Vision, Purpose and Values
Vision: UNE was founded in 1938 as Australia’s first regional university. We did what the conventional universities could not, or would not, do for the communities distant from metropolitan centres.
Today, consistent with our history, UNE has the vision to be an unconventional university that excels at connecting individual aspirations to community outcomes.
Purpose: Consultation has reinforced that core to the existence of a university is knowledge. This does not diminish the wider importance of data (the things measured), information (the analysis and modelling of data) and wisdom (making good decisions and planning for the future). To be defined as a university it is necessary to meet minimum benchmarks of world-level performance in research. Hence, the creation of knowledge must be part of our Purpose and has been core to our success since we were founded. The foundation of learning is sharing knowledge, and from our inception we have been a learner-focused institution.
Therefore, consistent with our Vision and history, the Purpose of the University of New England is to support individuals and communities to thrive by creating and sharing knowledge.
Values
Values and behaviours are the cultural foundations necessary to deliver UNE’s vision and purpose. Importantly, UNE's values came from the University's staff. A months-long process facilitated by volunteer staff convenors was undertaken to establish values shared across the University.
The result embodies our collective expectations of ourselves, one another, and our stakeholders.
- Be Bold: experiment, adapt, and lead change in ways that matter to people and communities.
- Be Kind: create safe, supportive environments where everyone is treated with dignity.
- Be Accountable: align our actions with shared values and take responsibility for our role—individually and collectively—even when it's difficult or the path is unclear.
- Be Connected: collaborate across boundaries, build shared purpose, and contribute to something greater than ourselves.
