Mission, Values, and Vision
Mission
To create a diverse and collaborative community of learners dedicated to the development of students’ knowledge, values and skills for successful lives of leadership, scholarship, and service.
Values
Hamline University recognizes its roots in the traditions and values of the United Methodist Church. Through our personal and collective effort, we will make a lasting difference in the world as we aspire to the highest standards for:
- Creation, dissemination, and practical application of knowledge
- Rigor, creativity, and innovation in teaching, learning, and research
- Multicultural competencies in local and global contexts
- The development and education of the whole person
- An individual and community ethic of social justice, civic responsibility, and inclusive leadership and service
Vision
Hamline University will be recognized as a diverse, learning-centered university that is:
- Rooted in the tradition of liberal education
- Dynamic and actively inclusive
- Locally engaged and globally connected, and
- Invested in the personal and professional growth of persons
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The Hamline Tradition
Hamline University was Minnesota’s first university, founded in 1854 by a group of visionary Methodist ministers and educators to provide education, leadership, and service to the frontier peoples of the Minnesota territory. Hamline’s affiliation with the United Methodist Church complements its liberal arts tradition by encouraging the exploration of spiritual values within a social and cultural context. From that exploration comes an emphasis on the individual development of personal values.
Hamline educated and prepared Minnesota’s first teachers, lawyers, judges, physicians, public administrators, and business people. This tradition has carried on for over 160 years, encouraging the exploration of spiritual values within a social and cultural context and fostering ethical leadership in service to society.
Hamline University offers bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate degrees-as well as certificates, professional development, and continuing education courses-to a diverse and select group of women and men. We also maintain an affiliation and collaborative relationship with Mitchell | Hamline School of Law, an autonomous law school created by the combination of Hamline University School of Law and William Mitchell college of Law. Today, Hamline University is a high-quality, top ranked liberal arts university with more than 5,000 students within the College of Liberal Arts, School of Business, School of Education, and in our relationship with Mitchell | Hamline School of Law.
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The Hamline Experience
While there are many great liberal arts universities and colleges from which to choose, none quite compare to the experience at Hamline University. A Hamline education emphasizes collaboration, diversity and inclusion, community, engagement, leadership, scholarship, and service. Hamline’s mission, vision, and values do not exist in words alone but are seen within the Hamline experience.
Engaged and Collaborative Community
Students who come to Hamline find a community of engaged and collaborative learners. Students, faculty, and staff work together to solve problems, create connections among disciplines, and experiment with new learning models. With Hamline’s unique and various partnerships, these solutions extend to the community and to the larger society. Pipers frequently work with professors on collaborative research scholarship projects– many
become published in scholarly journals or presented at national conferences. Every year, Hamline takes one of the largest groups of students from any college nationwide to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). Hamline students learn the forefront developments in science, create works of art, and conduct studies of crucial global issues. All of this is done among a diverse group of peers coming from 40 different states and thirty countries. Pipers receive real experience during their time on campus; every student either participates in an internship, develops their own independent study project, studies abroad, or participates in a service-learning project.
Parents and guardians of Hamline students consistently voice that they are impressed by our academic culture focused on teaching students to prepare for careers or graduate study and developing the values necessary for ethical citizenship and leadership. Parents appreciate the goal-oriented curricula, the high standards for academics, and the faculty who provide personal attention and work one-on- one with each student. At Hamline, an environment of learning is our top priority.
Alumni also agree that the learning experience at Hamline is transformative. No matter their achievements in the world, many of our alumni give something back to Hamline through generous gifts, scholarships, mentoring or assisting in internship and service learning opportunities, and many other ways. Our alums also speak fondly of lifelong friendships developed with fellow Hamline students, staff, and faculty—many of whom still remain in contact as mentors.
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Outstanding Faculty
Ninety-five percent of Hamline’s full-time teaching faculty hold the highest degree in their fields—the strongest testament to quality faculty. Hamline professors teach both introductory and advanced courses. In addition, they pay close attention to new developments in their field bringing both innovation and experience to the classroom. Faculty are given both institutional support and recognition for developing new and effective ways of teaching, advising, and assessing each student’s performance in meeting the goals for the Hamline Plan.
Not only are Hamline faculty great teachers, they are also noteworthy scholars. Each year, most members of the faculty publish books and articles or present papers at regional, national, and international conferences. They have authored nationally acclaimed textbooks in fields such as mathematics, psychology, political science, microbiology, and more.
In the area of art, for example, Hamline professors receive public and private commissions, and their works are maintained in museum collections and exhibited in major shows in the United States and Europe. Additionally, Hamline faculty publish scholarly journals including The Hamline Review, Critique: Journal for Critical Studies of the Middle East, The Venezuelan Literature and Arts Journal, and one online journal, Making the Global Local, among others.
The many professional activities of Hamline’s faculty result in influence and influential contacts within many fields. Faculty expertise and connections, in turn, enrich the educational experiences and the career prospects of Hamline students. Faculty guide students toward internships and independent studies, and work with them on collaborative research projects, all the while maintaining their commitment to students’ mental, ethical, spiritual, physical, and professional development.
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Inclusive and Positive Environment
Students who come to Hamline find a welcoming, safe, supportive, and diverse learning environment. The Hamline University Board of Trustees, the president, faculty, and staff are committed to “inviting, supporting, and affirming cultural diversity on campus,” where all “university programs and practices, academic and co-curricular, shall be designed to create a learning environment in which cultural differences are valued.”
Examples of this commitment in the College of Liberal Arts and School of Business include:
- The Hedgeman Center for Student Diversity Initiatives and Programs that provides services, resources, and opportunities for students to learn about, embrace, and celebrate diverse ethnic, racial, and cultural identities.
- Admission officers trained to recruit (locally and nationally) students of color.
- A full-time director of disability resources for students with physical or learning challenges.
- An annual “Commitment to Community” lecture series, organized entirely by Hamline students, featuring notable speakers such as Cornel West, Winona LaDuke, and Kweisi Mfume.
- A week-long World Fest celebration to celebrate and increase awareness about the many cultures present on campus.
- Student organizations that fit the needs and respect the lifestyles of many different groups.
- Ongoing support from the administration for diversity and community programs and projects, including a collaborative partnership with the Penumbra Theatre Company, Minnesota’s only African-American theatre company and only one of three in the nation to offer a full season of performances.
- A diversity requirement in the academic curriculum.
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