axiological assumptions, the fundamentals of its cultural identity, and its main principles need to stay constant but that certain ideologies should or even must change to ensure the university’s development in the future. That is why, when in May 1996 the higher learning commission of the North Central Association (NCA) colleges and schools visited Wright State University, it observed that the university was “immersed in a lengthy, multileveled, long-range visioning process, later called Vision 2020: Shaping the Future, that included a reexamination of the university’s mission and its governance processes.”³⁶

Wright State University has always been known for its innovation and flexibility, qualities that have helped us to develop and sustain our prominent position within the region, state, and throughout the country. We have many reasons for our pride but most importantly, we are proud of our faculty, staff, and students who have helped to build Wright State University into an eminent metropolitan university.

To remain competitive and to reach beyond what is known today, Vision 2020 was developed through an active dialogue regarding our future. Contained in the vision are the ideas, perspectives, opinions, and expertise of hundreds of faculty, staff and students, as well as community persons, who spent many hours engaged in that dialogue.³⁷

Vision 2020 and subsequent related planning efforts culminated in a number of significant changes that have both focused the university’s energies and strengthened and transformed its governance processes. Among the most significant changes:

• the creation of new university “Aim” and mission statements, approved by the Board of Trustees in December 1996;

• the creation of a new university ethics statement, approved in 1997;

• the development and implementation of two new 5-year strategic plans;

The creation in 1996 of the Office of Internal Controls and Audit Services.³⁸

The aforementioned changes have both sharpened and strengthened the university’s mission and governance structures.

Vision 2020 focused primarily on five strategic areas:

Students of the Future

Wright State University students of the year 2020 will be engaged in learning communities that prepare them for success in life and in work. As members of these learning communities, students will be active participants in learning. Guided by faculty and staff and assisted by their fellow students, they will be encouraged to become service oriented, culturally sensitive, technically competent, knowledgeable, civic minded, open, and poised for life-long learning. Some students in the year 2020 will engage in learning simply for seeking truth and knowledge, to fulfill their potential, and to realize their personal dreams. Others will aim to enhance employment potential. Ultimately, through educational experiences that span local and global boundaries, Wright State University students will be prepared both to serve society and improve the human condition.³⁹

Educational Programs of the Future

The strength of the Wright State University undergraduate experience will be ensured by supporting faculty as key contributors to the learning community. Our vision for Wright State University includes completion of the transformation of the learning process from traditional instruction to one that will free faculty from the mechanics of knowledge transmission and enable them to concentrate on their value as discoverers, interpreters, mentors, and navigators. Programs in the learning communities of the future will provide multiple points of entry and new avenues of learning unrestricted by limits of time or space. Enrollment in the year 2020 will be increased as Wright State faculty adapt to and take advantage of distance and distributed learning. Core values and skills will shape our programs and educational efforts. These values and skills will include: thinking and reasoning; effective spoken and written communication; quantitative analysis and scientific literacy; context awareness, (i.e. the cultural/historical/global setting of the educational enterprise); commitment to community service; ethics; and love of learning.⁴⁰

Excellent Faculty and Staff

Wright State University will continue to employ a highly qualified and diverse faculty and staff who value student success and demonstrate a strong commitment to teaching, scholarship, research, clinical practice, and professional service as the foundation of our learning communities. We will obtain a work force that is reflective of the ethnic, racial, gender, age, and disability composition of the region. We will enhance opportunities to achieve this goal. We will reward and support units that develop a climate that supports and values this diverse work force. Faculty and staff will reflect changing enrollment and program priorities during the next 25 years.

Excellent faculty will be the single most important factor in maintaining the reputation of Wright State University and fostering the most effective learning environments for our students. We will develop methods for acknowledging faculty workloads which take into account their developing roles in learning communities of the next century.⁴¹

Enhancing and Maintaining High Quality Facilities

We will remain committed to master planning to enhance our physical and environmental resources on the two campuses and the complexes throughout Dayton and the Miami Valley. Wright State will remain a national leader in its physical accessibility to all. New configurations of interactive living and learning communities will emerge. Facilities, programs and services will be provided to support the diverse needs of members of these communities.⁴²

Securing Funding for the Future

The University’s budget will continue to rely upon four major sources of income, including state subsidies, student tuition and fees-for-service, research and other sponsored programs, and private support. In keeping with Ohio’s move toward a performance-based funding model, we will position ourselves to secure as many resources as possible by matching state mandates to our institutional mission. The mix of income sources will change from virtual dependence on the two former sources to a greater expectation of the latter two.⁴³

On June 6, 1997, the University’s Board of Trustees adopted “Vision 2020: Shaping the Future,” which, according to then-President Harley Flack, “provide(s) the guidance needed by Wright State University to steer its course as the catalyst for educational excellence in the Miami Valley and beyond” (p.v.).⁴⁴

Since then, the vision of Wright State University sounds as follows:

In the pioneering spirit of the Wright brothers, Wright State will be Ohio’s most innovative university, known and admired for our diversity and for the transformative impact we have on the lives of our students and on the communities we serve.⁴⁵

This commitment to the pioneering spirit of the Wright brothers led the university to change its logo to the Wright Brothers Biplane in 1998, thus embracing and celebrating their spirit of innovation and enterprise.

After being reaccredited by the NCA, Wright University clarified its purposes through a new mission statement that had emerged from its campus-wide visioning process. The statement, presented December 3, 1996, is as follows:

Wright State University will be a catalyst for educational excellence in the Miami Valley—

(the opening sentence of the new mission statement):

Wright State University will be a catalyst for educational excellence in the Miami Valley, meeting the need for an educated citizenry dedicated to lifelong learning and service. To those ends, as a metropolitan university, Wright State will provide: access to scholarship and learning; economic and technological development; leadership in health, education and human services; cultural enhancement; and international understanding while fostering collegial involvement and responsibility for continuous improvement of education and research (Approved by Board of Trustees on December 3, 1996).

The mission statement is built on eight tenets indicating that the university will

1. serve as a catalyst for educational excellence in Miami Valley;

2. promote a lifetime of learning and service;

3. offer complete access to higher learning and in-depth scholarship;

4. promote both economic and technological development to its fullest capacity;

5. provide fresh leadership in the areas of health, education, and human services;

6. foster an atmosphere of cultural enrichment;

7. cultivate international understanding and cooperation; and

8. support ongoing improvement of education and research.

These eight tenets can be found on the university’s website and in its catalogs. They are in the mission statements of the individual colleges, schools, and divisions of the university and have shaped the development of two strategic plans evolving from Vision 2020.⁴⁶

The integral parts of both documents are the core values with their definitions:

Commitment to people

We are committed to the success of students, faculty, and staff. We provide an inclusive academic environment for people with a diverse range of abilities and educational backgrounds; ethnic and cultural heritages; family experiences and economic means; physical and learning differences; geographically mobile and place bound circumstances; and career and life aspirations.⁴⁷

Allow learning and its expression for all.

We are responsible for sharing a wealth of knowledge, enabling discovery, fostering innovation and supporting scholarship in its many forms to better serve our regional, national, and global communities. As a learning-centered university, we fulfill responsibilities most effectively when students are engaged throughout the process of discovery. Freedom of academic inquiry and expression are the foundations of knowledge and discovery.⁴⁸

Continue to develop partnerships.

We are catalysts for transforming lives and the communities we serve. Through collaborations and partnerships with businesses, educators, agencies and organizations we will achieve our goals of regional development, cross-cultural cooperation, entrepreneurial advancement and improved global relations.⁴⁹

Strengthen relationships.

The success of each individual strengthens our community. We promise to maintain high ethical standards in all of our relationships and operations through open communication, trust, professionalism, and a collaborative spirit. We recognize the inherent value and promise of each individual and welcome all who seek transform their lives.⁵⁰

Sustainability for the long term.

The necessity of preserving our planet compels us to weigh the impact of our decisions, both short term and long term. Additionally, prudent financial management supports the sustainability of our operations. Furthermore, the pursuit of knowledge is sustainable, and our programs will maintain their relevance, only if we continually invest in the infrastructure to support research and creative endeavors.⁵¹

The process of redefining vision, mission, and core values does not need to stop at the university level. This university serves as a model for ensuring the participation of a wide spectrum of representatives from all groups constituting the academic community in the process of redefining both axiological assumptions and models for the cascade approach to this process. Each college, department, or division at Wright State University has redefined its mission, vision, or core values in order to make them reflect the current spirit of those administration units, taking into account the basic assumption that “[c]ollege, department, and division mission statements reflect the mission of the university, and, of course, it is primarily through these units, and the faculty, staff, and students within them, that the university carries out its mission.”⁵²

For example, Raj Soin College of Business defined its vision as:

To be a dynamic business leadership learning community, nurturing life-long education, creating positive impact on business and society.⁵³

The College defined its mission as

The Raj Soin College of Business provides leadership and innovation to:

• develop students to be successful and ethical leaders capable of making valued contributions to organizations in the Miami Valley, the State of Ohio, and around the world;

• advance knowledge and business practices through research and other work;

• partner with individuals, businesses, government and other organizations to enhance professional, entrepreneurial, economic, and social progress;

• attract, develop, and retain committed, exceptional faculty.⁵⁴

Raj Soin College of Business defined its core values as follows.

We embrace and practice

• exceptional teaching and learning, a focus on providing students with a high quality educational experience;

• ethics and character excellence, a desire to cultivate awareness of the attributes that enable excellence through personal and collective efforts;

• applied relevance, a focus on the practical implication of our work for the members of our stakeholder community;

• collaborative spirit, a desire and willingness to initiate work across boundaries in the way we conduct ourselves;

• imaginative thinking, a passion for creative, novel, innovative work across all areas of responsibility—service, research, and teaching;

• global perspective, an acknowledgment that all organizational activities take place in the context of an interconnected, global society;

• appreciation of differences, the willingness to embrace, leverage, and develop distinct perspectives, needs, and points of view;

• service and community engagement, a focus on creating regional economic and social impact.⁵⁵

Annual reports from most colleges and divisions highlight benchmarks in the fulfillment of the university missions.

Institutionalization of Academic Ethos Core Values at Wright State University

Wright State University’s current journey to fulfill its mission and to institutionalize the university’s core values is guided by, among others, the University Strategic Plan, operational plans, and college/division plans, “which (are) annually updated in response to important societal and institutional changes, including priorities established by the state of Ohio to improve student access, transfer and articulation, and to strengthen the state’s economy as expressed, respectively, in House Bill 95, in the report of Governor Taft’s Commission on Higher Education and the Economy (CHEE), and by the Governor’s Third Frontier Initiative.”⁵⁶ These plans are interconnected, interdependent, and aligned with the university’s mission and core values.

The university created two 5-year strategy plans pursuant to Vision 2020, the first implemented in 1998–2003, and the second in 2003–2008.⁵⁷ The first one focused on nine strategic goals that reflected the five overarching emphases of Vision 2020, for example: quality improvement, instructional and research equipment and library resources, faculty and staff development, or general education revisions. The second one, called “On the Horizon, Building Our Future,” centered on three strategic goals.

• Enhance our distinctive learning experience to recruit and retain a diversity of students from the region and beyond.

• Expand our partnerships through external funding and collaborative scholarship both regionally and globally.

• Extend our engagement with government, business and nonprofits to focus on emerging areas of need.⁵⁸

Table 6.3 presents examples of Wright State’s core values, main goals in which they are reflected, objectives for their realization, and implementation results.

Annual campus reports on the implementation of the strategic plan make it clear that the university community has fully implemented the goals and strategies of the plan, thus continuing to carry out the university’s mission.

Wright State University’s mission and core values are reflected not only in fully elaborated strategic plans, but also in a whole array of documents such as policies, procedures, and codes that constitute the ethical infrastructure of its academic community. The university’s mission documents have been designed to elaborate on why the university exists, whom it serves, and to what ends. Mission documents include description of the aforementioned Vision 2020, University Aim and Mission Statements (also reflected in College/School and Division Mission Statements), the University Strategic Plans, and the University Ethics Statement, University Diversity Statement, and Faculty Constitution.

The University’s Diversity Statement, adopted by the Board of Trustees on March 28, 1991, expresses the university’s goal of providing a diverse intellectual, cultural, and social environment on campus that appreciates every individual, without regard to artificial barriers such as “race, gender, age, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religious affiliation, or national origin.”⁵⁹

Implementing a value of diversity in Wright State University does not end in merely a statement. The school’s authorities have taken numerous steps to bring it to life and have it authentically utilized. The strategic plan implemented for 2003–2008 states that the university will actively pursue

• recruitment and retention of a diverse group of students;

• recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty and staff; and

• diversification of and accessibility to curricula.

Since 1996, Wright State student enrollment has increased 8.77%, from 15,697 to 17,074, with most of this increase coming from female students, who accounted for 1,100 of the 1,377 student increase above. Growth in the number of African-American students over the past decade has also been significant; in addition, the university has increased its number of Asian, Hispanic, and Native American students.

Between 1996 and 2005, the faculty increased 16.6%, with a modest increase in gender diversity. Similar to the growth in the number of African-American students, the greatest change in diversity of faculty occurred in the number of African-American faculty whose numbers increased from 31 to 43 between 1996 and 2004. The university will continue to address such disparity in future hires.⁶⁰

Appreciation of the diversity of its learners and constituencies also becomes apparent from the university’s mission documents and practices of its colleges, schools, and divisions. It is also apparent from the prominent existence of a number of units specifically created to both enable and exemplify the university’s strong commitment to its diverse learners. For example

• in 1970, the university established the Office of Disability Services (ODS) in 1970, 6 years before federal regulations required such action;

• in 2000, the university increased support for the Women’s Studies Program and created the African and African-American Studies Program;

• the 2002–2003 publication “Diversity Initiatives: A Directory of Programs at Wright State University” (see Resource Room) offers evidence of its background and development of diversity policies;

• and the university’s diversity website presents information about its diversity policies.⁶¹

The University Ethics Statement supports the mission and core values; it was developed by a broadly representative group of faculty, staff, students, and administrators and was adopted by the Wright State University Board of Trustees on March 28, 1997, to “provide general guidelines for strengthening the integrity of the university.”

The Ethics Statement offers guidelines for strengthening the integrity of the university. It sets forth the principles of honesty, respect, justice, and accountability so that the university can better accomplish its mission and serve public interest in an ethical way. Wright State University is committed to the creation of a standing advisory and resource committee to support formal ethics education and to assist the university in developing ethics policies and procedures.

Finally, protecting and upholding the university’s integrity is facilitated through formal ethics policies. In addition to the university-wide ethics statement, the university is subject to the Ohio Ethics Policy and the Ohio Ethics Commission. Ethics policies/statements are also adopted and created by various university units, which are systematically updated.

Students at Wright State University are also involved in everyday decisions in the academic community, equipped with a guideline called the Student Policy Guide. Similar to the ethics policy of a university, the policy guide for students is systematically updated and prepared by particular units (colleges, divisions) constituting the university.

For example, Boonshoft School of Medicine in Wright State University begins its student policy guide for 2011–2012 with specification of attributes and core values, such as: Compassion, Commitment to Excellence, Accountability, Integrity, Respect, Humility, Altruism, and Social Responsibility, which creates professionalism in a student’s behavior. This should be present in the learning environment and manifested by students. This document also specifies student responsibilities, tasks, the composition of The Honor Code Council, procedures for reporting violations of the Honor Code, and how to appeal decisions by the Council.

Obviously, ethics policies are not the only ones that build ethical infrastructure of the Wright State University. Activities carried out by members of the academic community are realized and supported by Ethical Standards in the Conduct of Research as well as by a policy on Financial Conflict of Interest and Policy and Procedures for Intellectual Property, a revision of which was reviewed and approved by the Board on June 8, 2001.

In summary, we may state that all the documents described earlier that constitute the set for Wright State University’s mission, vision, and core values specification are coordinated and elaborated excellently to be used in fulfilling the university’s mission and institutionalizing its core values through strategic plan implementation. It is worth emphasizing that the university’s website presents vision, aim, mission, ethics, and diversity statements and minutes of all governing bodies; a general announcement listserv is also available to share information and initiate actions that would affect the university community. We should note the widespread use of modern technology for the purposes of communication with academic community; regular meetings arranged with board, administration, faculty, and staff supplement those modern communication tools.

Wright State University’s policy transparency is confirmed by the fact that all the annual reports of university’s organizational units are widely discussed among the academic members. For this purpose, the university not only uses the mentioned online sources but also two periodicals online: the Dialogue newspaper and the student newspaper, The Guardian, which are aimed at informing the academic community about the progress of the university’s strategic plan implementation and the progress in creating a cultural identity of the school.

Considering institutionalization of core values at Wright State University, it is not possible to ignore two substantial aspects such as the scrupulousness and care of academic authorities for the realization of the written mission, vision, and core values in compliance with the leading values of academic community: integrity. Moreover, the model approach to institutionalization of the university’s core value of sustainability should be mentioned. The university’s authorities support its integrity through two sets of coordinated activities. In one set, the university presents appropriately informed, disciplined, and ethical daily actions and interactions of individuals from the top to the bottom of the organization; in the other set, the university presents information about elaborated and realized, monitored and regularly redefined policies, procedures, and processes that are conducted in order to institutionalize core axiological assumptions of this university.

Organizational integrity is assessed in many formal ways:

First, in the recent years, Wright State University has taken

• the creation of appropriate policies and procedures that appear in the Wright Way Policies and Procedures Manual, the Faculty Handbook, the AAUP Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with AAUP–WSU, Staff Handbook, and Student Handbook;

• ongoing education and training of employees on university policies and procedures;

• appropriate faculty review and approval processes, including those for the curriculum, through Faculty Senate and Graduate Council;

• ongoing appropriate oversight of University expenditures, processes, etc.⁶²

Second, the university symbolizes its irrevocable commitment and sharing of integrity through many community activities.

For example, the Raj Soin College of Business created the Institute for Business Integrity (IBI) in 2003. It was designed to develop future ethical business leaders with the moral competencies to enhance organizational integrity capacity and promote responsible practices in the business community. Its director also serves as the faculty coach for the university student teams, which have earned regional and national recognition by participation in the National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl Competition. The Wright State University Ethics Bowl Team is the only team in the state of Ohio that has ever won the National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl Competition after competing against 200 other universities. Third, integrity is reflected in teaching programs by, for instance, implementing the University’s Writing across the Curriculum (WAC) Program in 1996. Its goals are such as

• to improve students’ writing proficiency—their ability to develop and transmit information for an appropriate audience in an organized, coherent fashion while writing with appropriate style and correct grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling;

• to encourage students to use writing as a learning tool to explore and structure ideas, to articulate thoughts and questions, and to discover what they know and do not know, thereby empowering students to use writing as a tool of discovery, self-discipline, and thought;

• to demonstrate for students the ways in which writing is integral to all disciplines, essential to the learning and conveying of knowledge in all fields.⁶³

The WAC Newsletter offers ongoing training and support workshops for faculty and assistance for students in WI courses. All students can receive free consultations and assistance through the University Writing Center. Ongoing assessments of the WAC program guide its facilitators, showing where goals are being met and where improvement is needed.

Fourth, integrity is reflected in the activity of Business and Fiscal Affairs, which may be proved by the following examples. Internal Controls and Authority Services, founded in 1996, created a “business integrity hotline” and a student audit program. The hotline is a confidential telephone line available 24 hours a day for asking questions or reporting incidents. The student audit program allows senior accounting students to participate in completing and reporting an internal audit. University procurement policies for efficiency, fairness, and auditing controls are regularly reviewed by Business and Fiscal Affairs.

Finally, integrity is reflected in University Advancement. One of the examples is a Communications and Marketing Department as one of the units constituting University Advancement. It is responsible not only for redefining and redesigning the university’s image in order to make it compliant with its cultural identity but is also aware that “[o]nline social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have taken on increasing importance in both personal and professional life” and that those tools “offer unique opportunities for people to interact and build relationships and have great potential to enhance interpersonal and professional communication.”⁶⁴ This department has elaborated a Social Media Policy to ensure that actions taken on the social Internet by members of the medical school community reflect the school’s core values of professionalism, compassion, accountability, integrity, honor, acceptance of diversity, and commitment to ethical behavior.

Despite the fact that Wright State University has achieved much, it is still aware of the necessity for constant improvement in the area of managing values of academic ethos. The university’s authorities know that values such as integrity, honesty, and professionalism are, both for people and for organizations, unattainable points of excellence. That is why Wright State University sets new goals and offers opportunities to improve. For instance:

• to give greater visibility in particular to the university’s mission statement, including through incorporation into speeches by the President and Provost, and strategic presentations on the university’s Web site and publications; in biweekly luncheon meetings with faculty and staff, the president also stresses the university’s mission, its strategic plan, etc., and responds to questions about each;

• to continue attempts to develop a university domestic partners policy consistent with the university’s diversity statement and with state regulations;

• to continue the university’s significant progress in diversifying the faculty and staff, paying particular attention to the under representation of women and people of color in identified colleges.⁶⁵

One of the core values of Wright State University is sustainability as well, which in 2008 was defined in University’s Strategic Plan as: “the necessity of preserving our planet [which] compels us to weigh the impact of our decisions, both short term and long term.”⁶⁶ Is it just a definition, statement, expression of greater intention, or something more? Undoubtedly, this is not just a hollow statement but much more. Many activities that realize the value of sustainability are cultivated among participants of the academic community.

First, in May 2010, President Hopkins signed the Talloires Declaration, committing Wright State to a series of sustainability initiatives, serving as a tangible sign of our continuing dedication to sustainability.

Second, this university not only explains what is sustainability (it gives us many definitions) and why it is so important but also provides the academic community (e.g., at its website) with information regarding, for instance, partners in the local community, who cooperate within sustainability, major summaries of information on ecosystem health and climate change, as well as examples of sustainability presentations. However, explaining and training for academic community on sustainability is not everything.

Third, the university encourages its employees and students to get “to and from the university contributes significantly to our impact on the environment. If feasible, consider walking, riding a bike, taking the bus, or ridesharing”⁶⁷ as well as it provides some information about campus shuttle and campus bike rack locations.

Fourth, Wright State currently employs one recycling coordinator, whose responsibilities include baling cardboard, paper shredding, delivery, and pick up of recycling containers servicing the main campus and off-site locations, in addition to transporting cardboard bales to its recycling facility.⁶⁸ Moreover, the university not only trains its employees and students on acceptable and unacceptable recycling items, but it also informs about local recycling centers throughout the campus labeled “Waste” and “Recycling.” Wright State has also participated with other national colleges and universities in a 10-week Recyclemania Per Capita Classic competition. The competition measures all cardboard, paper, plastics, and aluminum recycled during the prescribed 10 weeks.

Fifth, Wright State University organizes many actions for promoting sustainability in our everyday life, symbolizing our commitment to build a better world for our descendants. For instance, a Bike to Campus Breakfast is organized annually:

This event is for Wright State University students and employees. Ride your bike to the front entrance of the Student Union; you will be greeted by bike racks and volunteers. Once you park, you will receive a raffle ticket. Turn in your ticket downstairs in the Atrium for a Free breakfast and a chance to win 15 tickets for the July 7 Dragon’s Game.⁶⁹

Other initiatives include Earth Day Photo and Earth Week contests, which is “a reminder that we’re not the owners, we just lease some space and that we share Earth with other living things on this wonderful planet.”⁷⁰ Moreover, in the campus area, students and employees plant vegetable gardens with “potatoes and tomatoes, onions and leeks, kale and pepper plants, and green bean sprouts that are about to pop out of the soil. The list of donations, supporters, helpers and folks who stop by to ask questions is very long and growing.”⁷¹

The list of similar initiatives is very long, and it shows that, for Wright State University, values are not just the statements. They are real lodestars, guidelines in everyday lives of all the members of academic community. Wright State University is an exemplar to follow, which is well prepared for its future as neither changes nor failures disturb what is most significant in here—its cultural identity.