Mission Statements

Mission Statement of the Chinese, French, German and Spanish Programs

The mission of the Language programs in the Department of Languages & Philosophy is to provide students with a rigorous program wherein they perfect their abilities to communicate in the languages they study. As faculty, we dedicate ourselves to fostering students’ progress in the four skill areas — reading, writing, speaking, listening — and developing cultural awareness as they cultivate productive community connections in and outside the classroom. Through a series of courses which include language, linguistics, literature, culture and pedagogy, and through extra-curricular activities, we prepare students for lifelong enrichment, graduate studies, and entrance into the global work force.

Philosophy Program Mission Statement

Our mission is two-fold: first, to provide our students with a rigorous foundation in the core areas of philosophy (logic, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, and history of philosophy), with classes that expose students to the central concepts, thinkers, methods, and debates in these areas; second, to nurture our students' critical thinking abilities, by showing them how to identify, analyze, construct, and evaluate arguments of all different types, and by requiring them to actively practice these skills (both orally and in written work). In this way, we equip our students for success after college, whether their plan is to pursue philosophy in graduate school, to attend professional school in another discipline, or to immediately begin their careers.