CSU San Marcos Mission Statement

California State University, San Marcos, offers excellence in undergraduate and graduate education to a diverse citizenry in an increasingly interdependent world. As the twentieth campus in the California State system, CSU, San Marcos provides an academic environment in which students, taught by active scholars, researchers, and artists, can achieve a foundation in the liberal arts and sciences and acquire specific competencies appropriate to major disciplines or graduate/professional study. The University upholds a high level of academic scholarship in research and teaching and protects academic freedom necessary for such scholarly pursuits. Moreover, the University demands fairness and decency of all persons in the university community. CSU, San Marcos promotes a collegial relationship between students and faculty that encourages students' excitement about the learning experience and process. This campus combines the academic strengths of a large university with the personal interaction characteristic of smaller institutions. The University provides an atmosphere in which students can experience a challenging education in a supportive environment, preparing them to live co-operatively and competitively in a world of cultural and ethnic diversity, economic and governmental differences, shared resources, ecological restraints and technological change.

CSU, San Marcos recognizes its special role in the north San Diego county area. In the spirit of partnership, the University initiates and offers programs to further intellectual, professional, and personal development within the diverse community which it serves. The University serves as a resource for books, computer-generated information and ideas. The University stimulates research and development in collaboration with public and private organizations and, in conjunction with regional industry, participates in the development of science- based technology. The University offers cultural enrichment in an intellectually stimulating environment and acts as a focus for community social activities, music, athletics, and performing and visual arts.

CSU, San Marcos endorses an international perspective that addresses the global community in its distinctive social, political, and economic terms. This multicultural outlook is reflected in our curriculum, extracurricular activities, international exchanges, and special programs that focus on world issues and problems.

Consistent with its global orientation, this comprehensive University exposes students to the study of languages, to world literature and the fine arts, and to issues and traditions of the United States and other countries. The University's definition of the liberal arts and sciences in these times includes basic skill in writing, critical and creative thinking, mathematics, fundamental computer competence and an interdisciplinary approach. In addition to the laboratory and classroom, the University provides a variety of educational experiences in an atmosphere that encourages students to examine moral and ethical issues central to their development as responsible men and women. Students investigate the historical past and its relationship to the present and future and seek to understand human behavior, culture, values, and institutions. They explore the modern mathematical, biological and physical sciences and technology; focus on international concerns of race, gender, and cultural diversity; and contribute to public services that enrich the local and international community. The university prepares students to take leadership roles in areas of work and society in the international community of the 21st century.

The aim of CSU, San Marcos is to instill in its students the enthusiasm and curiosity, the creativity and originality, the healthy skepticism, and the habit of continuing inquiry that are central to all truly educated men and women. The goal is to enable them to realize their potentialities as enlightened individuals and productive members of society in a world of change.

(adopted by the Founding Faculty, October, 1989)