Portland State University's mission is to enhance the intellectual, social, cultural and economic qualities of urban life by providing access throughout the life span to a quality liberal education for undergraduates and an appropriate array of professional and graduate programs especially relevant to metropolitan areas. The University conducts research and community service that support a high quality educational environment and reflect issues important to the region. It actively promotes the development of a network of educational institutions to serve the community.The pursuit of our vision rests on our success in transforming undergraduate education, our growing research programs, our strong collaboration with the community, and the core values we hold. These values describe not only what PSU is now, but what it will be in the future: Learning and Discovery, Access to Learning, A Climate of Mutual Respect, Openness and Reflection and Community and Civic Engagement.PSU values intellectual inquiry in its undergraduate and graduate programs, provides leadership in the development of knowledge, and creates opportunities for the application of knowledge to real-world problems. We maintain a welcoming and stimulating environment that is conducive to success for students, faculty, and staff. We value tenure as an essential component of this environment.