PURPOSE OF THE UNIVERSITY



What is the purpose of the University? Isn't it a sort of business, and aren't the students your customers?

While we might view the University as a business, the students are not our customers. Indeed, from that point of view, our students are our raw materials and our work in progress, and our customers are their parents, the people of Texas, and more broadly the people of the world. Parents send their sons and daughters here for an education, and they and others hire our graduates and use the knowledge produced here. But in its essence, a university is a collection of people united in the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge.

Could you give an overall view of what do you do here?

First, we prepare our students for productive and rewarding lives. We produce thinking and educated people - people who think for themselves and who understand how the work of our country has been performed in the past and will be performed in the future. The entire community - the state, the country, even the larger global community - shares the benefits that educated people bring to community life.

Second, we build knowledge, which is then shared with industry, business, education, the medical community, government, and other groups in our society. This knowledge may range from techniques for prolonging and improving life, through new scientific discoveries, to literature that reveals the lives of diverse groups of people. In practical terms, we produce intellectual property, such as new studies and improved machinery, that benefit all citizens.

Third, we dedicate time to a wide range of activities known as "service." As a land-grant university we have a special mission to serve the citizens of the state. Some, like ranchers and farmers, are served immediately and regularly through our Agricultural Extension Service. Other people, like schoolchildren and business leaders, are served more gradually, but just as surely. Also, we serve on committees for professional organizations and for the University, and we serve as advisors for student organizations. Finally, we serve our community by sharing our expertise in issues of local, state, and national importance.