Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences Mission, Vision, Core Values and Guiding Principles

Mission

The mission of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences is the advancement of animal health and well-being. Our mission is achieved by providing exceptional educational experiences, delivering outstanding veterinary care, and discovering innovative methods to diagnose, prevent and treat disease. In support of these activities, we manage comprehensive professional and post-graduate curricula; provide leading-edge veterinary medical care; engage in consultation services and outreach activities that benefit the public and veterinary profession; and perform meaningful clinical, basic, and translational research for the improvement of animal and human health.

Vision, Core Values, and Guiding Principles

Our vision is to create and maintain academic, clinical, research, and outreach programs that are recognized nationally and internationally for their quality and innovation. While striving toward this vision, we are mindful of values that guide our personal and collective works. Central to these are intellectual integrity, professionalism, innovation, commitment, accountability, and a drive for excellence. These core values are representative of the standards and principles we embrace individually and collectively.

Values and Principles Guiding Department

Group Values and Principles

• Commitment to Programmatic Growth – we will develop and advance our programs for the benefit of our students, animal health, and the profession
• Commitment to Public Service – we serve the public through outstanding patient care, consultation, continuing education and outreach
• Commitment to the Profession – we serve our profession through consultation, engagement with professional societies and governing bodies, and by provision of continuing education
• Commitment to our Students – we believe that the education of our professional and post-graduate students is paramount
• Discovery – we strive to find better ways to improve animal and human health through clinical, basic, and translational research
• Impact – we perform meaningful research that impacts and enhances animal health and veterinary medical care
• Inclusiveness – we value and encourage the participation of all members of our team in discussion and decision-making
• Innovation – we advance our academic and clinical programs through personal creativity and collaborative innovation
• Inspiration – we motivate our students to embrace our profession and explore the many opportunities available to members of our profession
• Involvement – we understand that our personal engagement in departmental, college, and university programs and service is pivotal for advancement of our departmental goals
• Leadership – we are active in our academic, hospital, and specialty communities
• Programmatic Goals – we emphasize performance and outcomes as benchmarks of academic and clinical success
• Quality – we strive continuously for excellence in our teaching, research, clinical practice, service, and outreach efforts
• Responsibility – we recognize our collective responsibilities for careful management and strategic optimization of resources
• Teamwork – we recognize that programmatic success depends on each of us working together selflessly towards our collective goals

Personal Values and Principles

• Accountability – we are answerable for our individual actions and responsibilities
• Balance – we seek an appropriate work-life balance
• Clinical Expertise – we strive to maintain and advance our clinical expertise
• Collegiality – we foster positive, collaborative relationships and interactions with faculty colleagues, staff, and students
• Communication – we engage in honest, forthright, issue-oriented, and civil dialogue
• Compassion – we treat our patients, students, and colleagues with understanding, empathy, and kindness
• Composure – we maintain a professional comportment during stressful events
• Contribution – we understand that our individual engagement and involvement in programs is critical to both programmatic and personal success
• Efficiency – we aim to improve our delivery of care and services while always maintaining focus on the quality of our work
• Enthusiasm – we value and foster enthusiasm and positive thinking
• Ethics – we embrace the importance of both personal and professional ethics in our work, behavior, and lives
• Hard Work – we value individual initiative and personal dedication to the job
• Humor – we believe that appropriate humor can enhance the work environment and help people connect
• Inquisitiveness – we value curiosity and seek understanding
• Integrity – we approach academic issues, research, and patient-care ethically and with intellectual honesty
• Learning – we embrace life-long learning
• Loyalty – we value loyalty to our collective ideals, programs, and colleagues
• Open-mindedness – we listen and openly and fairly consider new ideas or other viewpoints
• Optimism – we balance introspection, analysis, and constructive criticism with a positive attitude and outlook regarding our programs, profession, and people
• Passion – we sincerely care about our programs, students, colleagues, patients, and clients
• Persistence – we celebrate diligence and determination
• Professionalism – we honor colleagues whose behavior reflects credit on our profession
• Reflection – we accept constructive criticism and hold personal accountability as pivotal to programmatic success and professional development
• Respect for Differences – we recognize, respect and value diversity as a source of strength
• Satisfaction – we believe that learning and working together create many opportunities for professional gratification and personal enjoyment.
• Service – we embrace a 'customer-oriented' approach in the delivery of patient and client care
• Trust – we appreciate that learning to trust each other is a fundamental step in achieving our vision of programmatic distinction