MISSION

The mission of the Natural Science Department is to prepare students to be well-informed citizens and leaders in a world that is increasingly shaped by science and technology. Based on Sinsinawa Dominican values, the science programs aim to instill in all students an understanding of, and a life-long enthusiasm for, the process of scientific discovery and a commitment to the responsible application of science. The department is committed to innovation and excellence in the science programs, and to preparing majors to be successful in science-related careers that are vital for meeting future local, national, and global needs.
 

VISION STATEMENTS

1. We are a community of learners that includes students, faculty, staff and the wider community in a continuous quest to understand the natural world.
2. We provide challenging and motivating scientific experiences that instill a lifelong interest and appreciation of science, while accommodating the diversity of backgrounds, abilities, and interests of our students.
3. Our learning environment reflects the commitment of the faculty to an active inquiry approach to learning. Students are challenged to construct knowledge as they actively engage in the process of doing science.
4. We have an environment in which teaching is an active, creative, and valued scholarly activity.
5. We support interdisciplinary, integrative learning through collaborations with other academic programs and departments and with student services.
6. Students have the opportunity to carry out active, collaborative student/faculty research projects.
7. All students are exposed to the broad range of scientific professional opportunities, assisted in setting personal and professional goals, and provided with the knowledge to reach those goals.
8. Our graduates, through their experiences at Edgewood College develop scientific literacy. For us, scientific literacy includes the ability to pose and pursue questions centered in the natural world, to observe, to evaluate information on the basis of logic, source, and methods of data collection, to read with understanding science articles in the popular press, and to be able to use their scientific knowledge to inform decision making.
9. Students become able to identify and access sources of scientific information and to integrate that information to form reasoned judgments that can be communicated clearly orally and in writing.
10. Students develop the ability to integrate information, methods, and perspectives from traditionally disparate disciplines, including those from the arts and humanities as well as the sciences.
11. Our students gain an enthusiasm for science, find joy in the process of discovery, develop a healthy balance between skepticism and wonder, and are able to reconcile science with mystery and personal faith.
12. Students develop a sense of social responsibility and of responsibility for stewardship of the Earth, extending from the local campus to the global environment. They become dedicated to, and disciplined in, contributing to open dialogue on the nature of a just and humane society and on the role that science can play in contributing to justice, humanity, and ecological sustainability.
13. Students are actively engaged in using science to help address issues that are important to the ecological and social integrity of the campus and the larger community. They recognize their study and life-long work as having a positive impact on the quality of life of their community. They appreciate the relationship between local and global issues, and they develop a deep respect for the complexity and interdependence of the natural systems of which humanity is a part.