Community with Distinction

A community that is distinctive is supportive of its members, prizes “Towering Scholarship,” and holds diversity and honor as core values. Its members help each other to succeed in scholarly pursuits and in life. It is one that seeks to engage all Smeal faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends in the vision of the college. It is one that welcomes differences in people and ideas, and facilitates connections for people with different identities, backgrounds, and ideas. Such a community is grounded in a set of expectations—indeed values—of integrity, respect, and openness.

Priorities and Initiatives

• Focus human resources efforts on new employee orientation, career coaching and development, succession planning, recognition programs, alternative work schedules, and e-learning.

• Undertake new initiatives in diversity, including developing a database of alumni, peer mentoring programs, and tutoring efforts.

• Highlight mentoring with the growth of an online social-networking community—SmealConnect—consisting of Smeal students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends.

• Stress the highest ethical standards in our education, research, and behaviors.