Mission
Penn State is a multi-campus public land-grant university that improves the lives of people in Pennsylvania, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality programs in teaching, research, and outreach. Our instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education informed by scholarship and research. Our research, scholarship, and creative activities promote human and economic development through the expansion of knowledge and its applications in the natural and applied sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities and selected professions.

Core Values
We believe that education is the foundation of an enlightened and prosperous society. We seek a learning community in which the intellectual life is central, and faculty, staff, and students work together to achieve excellence in teaching, learning, and the advancement of knowledge. The dignity of all individuals is affirmed and equality of opportunity is pursued. Freedom of expression is protected and civility is affirmed. Individuals accept their obligations to the group and shared governance guides behavior for the common good. The well-being of each member is supported and service to others is encouraged. Our heritage is celebrated and change is embraced.

Vision Statement
Penn State will be one of the nation’s finest universities and lead others in the integration of teaching, research, and outreach. Our distinction will lie in our academic quality, our continuous quest for excellence, the integration of our missions, our responsiveness to the public we serve, and the sensitivity of our University community to all of its members. Our reputation will attract students of all ages, garner government and corporate research support, and encourage strong public and private investment in Penn State. Excellence in each of our missions is supported greatly by the integration of teaching, research, and outreach. Faculty research and scholarship keeps instruction in all of its forms at the leading edge of a field and affords special learning opportunities for students. Teaching responsibilities help to orient knowledge-generating activities toward the users of knowledge. Outreach both extends the forum for teaching and creates opportunities for scholarship and research. We will promote these inter-relationships to enhance Penn State’s impact on the quality of the lives of the people the University serves.