The Multiple Missions Served by Alliant
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The Missions We Serve
At Alliant International University, we sometimes refer to ourselves as "a family of schools," and this is true in several ways. The two schools that came together to form Alliant were each innovative institutions with distinctive missions of their own. Those missions have been handed down to their offspring, Alliant, and still remain compelling today. From United States International University, we have inherited an enduring commitment to internationalism. From the California School of Professional Psychology, we have gained strong convictions about how professionals should be educated and how important it is for them to develop multi-cultural competence. As we have grown, we have formed strong alliances with other institutions such as the Presidio School of Management, which holds a vision of sustainability that has relevance in natural, social and business systems.
While all the schools within the Alliant family are distinctive, it's also true that all the members of our educational family hold strong resemblances. We often speak of the "professional practice university," because that phrase has encapsulates many of the shared features of our academic programs. In all of our programs, we prepare students to enter professions: psychology, education, management and public service, in which their future success depends upon the mastery of a specialized body of knowledge and skills. We emphasize the practical application of knowledge, and our approach to education incorporates theory and practice. In most of our programs, students learn in the field as well as in the classroom. The "professional practice" model implies both a goal and a method of education. | Mission Statements of Alliant Schools | We prepare students for independent, knowledge-based careers of service and leadership in a variety of fields.
While each of our schools serves its own field of professional endeavor and has its own mission statement, it's also true that as a family, we also hold a shared mission. Below, in the words of our president, Dr. Geoffrey Cox, is a thoughtful exploration of the multiple missions served by Alliant International University.
Serving Individuals and Communities
We live in an age of tremendous progress in terms of science, medicine and technology. Indeed, we have come to believe that many of life’s troubles will sooner or later be eliminated by a new invention, a new medicine or some |
“Alliant students devote more than 750,000 hours per year to community service.”
| other scientific discovery. But many of the world’s most intractable problems— psychological suffering, family strife, inadequate education, dysfunctional organizations and misunderstandings among groups—are not amenable to technological solutions. Alliant emphasizes the social and human sciences—bodies of knowledge that are aimed at improving the condition of individuals, families, organizations and communities. From preparing marriage and family therapists to educating managers with special concerns for the "human side" of business, our success as an institution is measured not just in terms of the number of graduates produced or the number of papers written by our faculty, but also by the impact our students and graduates have on the communities they serve. This impact begins while our students are in school. Across all programs and campuses, Alliant students devote more than 750,000 hours per year to community service. Promoting Multicultural and International Competence
Never before in history have the forces of globalization, immigration and intercultural communication been so prominent and so demanding. Professionals must have the ability to work effectively across cultural and international boundaries. The psychological and social sciences must be updated and modified to account for intercultural differences. We work to infuse every course and every program with an exploration of the significance of culture, ethnicity and nationality. True multicultural competence means updating both theories and practice. Our Graduate School of Education, for example, publishes the online Journal of Cross Cultural Transformation in Education. The commitment to diversity also extends to our faculty and student bodies. Alliant is consistently recognized in surveys as one of the most diverse and international universities in the nation. Setting Standards of Education for the Professions
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"Professionals must have the ability to work effectively across cultural and international boundaries.”
| Our focus on professional education and international education merge in our work in other countries. We offer clinical training, teacher preparation and management education at our campus in Mexico City; we offer clinical training in Tokyo, Japan, and soon will expand several programs into Hong Kong and mainland China. These programs all serve to extend standards of education and practice in the professions that do not otherwise exist in these countries. We also continue to influence standards in the US. For example, our nationally-recognized program in psychopharmacology is the model for preparing psychologists to gain prescription privileges in states that have begun to allow such practices.
Advancing Knowledge
Universities have a fundamental obligation to contribute to advancing our knowledge. Alliant contributes to the advancement of knowledge through the work of its faculty and students, and through organized centers of research. The Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma is an international center of excellence that sponsors research, conferences and publications on topics ranging from domestic violence to elder abuse to violence prevention in schools. Our faculty contributes extensively to the scientific literature and in professional conferences. Expanding Access and Opportunity
We seek to make higher education available to ever expanding communities of students. Our Center for Undergraduate Education is designed specifically to serve graduates of community colleges who might otherwise not seek a four-year college degree. Indeed, we are designing programs that will encourage and enable students to aim even higher—toward a master’s or a doctorate degree—by creating a seamless, efficient and affordable path that begins even before college.We have developed a unique three-way partnership among Alliant, the Sweetwater High School District and Southwestern Community College to serve the predominately Hispanic communities between San Diego and the Mexican border. Our commitment to expansion of access extends in many directions, from our novel partnership with Ohlone College in Fremont, California to our pending affiliation with Beijing Normal University at its new campus in Zhuhai, China. Pursuing Educational Innovation |
“We seek to make higher education available to ever expanding communities of students.”
| We celebrate a tradition of innovation in education, and we are committed to continue seeking new and better ways to assist students in learning. We seek to continue experimenting with educational methods—in the classroom, in the field and via technology—to make our educational programs more effective and accessible. We also will continue to create programs that respond to changing professional needs. The new Marshall Goldsmith School of Management blends the best of traditional business training with an emphasis on the organizational and interpersonal aspects of management and leadership.
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