PLU Chemistry Department Mission Statement

Mission Statement

The mission of the Chemistry Department is to provide high quality educational programs for all students who study chemistry at PLU. Faculty strive to teach chemistry in ways that help students become life-long learners, effective written and oral communicators, and explorers of the relationship of chemistry to other fields. The department endeavors to integrate education and research by incorporating recent discoveries, modern techniques, and research-grade instrumentation into the curriculum. As mentors for collaborative student-faculty research and creative projects, faculty work with students to expand fundamental knowledge in chemistry and develop students’ abilities for independent scholarship. The department strives to prepare chemistry majors for direct employment in chemistry, entry into graduate or professional programs, and to become scientifically literate contributors to our local and global society.

Goals Statement

  • To maintain close working relationships between students and faculty
  • To provide an innovative and well-functioning curriculum at both the lower and upper division levels
  • To support faculty development
  • To work together as faculty, staff, and administration to provide clean, safe, environmentally-friendly, and well-functioning classrooms and laboratories for teaching and research.
  • To maintain and improve our base of equipment and instrumentation
  • To develop funds for student scholarships and research
  • To appropriately credit faculty teaching that involves research and scholarship
  • To foster and maintain relationships with alumni
  • To foster and maintain relationships with regional high school and community college faculty and students, and with regional industries.