- to maintain a commitment to advance knowledge as part of a comprehensive research university, and
- to contribute significantly to theoretical and applied research in the fields of its faculty scholars.
- providing quality undergraduate and graduate research experiences to students from the urban St. Louis region
- forming successful collaborative partnerships regionally within the metropolitan community, as well as internationally, and
- helping to raise the university's national and international profile by publications in major scientific journals and presence at major scientific meetings both within the United States and abroad.