Mission & Vision 

HISTORY

Purdue University established a department of education in 1908. The creation was the University's response to a 1907 Indiana state law mandating that all new teachers have professional education of at least 12 semester hours.

For the first six years of its existence, Purdue's education department was comprised solely of one person. George L. Roberts boasted 27 years of experience in the state's public schools, beginning as a one-room schoolteacher and going on to become superintendent of schools in Greensburg, Frankfort, and Muncie. At Purdue, Roberts was a professor of industrial education, and he was a solo act until 1914, when, thanks to the Vocational Act of 1913, the University could afford to hire more faculty members.

For the next 75 years, various units at Purdue housed education faculty, including the Division of Education and Applied Psychology and the School of Humanities, Social Science, and Education. In 1989, Purdue officially created the School of Education. In 2005, Purdue renamed the School of Education to the College of Education.

- Sources: A Century and Beyond: The History of Purdue University; A University of Tradition: The Spirit of Purdue; and Facts at Your Fingertips, 2002-03.

MISSION STATEMENT

The College of Education provides leadership through exemplary teaching, research that develops and refines theory and improves practice, and outreach to schools and communities. The College is dedicated to the development of education professionals who are intellectual leaders; who are prepared to participate in professional, social, and technological change; who are committed to lifelong learning and continuing professional development through inquiry and reflection on practice; who bring a multicultural perspective to their professional practice; and who exercise the responsibilities of citizenship in a global society that is interconnected and interdependent.

This mission is accomplished through: scholarship and research that reflect discovery, integration, and application of knowledge; application of technology to broaden learning opportunities and support the educational process; sensitivity to systemic improvement of teaching and schooling at all levels; partnerships with educational, governmental, and business entities; and interdisciplinary collaboration.