Mission

Vision

• be recognized as an outstanding Department of Animal Science in the United States and internationally, attracting and retaining the best students, faculty, and staff;
• develop life-long learners who understand science, can think creatively and analytically, treat others with honesty and respect, and are prepared to serve and lead the animal and food industries with confidence;
• conduct cutting edge fundamental and applied disciplinary and multidisciplinary research with active participation of undergraduate and graduate students, producers, and industry;
• provide excellent extension programs that result in an informed clientele and opportunities for economic development in the state, region, nation and world; and
• facilitate communication, collaboration, and coordination among teaching, research, and extension activities both within and outside the Department, Division, and University.

Core Values

• Excellence - We seek excellence in all our endeavors, and we are committed to continuous improvement.
• Intellectual Freedom – We believe in ethical and scholarly questioning in an environment that respects the rights of all to freely pursue knowledge.
• Integrity – We are committed to the principles of truth and honesty, and we will be equitable, ethical, and professional.
• Service – We believe that serving others is a noble and worthy endeavor.
• Diversity – We respect others and value diversity of opinions, freedom of expression, and other ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
• Stewardship of Resources – We are dedicated to the efficient and effective use of resources. We accept the responsibility of the public’s trust and are accountable for our actions.

Goals, Critical Success Factors, Objectives, and Strategies

Goal 1. Maintain national and international recognition as a premier Department of Animal Science.

Critical Success Factors: (measures of the degree of success over the next 5 years):

• Maintained recognition for teaching, research and extension by Division, University, region, nation and internationally
• Involved faculty members in professional societies with at least 50% of faculty in leadership roles
• Replaced positions lost through attrition with highly-qualified persons from diverse cultures and backgrounds
• Continued attraction of a substantial number (30 to 40%) of high-quality out-of-state undergraduate students
• Maintained national reputation for excellence in teaching, research and extension due to outstanding staff, livestock units, and livestock
• Maintained active presence in national livestock industry associations (e.g., National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, etc.)

Objectives:

• Maintain contact with alumni and encourage them to help us recruit outstanding faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students
• Ensure sufficient start-up funds and facilities for new faculty members
• Retain productive faculty and staff by all means necessary and available
• Establish a committee to identify and promote faculty for regional and national awards
• Continue a positive representation of the Department of Animal Science by Extension Faculty to promote its many strengths while interacting with clientele around the state and country
• Send a recruiter to at least 50% of all community colleges in Oklahoma annually to speak to prospective students
• Maximize exposure of teaching, research and extension programs through scientific journals, popular press, website, national and international conferences, competitive student activities, youth events, commodity organizations, etc
• Encourage every professional staff member to participate in 1 training opportunity each year
• Establish a departmental awards program for staff

• Develop resources for the purpose of funding travel and participation at professional society and national commodity group meetings
• Encourage all faculty to participate in at least 1 professional meeting each year
• Encourage all faculty to seek positions of leadership and committee assignment in professional organizations

• Form a faculty and staff committee to prioritize renovation needs for livestock teaching and research facilities
• Seek funds for identified high-priority renovation of facilities

• Develop 5 and 10 year plans to project needs for faculty, staff and resources
• Seek input from commodity/industry groups to determine their program priorities
• Establish a research “vision” committee to identify trends in national funding and other sources
• Establish funds to bring in outside speakers on the cutting edge of teaching, research and extension to describe new trends

Goal 2. Prepare students to be life-long learners equipped with the tools to serve and lead the animal and food industries with confidence.

Critical Success Factors: (measures of the degree of success over the next 5 years):

• Increased percentage (50% increase) of students that participate in internships
• Increased number of undergraduate students actively engaged in research to 2 students/research Full Time Equivalent (FTE) per year
• Maintained high ranking at OSU and nationally for number of undergraduate students in the department (approximately 640)
• Increased scholarship awards provided to undergraduate students (currently award $90,000 to $100,000 to 120 to 140 students annually)
• Increased financial support (stipends) for graduate students
• Increased diversity

Objectives:

• Develop a mechanism to internally recognize excellence and accomplishment in teaching and advising
• Review and improve the method of assigning advisees
• Offer graduate courses in a timely manner
• Strive for a 10% increase in student evaluation ratings from 2004-2009

• Assess facilities and laboratories for teaching use and establish priorities for updates
• Seek funding opportunities in view of established priorities

• Identify qualified students for research scholars program
• Seek funding to increase the number of scholarships and research funding for research scholars program
• Develop mechanisms to internally recognize internship opportunities and identify potential student candidates
• Identify options in which internships may be required
• Evaluate student club structure in the department to expand the number of students actively involved in clubs

• Seek new donors for scholarships for both undergraduate and graduate students
• Develop model agreements for endowments to support graduate students (for both stipends and scholarships)
• Increase stipend levels for Graduate Assistantships to at least the median of the stipends of other Big XII Departments of Animal Science

• Assess the needs of modern Animal and Food Science graduate degrees
• Review departmental graduate course offerings in view of assessed needs
• Review graduate course offerings external to the department
• Assess and establish needed courses and faculty expertise to offer such courses
• Review all undergraduate courses (including Special Problems courses) to increase understanding of course content and to facilitate better relationships among courses

Goal 3. Be the best at integrating fundamental and applied disciplinary and multidisciplinary research to support the dynamic animal and food industries.

Critical Success Factors: (measures of the degree of success over the next 5 years):

• Increased number of scientists conducting extramurally funded fundamental research
• Increased extramural funding to an average of $1.2 million/year over the next 5 years
• Increased number of publications to 3 refereed publications/research FTE/yr (minimum of 30 refereed publications/yr)
• Increased number of publications derived from theses and dissertations (minimum of 2 peer-reviewed publications by every Ph.D. student and 1 publication by every M.S. student published on average)
• Increased competitiveness for attracting internal competitive funds
• Enhanced intradepartmental collaborations
• Increased number of interdisciplinary and interdepartmental grants submitted
• Improved laboratory and livestock facilities
• Established interdisciplinary research seminar series

Objectives:

• Continue to provide graduate students with partial support to actively participate in at least 1 national and/or regional professional society meeting during a degree program
• Secure funds to ensure publication of research findings

• Ensure that faculty with an Oklahoma Agriculture Experiment Station (Experiment Station) appointment have adequate time for grant preparation
• Search for, identify and pursue diversified funding opportunities (i.e., public, private, institutional)
• Encourage all faculty to submit at least 1 proposal each year to solicit external funding

• Encourage more research conferences and symposia in order to foster communication
• Establish an interdisciplinary research seminar series, participated in by faculty, invited external speakers, staff and graduate students
• Establish a graduate student orientation course for all new graduate students

• Assess and establish priorities for updates of facilities and laboratories for research
• Seek funding opportunities in view of established priorities

Goal 4. Continue to develop excellent extension programs that result in an informed clientele and opportunities for economic development.

Critical Success Factors: (measures of the degree of success over the next 5 years):

• Maintained interaction with current clientele, despite recent decreases in Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service (Cooperative Extension ) personnel
• Increased technical training to a minimum of 1 in-service conference/yr for county and area field staff
• Increased accessibility of current research-based knowledge via electronic and print media including the world-wide web
• Increased extension activities that directly add value to the animal and food industries

Objectives:

• Provide at least 1 in-service training opportunity per year for Cooperative Extension Field Staff. This training will provide an opportunity for technical updates in any or all of the species and discipline groups within the department
• Provide information about educational opportunities (e.g., commodity group meetings, scientific meetings, etc. ) to all extension field staff, especially area extension animal science specialists
• Provide assistance to field staff in preparing and presenting scientific results at professional meetings

• Improve support for publishing and distributing fact sheets and other University publications
• Improve support for developing and maintaining computer-based decision tools (software) and web sites
• Improve support for developing and distributing research-based information to clientele via print and electronic media

• Identify high impact programs and seek opportunities to expand them
• Assess needs for, and prioritize the development of, interdisciplinary teams to address the Division’s initiatives
• Seek extramural funding to enhance development of teams

• Assess and prioritize needs of educational programs for owners of companion and recreational animals

Goal 5. Be the best at integrating fundamental and applied science, teaching, and extension by facilitating professional development and communication, collaboration, and coordination among all stakeholders.

Critical Success Factors: (measures of the degree of success over the next 5 years):

• Improved collaboration and communication between applied and fundamental animal and food biologists
• Continued alumni involvement in scholarships, student recruitment, internships, employment opportunities, teaching, research, and overall program assessment
• Increased partnerships with private industry and state agencies involved in economic development of rural Oklahoma
• Enhanced participation by every faculty and staff member in at least 1 professional development activity annually

Objectives:

• Develop professional and social activities to increase communication
• Encourage teaching and extension faculty to participate in review of research projects and seminars
• Encourage teaching and research faculty to participate in extension program development, delivery, and evaluation

• Inform alumni regarding departmental activities using existing resources
• Seek input from alumni to assess and prioritize research, teaching, and extension programs

• Continue to involve industry leaders, alumni, and others to participate in classes, seminars, and conferences
• Maintain and strengthen current industry partnerships
• Communicate potential funding sources with other faculty
• Establish a focused group of faculty and key representatives from various state agencies to identify and develop sustainable programs that provide opportunities for economic development of rural Oklahoma.

• Establish a financial support system (or mini-grants) designated for professional staff development activities