[August 27, 2015] Texas A&M University is the first academic organization I’ve featured here under core values. The reason has everything to do with the fact that college-level organizations rarely have their core values advertised, if they have them at all. None that I attended had core values at the time and no one I know could recall their alma mater having a specific set of them. Texas A&M not only has them but instills them in their college students.
“Excellence stems from a great sense of pride in who we are and what we believe in.” – Former Texas A&M President Dr. Robert Gates
What I see about Texas A&M’s core values parallel closely the core values of the U.S. Army (see link). University officials have a historically strong tie to our military, the army in particular and it has one of the largest and strongest ROTC programs in the country. The university also infuses pride in its history and academic strength. Wherever I go, Texas A&M alumni always seem to gather and show their school spirit.
Texas A&M University core values are:
- Excellence – set the bar
- Integrity – character is destiny
- Leadership – follow me
- Loyalty – acceptance forever
- Respect – we are the Aggies, the Aggies are we
- Selfless Service – How can I be of service?1
The Texas A&M University purpose statement is “to develop leaders of character dedicated to serving the greater good.” What I like about their core values and purpose statement is that they are simple, realistic, easy to remember, and appeal to their faculty, staff, and their current and former students … and they work.
Texas A&M deserves our appreciation and respect for what they do to develop good citizens and future leaders.
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1. http://www.tamu.edu/about/coreValues.html