CBSS Vision & Mission

CBSS Vision

CBSS aims to become a recognized leader in creating safe, strong, and healthy communities through education, research and creative scholarship, and community engagement.  CBSS strives for real-world impacts in enhancing cultural understanding and belonging; promoting social, behavioral, and emotional health; and fostering vibrant social, civic, and political institutions.

CBSS Mission

CBSS prepares students to be life-long learners, productive citizens, and effective leaders in a diverse and global social world and uses our research expertise to improve the lives of others.  Emphasizing high-impact teaching and learning strategies, our programs apply diverse scientific methodologies to behavioral and social issues and work in teams to solve complex problems. By working with faculty and our community partners to make a positive impact on social life, CBSS produces graduates and supports communities ready to meet the challenges of today AND tomorrow.  

Culture:

CBSS values the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge about culture, the impact of culture on individuals and groups, and differences between cultures.  Culture is the lens through which individuals and groups experience, understand, and evaluate social life and interactions with others. CBSS is committed to educating and increasing the understanding of the historical developments of culture; the influence of culture on behaviors, attitudes, values, and beliefs; and the ways in which culture influences design, development, and interactions across a variety of contexts.  People.

Belonging:

Differences between people define social life.  CBSS values differences in all forms. CBSS is committed to building inclusive communities and organizations that affirm, value, and engage all identities.  In CBSS, everybody belongs because of the differences that each individual brings to the classroom, research settings, and community-building processes within the college and across our communities.  Purpose.

Science:

Applying a variety of scientific methods to the study of social issues is at the heart of every discipline in the college.  CBSS values science as the framework for understanding human behavior, designing spaces and materials that function effectively, analyzing public policy, increasing public safety, understanding political engagement, managing public organizations, and supporting healthy families, among the hundreds of other ways science is used across CBSS to better our communities.  Action.

Service:

The work of CBSS is done toward one goal—making a positive difference in the lives of others and in our communities.  CBSS directly engages stakeholders across our communities to improve social conditions and quality-of-life. We value the application of our scientific expertise to serving our communities in a variety of roles, including mental health support, family education programs, high-quality child care and education, community-based research, and service on a variety of impactful community organizations.  Growing Ourselves to Grow Others.