The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences faces unprecedented challenges as it moves into the 21st century. As our society becomes less agrarian, it increasingly questions the role of the land-grant university and the necessity of funding agriculturally related areas. Yet few issues are more immediate than those areas in which we work on the production of safe, nutritious food; the welfare of those involved in our food systems; and the health of our planet. We are a nation that has a safe, abundant, nutritious, and inexpensive food supply. However, we are dangerously close to compromising our future by taking our food and fiber supply for granted. We have discovered how fragile the web of food production can be.

There can be no question that we face resource challenges in the years ahead. Growth will not mean more faculty, staff or resources. We will need to carefully select the programs in which we are involved and reallocate resources to areas of increasing need. Emphasis will be on quality.

Society will continue to challenge the land-grant College of Agricultural and Life Sciences to demonstrate the relevancy of its teaching to preparing graduates to meet the challenges of the future and to be life-long learners. Research and extension programs will be challenged to demonstrate their ability to generate and disseminate knowledge for solving problems of agricultural production and processing, families, youth and communities. Food and fiber production must be accomplished in an environmentally responsible, economically viable, and socially accepted manner while still meeting the needs of a growing population. We will be challenged to effectively use our limited resources to meet the needs of Idaho's most valuable resource - its people. The challenges confronting higher education offer exciting opportunities which we are well prepared to address in areas fundamental to Idaho's economy and people.

Vision
The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences's mission is to support economic growth and enhance the quality of life for the people of Idaho by:

	preparing students to be innovative leaders in a global society
	helping people improve their lives through research based education and leadership development focused on issues and needs
	providing new knowledge to support agriculture and enhance the understanding of natural and human resources

As a dynamic and responsive knowledge organization serving needs in agriculture,natural resources, the environment, families, consumers, youth and communities, we will integrate the functions of teaching, research and extension in an environment of academic excellence that addresses:

Goals

	the needs for lifelong learning through innovative instructional programs
	creative solutions to needs in Idaho through a research system that generates and applies knowledge
	an extension system that extends this knowledge to Idaho citizens for use in problem solving at a time and place of their convenience

Areas of Emphasis
Six areas have been selected for major program emphasis within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Departments, in collaboration with the college, must define the specific programs for each of these areas within the resources available and their priority for meeting the needs of the state, region, and nation. Superimposed and intertwined in many of these areas will be the increasing need for the college and the departments to be involved in the important area of public policy analysis.

	agricultural production, profitability, competitiveness, and natural resource stewardship
	family resources, individual and youth development
	community and leadership development
	health, nutrition, and food safety and quality
	water resource management and environmental quality
	value-added processing and products