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University of Michigan School of Information

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Our mission and values

Three UMSI students

Our mission

We create and share knowledge that empowers people to use information and technology to build a better world.

Our values

Social Good

We believe that research and education exist to benefit society and improve the lives of all people. We prioritize human dignity and well-being, inclusivity, accessibility, ethical responsibility, and justice in our organizational, research, and academic decision making.

Interdisciplinarity

We believe that integrating disciplines is key to solving the world’s most pressing challenges. We embrace curiosity and respect for ways of knowing, researching, and problem solving that differ from our own.

Respect

We believe respect is essential for building strong communities and societies where people and ideas thrive. We listen with an open mind and an assumption of good faith, we speak with collegiality and honesty, we value others’ time and follow through on our commitments. 

Innovation

We believe new ideas enrich understanding and sustain excellence in a changing world. We approach new ideas with rigor and agility and we embrace experimentation and calculated risks.

Sociotechnical Thinking                                             

We believe that people, information, and technology are fundamentally intertwined and cannot be understood in isolation. We integrate these perspectives in all aspects of what we do to create responsible and effective systems and processes.