University of Louisiana System

UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS MISSION

The University of New Orleans, a major statewide research university, drives and supports the development of the educational, economic, and social well-being of the culturally rich New Orleans metropolitan area, the State of Louisiana, the nation, and the global community. Located in an international city, the university provides educational and workforce development opportunities to a highly diverse student population through its research and curricula, and through its Programs of Distinction and Centers of Excellence. The university’s technological and cultural alliances connect the institution, its faculty, and its students to the community through joint projects with public schools, governments, foundations, businesses, and civic groups, enriching opportunities for learning and community growth.

VISION STATEMENT

The Vision of the University of New Orleans is to be a major research university for the state of Louisiana and beyond. We will attract and graduate talented students from a wide-variety of ethnic, geographic, and socio-economic backgrounds through an accomplished, diverse and energetic faculty, a wide range of excellent programs, state-of-the-art facilities, engagement with the larger community, and effective communication with all stakeholders. To realize this vision, the university commits its resources--its location in the most culturally rich and interesting city in the U.S., its dedication to recruiting and retaining the best faculty and students, and its public and private finances--to sustain and grow its educational, research and affiliated enterprises.

We will build on our legacy of academic achievement. Just as a determined UNO community led us to be the first two-year branch of the LSU System to move , first to a 4-year university, and then to an SREB Four Year-2 institution, so the current university community is determined to move us to an SREB Four Year-1 institution in the next 5 years.
We will build on our legacy of diversity. Just as a determined UNO community in 1958 was the first university in the South to open its doors as a racially integrated institution, so the current university community pledges to nurture its students, not just academically, but also in character, integrity, tolerance, and vision—committed to a life of learning, service and leadership, capable of making ethical decisions, and prepared to function successfully within a diverse, multicultural, and global society.
We will build on our legacy of innovation. Just as a committed UNO community was the first university in the Greater New Orleans area to open its doors after the devastation of Katrina by using a combination of new technologies, distance learning, and national and international partnerships, so our current UNO community will provide students, staff and faculty with state of the art technology, national and international learning and research opportunities, and new academic programming appropriate to the twenty-first century university
.
We will build on our legacy of community involvement. Just as the UNO community has, since its inception, served the needs of the Greater New Orleans Community and the State of Louisiana and has further populated the region with over 70,000 graduates who contribute to the economic, cultural, and creative well-being of the region, so will the current university community continue to serve as a leader in the area’s rebuilding, restoration, and progress through offering expertise and community activities in programming, research, contracts, course offerings, and volunteerism.

In fulfilling this vision we will create new legacies by adapting to our constantly changing environment, and dedicate this university to apply its hallmark determination, its commitment to students, and its innovative spirit to recruit, retain, and graduate more students than our institutional peers.