Mission and Vision

Our Vision

The University of Tennessee’s College of Communication and Information will become a world renowned center for innovative learning, scholarship, and societal engagement with particular emphasis on the following communication and information areas:

• knowledge/organizational management
• science, technology and health
• international and intercultural
• law, policy and ethics.

The primary aspiration of the College can be summarized in a single word: Excellence. Over the next five years, the College of Communication and Information will achieve a level of excellence that will be reflected in international, national, and regional rankings. Each unit in the College will become recognized as a program of excellence internationally, nationally, and regionally for the caliber of its research/creative activity, teaching and service.

Our Mission

The College of Communication and Information is a community of scholars and creators devoted to the study of communication and information and their related processes and technologies. This mission is achieved through excellence in research/creative activity, teaching and service. The College also shares the values of diversity, international and intercultural awareness, engagement and other core ideals of the University of Tennessee in the Land-Grant tradition.

Our Values

The College is committed to diversity and fosters a sense of collegiate and social community. The culture of the College includes an emphasis on the legal and ethical responsibilities of access to information and the exercise of expression in a democratic society. The College also promotes new knowledge creation through research and creative activities. The College believes in and cultivates:

• Intellectual Curiosity and Critical Thinking
• Invention and Innovation
• Global and Cultural Awareness and Diversity
• Honesty and Integrity
• Integration of Knowledge
• Creativity
• Community Responsibility, Engagement and Leadership
• Excellence and Rigor
• Integration of Theory and Practice
• Interdisciplinarity/Relationship Building
• Risk Taking.

Diversity Statement

The College of Communication and Information recognizes that a college diverse in its people, curricula, scholarship, research, and creative activities expands opportunities for intellectual inquiry and engagement, helps students develop critical thinking skills, and prepares students for social and civic responsibilities. All members of the College benefit from diversity and the quality of learning, research, scholarship and creative activities is enhanced by a climate of inclusion, understanding and appreciation of differences and the full range of human experience. As a result, the College is committed to diversity and equal opportunity and it recognizes that it must represent the diversity inherent in American society. The College is acutely aware that diversity and fairness are foundations that unite the College's faculty, staff, students, and the larger communication and information community.

Our commitment to promoting, protecting, and ensuring the diversity in our community builds upon an understanding that a diverse society is essential for the free exchange of ideas, debate, research, academic freedom, growth, responsibility, knowledge, integrity, cooperation and success in the local and global context. Diversity is also essential in developing the cultural competencies and effectiveness communication and information professionals need to manage the communication and information creation-organization-dissemination processes that serve the needs of increasingly diverse communities.

Diversity enriches the learning and teaching experiences of students, faculty, and others to live and work in an interconnected local, regional, and global village where there are many differences in people based on races, ethnicities, religions/spiritualities, creeds, national origins, languages, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities, ages, veteran status, marital/partnered status, physical appearances, political affiliations, and social, economic, or educational backgrounds, among other variables; all are honored, welcome, and respected in the College of Communication and Information. At the same time, there are many similarities in us that create potentials for rich and creative partnerships across the differences and may facilitate communication, understanding, and mutual growth. Without a reflective and thoughtful understanding of the similarities and differences among us, as well as ways to promote mutual respect and collaboration, education cannot be truly successful.

Thus, we, the faculty and staff of the College of Communication and Information, affirm our commitment to further diversity and equal opportunity in our teaching, research, services, and other creative pursuits. The College of Communication and Information willingly complies with applicable laws adopted by the University of Tennessee regarding non-discrimination and affirmative action. For details of the University's Equal Employment Opportunity/Non-Discrimination/Affirmative Action Statement visit the Office of Equity and Diversity website at URL: http://oed.admin.utk.edu/docs/Non-Discrimination_Statement_UT_Knoxville_Searches.doc.