about us
My Colby-Sawyer Experience
"It's important for college students to get involved with community service because of the difference they can make."
- Ashlee Willis, Exercise and Sport Sciences major
[ read more ]
mission statement
Colby-Sawyer College, founded as a coeducational academy in 1837 and engaged in higher education since 1928, is an independent, coeducational, residential, undergraduate college that strives to lead in offering co-equal education to women and men. The college provides programs of study, which innovatively integrate liberal arts and sciences with professional preparation. Through all of its programs, the college encourages students of varied backgrounds and abilities to realize their full intellectual and personal potential so they may gain understanding about themselves, others and the forces shaping our rapidly changing and pluralistic world.
Colby-Sawyer College fosters academic excellence and individual development in an environment that:
- is committed to liberal studies as a foundation for lifelong learning;
- provides close interaction among faculty, staff and students;
- emphasizes the importance of internship and other complementary educational experiences as a component of its academic programs;
- challenges students to participate in leadership opportunities in and outside the classroom as a way of enhancing their individual development; and
- enables graduates to define and pursue varied personal, educational and career options.
Commentary on the Mission Statement
Educational Goals
This mission statement expresses the educational philosophy of the college. To assure that everyone in the community uses the mission as the framework for planning, decision making and curriculum design, the college has identified seven educational goals, which articulate more precisely the desired results of a Colby-Sawyer education. These are to:
- communicate effectively;
- think creatively and critically;
- understand and employ multiple perspectives;
- use interdisciplinary skills;
- make informed and ethical personal and professional choices;
- interact with others competently and effectively; and
- lead and serve in the larger community.
Clarification of Other Key Elements of the Mission
In order to clarify the other elements of the mission, the key phrases in the mission statement are defined and clarified by the following paragraphs.
Innovative integration of the liberal arts and sciences with professional preparation
A Colby-Sawyer education combines the values of liberal studies in the traditional arts and sciences with those of professional preparation. The Liberal Education Program fosters the development of skills and competencies and the acquisition of knowledge, which is believed to be essential for all students to acquire. Through a variety of major programs, students develop the knowledge and abilities which are required in the profession of their choice.
This approach to integrating liberal and professional studies provides the finest foundation for developing student potential and for preparing students to define and pursue their personal, educational and career goals. The college accepts the challenge of continuing to discover and offer innovative approaches which encourage students to acquire the values, skills, competencies and knowledge that will serve them well in the future.
Liberal education as a foundation for lifelong learning
As students acquire the values, skills, competencies and knowledge cited above, they begin the process of preparing to be lifelong learners. However, they must also develop an attitude of continuing openness to new learning and understand that this is essential for personal and professional fulfillment and success. Colby-Sawyer faculty and staff serve as role models for students by communicating directly their love for learning, engagement in and enthusiasm for the acquisition of new knowledge, and joy in the process of discovery. Since close-knit faculty, staff and student relationships form the cornerstone of the personalized Colby-Sawyer educational experience, the college, in hiring and retaining faculty and staff, gives priority to those who are dedicated teachers and are engaged sufficiently in their scholarship to serve as models for continued learning and discovery - in short, those who are, themselves, lifelong learners.
Knowledge necessary for professional careers
Programs of study which are designed to prepare students for a particular profession provide opportunities to acquire the necessary theoretical and applied knowledge which permits students to function effectively in their field. Learning takes place on campus in classrooms, laboratories, studios, residence halls, career counseling and planning sessions at the Harrington Career Development Center, and in study sessions at the Academic Development Center. Off-campus internships and encounters with practicing professionals provide opportunities to integrate theoretical with practical learning. In each instance, students confront the challenges and issues they will eventually encounter in their lives and careers.
Co-equal education
Colby-Sawyer College was founded as a coeducational academy in 1837 and is, therefore, one of the oldest educational institutions in New Hampshire. In 1990, after many years as a college dedicated to the education of women, Colby-Sawyer returned to its coeducational roots. As a result of its long and successful history, its faculty and administrators envision and are well prepared to offer an undergraduate education in which student learning is free from gender bias, individual differences are valued, and gender issues are understood. Men and women are encouraged to live, learn and work cooperatively, and dialogue is characterized by respect for ideas, as well as for personal experience. At Colby-Sawyer it is believed that such an education serves students well and has the potential for enhancing the roles of men and women in society.
