College of Science

Mission/Vision/Philosophy/Goals

The College’s Mission

The College of Science is made up of academic programs in agriculture, biology, chemistry, geology and nursing. These programs are housed in the departments of agriculture and nutrition science, biology, physical science, and nursing. We operate or participate in the operation of several special learning environments for students that include a KECK sponsored undergraduate research lab, an observatory, a GIS lab, certified water lab, scanning electron microscopy lab, the Southern Utah Natural History Museum, and the Cedar Mountain Science Center. We serve as the center of scientific learning for the undergraduate and graduate programs offered at SUU. We also serve as the resource center of scientific knowledge and expertise for Southern Utah. The purpose of the College of Science is to provide comprehensive classroom and experiential learning that emphasizes critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, and communication in science for students from Utah and the Southwestern United States.

The College’s Vision

The College of Science will become the most respected undergraduate science unit in Utah and the Southwestern United States. Our graduates will demonstrate high levels of academic achievement through admission to graduate schools and professional schools and/or gainful employment. Our faculty will be renowned as educators and scholars, thereby increasing the value of our students’ degrees.

The College’s Philosophy

The values and beliefs that guide the College of Science in all activities and serve as our basic foundation are:

Undergraduate education is our highest priority.
Well-planned and executed, pedagogically sound classroom, laboratory, and outdoor educational activities are expected.
Life-long learning will be modeled by our faculty by being professionally active and productive scholars in their fields.
Undergraduate research provides opportunities for students and faculty to create new knowledge and to apply knowledge they have learned in the classroom. Research also builds proficiency in the skills of critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, and communication.

The College’s Goals and Objectives

The observable, measurable goals of the College of Science and our objectives by which we will accomplish them are:

To prepare students for graduate schools and professional schools by offering coursework and active learning experiences appropriate to the prerequisites of specified post-baccalaureate programs.
To prepare students for careers using their baccalaureate degree by offering coursework appropriate for specified departmental majors or minors.
To help students develop skills in analysis, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making by offering well-planned and pedagogically sound learning exercises in courses and in research projects.
To offer students hands-on experiences with state-of- the art scientific and computational equipment by providing coursework and research opportunities.
To provide highly skilled teachers and professors that are also respected scholars by recruiting Ph.D.- prepared faculty, rewarding good teaching, encouraging faculty to conduct funded research and publish results, and encouraging participation in professional organizations.
To utilize the SUU Observatory, Water Lab, Scanning Electron Microscopy Lab, the Southern Utah Natural History Museum, the GIS lab, and the KECK Molecular genetics and ecology labs by enhancing the physical facilities and encouraging classroom and research utilization of these facilities.

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