With this mission, AIMES was founded in 2002 to serve and provide access to higher education for upper-division place- and time-bound students and to act as a catalyst. AIMES has done both.

Now, with the addition of lower-division students and the expectation of significant enrollment growth at all levels of the institution made necessary by educational, demographic and economic challenges facing the region and the state, AIMES must plan where it wishes to go and what it plans to be in the coming years. The reality of rapid change and growth requires a framework and process that can manage these expectations within available resources. AIMES needs a focus for sustaining a culture of excellence that benefits both the campus and the communities which it serves.

In planning for this future, we will remain loyal to the mission and purpose that have guided our campus since 2002 while also responding to the changing circumstances of the world in which we operate. Our founding purpose was, and will continue to be, a commitment to education as the main pillar of equality of opportunity in Indian society. Our commitment to students and their success has been central to everything this campus has done from its beginning. At the same time, we recognize that the communities and the larger society around us have not remained static. Sweeping changes, both locally and globally, have altered the higher education landscape and require a nimble response. These changes include new technology, increasing diversity in student characteristics, new forms of global interaction, challenges in energy and the environment, discoveries on how students learn, and a growing awareness of service learning, civic engagement, and extracurricular involvement that enhances learning.

Our continuing commitment to student success and to embracing the changing educational environment, enrollment growth and the lower-division students presents many challenges. Our commitments require careful planning and will not be addressed without difficulty. But these realities also bring significant and lasting rewards. AIMES will emerge from this process a more complete institution and a model for interdisciplinary scholarship within Country. We will set forth a plan to better serve students by strengthening our learning community and the impact it has on the region and the world.


VALUES

Our fundamental purpose is to educate students for life as global citizens. AIMES is a distinctive expression that provides access to an exceptional education for citizens who choose to live and learn in the Indian region.
We recognize that an excellent education connects knowledge across disciplines. At AIMES, excellence is founded on integrity, dedication and collaboration. We believe that learning is a vehicle that advances students toward fulfilling lives and meaningful careers.

Our community of learners is strengthened by a diversity of voices. Listening to AIMES community, we have identified four core values that guide us: Excellence, Community, Diversity and Innovation. We share these values and strive to live them.

Excellence

AIMES …

• commits to excellence in teaching, scholarship, research and service;
• offers a curriculum that balances core knowledge and skills with responsiveness to student and community need;
• embraces an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge that instills problem-solving and critical thinking skills for meaningful lives;
• engages minds by connecting knowledge with experience, fostering wisdom;
• infuses global and local awareness into its thinking and actions;
• encourages student-faculty-staff interaction and a reciprocal exchange of knowledge;
• nurtures a community of learners and develops the whole person by offering opportunities to learn and grow both inside and outside the classroom;
• provides an environment where students can succeed.

Community

AIMES…

• celebrates the success of its people;
• fosters an atmosphere in which individuals work together to make their best contributions;
• preserves a culture of connection and collaboration as it grows;
• partners with communities to improve the human condition;
• cultivates mutually supportive relations with educational partners;
• contributes knowledge that serves diverse communities;
• honors the cultural and civic heritage of its community;
• serves as a catalyst for economic, technological and community development.

Diversity

AIMES…

• promotes an environment where diverse perspectives and experiences are expected;
• seeks out and supports individuals who may experience barriers in gaining access to college;
• stimulates a vibrant learning community by presenting lectures, events and performances that inspire new views;
• encourages and rewards intercultural competence;
• aligns its values with its actions in support of justice and fairness;
• attracts and retains a community of people and ideas representing diverse cultures and experiences.

Innovation

AIMES…

• generates new knowledge and embraces varied ways of knowing;
• perpetuates the pioneering spirit of AIMES’s beginnings;
• seeks new ways to create opportunity;
• inspires creative ways of seeing and solving problems;
• expands resources and makes thoughtful use of existing ones;
• lives in harmony with the environment and is a wise steward of natural resources;
• grows stronger through the collective wisdom of its community.