Process for Developing the Gallaudet University Mission and Vision Statements

During the spring of 2007, the President convened a diverse 20-member Mission Work Group to lead the development of the new mission statement. As it began its work, the Mission Work Group considered how the mission and vision would relate to internal and external constituencies and contexts.

Contexts for the Mission and Vision Statements
The Mission Work Group considered Gallaudet's place within higher education by consulting the missions of other colleges and universities, with special attention paid to those institutions which focus on particular groups of people, such as tribal, bilingual, and historically black colleges and universities. In addition, the Mission Work Group performed its task mindful of Gallaudet's authorizing legislation, the Education of the Deaf Act, as well as the requirements for Mission and Goals as delineated in MSCHE's Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education. The Mission Work Group also paid attention to the changing demographics and educational backgrounds of the deaf and hard of hearing students within the United States while also recognizing the bilingual heritage of Gallaudet University. The Mission Work Group thus emphasized within the vision statement, that these contexts may be resolved by creating "a welcoming, supportive, and accessible bilingual educational environment for teaching and learning through direct communication". Whereas Gallaudet has always been a bilingual institution by default, its new mission and vision statements, along with its strategic plan embrace bilingualism with inclusion, intention, research and rigor.

Process for Collaborative Participation
Once it completed an initial draft in early June 2007, the Mission Work Group solicited input from a wide range of constituencies, including alumni, students, staff, faculty, administration and the Board of Trustees. The following is a summary of the Process of developing the current Gallaudet Mission and Vision Statements.

  1. May 2007: The Mission Workgroup reviewed internal and external contexts and constituencies listed above.
  2. June 1-13: University Mission Draft #1 was presented to the campus community through an online website accompanied by a survey which included space for written comments. The results from the survey indicated that between 80% and 94% of Gallaudet community members expressed moderate to strong support for the new mission statement:
    1. Faculty (n=43) 80%
    2. Staff (n=31) 84%
    3. Students (n=17) 94%
    4. Alumni (n=110) 88%
  3. June 5: The Mission Work Group held a meeting with President Davila to discuss the newly written mission statement.
  4. June 6: The Mission Work Group held a Town Hall Meeting that was also that was broadcast through streaming web-video to discuss the mission statement.
  5. June 13-15: Mission Work Group analyzed feedback from the online survey, the Town Hall meeting and meeting with President Davila to produce Draft #2 of the Mission and Vision statements.
  6. June 15: The Mission Work Group shared Draft #2 with the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees. Based on feedback from this meeting, the Mission Workgroup developed University Mission/Vision Draft #3.
  7. June 25: University Mission Draft #3 was presented to the Faculty Senate which, after suggesting rewording, endorsed the Mission/Vision unanimously.
  8. August 4: The Board of Trustees adopted the University Mission statement, but did not vote on the Vision Statement
  9. October 10: The MSCHE Site Visit Team suggested adding Gallaudet's historic role of a research institution to the mission statement.
  10. November 8: The Mission Work Group submitted a final Mission statement to the Office of the President and Board of Trustees.
  11. November 27: The Board of Trustees approved the final Mission and Vision statements together and can now be found, prominently featured on the University's website.