The university of Iowa displays the following tripartite mission statement on the school web-page (Mission and Values, n.d.).
In pursuing its missions of teaching, research, and service, the university seeks to advance scholarly and creative endeavor through leading-edge research and artistic production; to use this research and creativity to enhance undergraduate, graduate, and professional education, health care, and other services provided to the people of Iowa, the nation, and the world; and to educate students for success and personal fulfillment in a diverse world. The University of Iowa carries out its academic mission primarily through its 12 colleges, which offer undergraduate and graduate education, professional education, and education and training in the health sciences.
The University lives its teaching mission by shifting many classes online and encouraging instructors to “make a special effort to help your students feel connected”(Novel Coronavirus, n.d.). The update did not go into detail and left the embodiment of this request up to the instructor's discretion. The University also sought to serve the campus community by keeping its resources open. Resources such as dining halls, cultural centers, and the university library all remain open to students, faculty, and staff. Moreover, the University of Iowa lives its research mission by continuing ongoing research and by participating in an international study involving a vaccine for COVID-19.
Iowa attempted to mitigate student risk by releasing 14 pages of guidelines in preparation for reopening this fall. The guidelines included requiring students to wear face masks, clean their seating areas after use, and seeking testing if symptomatic or exposed to an individual who displayed symptoms of COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus, n.d.). Despite these efforts, reports updated last week indicate that the University has seen 1,395 positive cases, or over 4% of the student population, and 19 employees also tested positive since the start of the semester on August 14th. (Novel Coronavirus, n.d.). These early reports suggest that the University of Iowa is living its teaching and research missions at the cost of its service mission.
By contrast, Ohio University’s mission statement focuses on describing the campus, its setting, and highlighting student development as the primary concern of the University (Mission and Values, 2020).
Ohio University holds as its central purpose the intellectual and personal development of its students. Distinguished by its rich history, diverse campus, international community, and beautiful Appalachian setting, Ohio University is known as well for its outstanding faculty of accomplished teachers whose research and creative activity advance knowledge across many disciplines.
Like the University of Iowa, Ohio’s mission statement includes the word diversity despite the fact that both are predominantly white institutions (Mission and Values, 2020;Mission and Values, n.d.). The importance of the word diversity in these mission statements was amplified in Black Lives Matter protest which climaxed after Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd were killed by police. Protests of police brutality continue across the nation today. Many Institutions of Higher Education scrambled to respond to the crises. The office of Inclusion and Diversity (OID) at Ohio University responded to student feedback by issuing a statement in June of 2020 (King-Taylor, 2020). The statements address the lack of attention to student concerns and listed tangible ways that OID would address anti-blackness in the United States (King-Taylor, 2020).
Meanwhile at the University of Iowa students joined in protest of the University Administration. Twitter was used to disseminate information using the hashtag #DoesUIowaLoveMe. The office of Inclusion and Diversity at Iowa offered to assist the University in meeting the students demands (Fischels, 2020). However, the University of Iowa’s newspaper did not offer details of the administration's plans to address students' needs. It is expected that the University will spend $1 Million to remove graffiti left by protesters. Nonetheless, the university’s Archivist took action to preserve the historic graffiti which will be held within the university's special collections (Peet, 2020).
In closing the COVID-19 global pandemic has strained both Iowa and Ohio Universities as they struggle to meet the demands of their mission statements. Yet, the pandemic is not to blame for social unrest, as it merely exposed a long standing issue of anti-blackness in the United States. Institutions of Higher Education would be wise to reconsider how to align the university’s mission with the realities of student needs and identities in the present day.
References
Fischels, J. (2020, July 14). UI Diversity Councils dissatisfied with UI leaders’ Black
Lives Matter response. The Daily Iowan. https://dailyiowan.com/2020/07/14/ui-diversity-
councils-dissatisfied-with-ui-leaders-black-lives-matter-response/
King-Taylor, T. (n.d.). BLACK LIVES MATTER | Ohio University. Www.Ohio.Edu. Retrieved
September 5, 2020, from https://www.ohio.edu/medicine/news-center/blog/black-lives-
matter
Mission and Values | Ohio University. (n.d.). Www.Ohio.Edu. Retrieved September 5, 2020,
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) | The University of Iowa. (n.d.). Coronavirus.Uiowa.Edu.
Retrieved September 5, 2020, from https://coronavirus.uiowa.edu
Peet, L. (2020, August 27). University of Iowa To Create Archive of Black Lives Matter
Protesters’ Spray Painting. Library Journal. https://www.libraryjournal.com
UI Academic Mission | Office of the Executive Vice President & Provost. (n.d.).
Provost.Uiowa.Edu. Retrieved September 5, 2020, from https://provost.uiowa.edu/ui-
UI to participate in clinical trial of COVID-19 vaccine. (2020, August 5). University of Iowa
Hospitals & Clinics. https://uihc.org/news/ui-participate-clinical-trial-covid-19-vaccine
