Mission and Values
Mission
To discover and communicate new knowledge relating to chemical mediation of ecological interactions, and to train scientists in that endeavor.
Values
Research in the field of organizational leadership has documented that a signature characteristic of prevailingly excellent organizations is a clearly defined set of core values, and uncompromising adherence to them.
Our values define a set of enduring principles that describe not only who we are, but how we conduct our work. Although what we do changes with new advances and opportunities in science, how we do it does not.
Excellence: We pursue the highest standards of performance, via intentionality, determination and skillful execution. "Excellence is not an act, but a habit" (Aristotle).
Integrity: We seek the full integration of beliefs, words and actions, in accord with the highest professional/ethical standards. "There is no real excellence in all this world which can be separated from right living" (David Starr Jordan).
Wonder: We strive to develop the faculty of wonder, as the wellspring of creativity and as an appropriate response of humility to our a fascinatingly complex world. "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead" (Albert Einstein).
Community: We recognize that human communities reflect ecological communities in that the wholes are greater than the sums of the parts. We affirm the value of every individual, while promoting cooperation and teamwork to facilitate progress toward common goals.
Communication: We recognize that the impact of our science today, and the legacy of our science tomorrow, will be determined by the quality of our communication. We seek to communicate, in verbal and written forms, with clarity, economy, accuracy and precision.
