Our Mission

Mission Statement

History and philosophy are critical elements of a liberal arts education and are central to any understanding of the human condition.

Our first mission as faculty of the Department is to provide the highest quality in teaching for each of our majors and general education students. Beyond careful conveyance of salient content, departmental instruction will strongly encourage development in higher-order thinking, meaningful self-reflection, and understanding. Students should emerge from History & Philosophy classes with a deepened understanding of their own culture, as well as the culture and world views of others. They should embrace the importance of lifelong learning, possess enhanced written and oral communication skills, and be prepared to serve as able advocates for the betterment of society.

We encourage and value research that enhances teaching, expands the boundaries of scholarly understanding, and serves our communities and the public interest. We aim to foster student/ faculty and interdepartmental dialogue and scholarship in the pursuit of both individual projects and collective knowledge, and strive to be a community of mutually supportive scholars whose members share ideas and expertise with one another.

We encourage and value active involvement in service to the institution, to the community, and to faculty’s respective professional organizations. We honor and support the ongoing efforts of our centers, the Public History Program, the Holocaust Education Program, History Education and other community-oriented programs. We value our long record of good citizenship to the campus and beyond and strive to improve on that record.