Old Dominion University promotes the advancement of knowledge and the pursuit of truth locally, nationally, and internationally. It develops in students a respect for the dignity and worth of the individual, a capacity for critical reasoning and a genuine desire for learning. It fosters the extension of the boundaries of knowledge through research and scholarship and is committed to the preservation and dissemination of a rich cultural heritage. Old Dominion University is old enough to value tradition yet young enough to facilitate change. In a spirit of creative experimentation, innovation, research, and technology, the University is ready to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.