Fairhaven, begun in 1967 as an experimental college within Western Washington University, exists today as an undergraduate learning community defined by five attributes: (1) interdisciplinary study, (2) student designed studies and evaluation of learning, (3) examination of issues arising from a diverse society, (4) development of leadership and a sense of social responsibility, and (5) curricular, instructional and evaluative innovation.

Interdisciplinary Curriculum:
Fairhaven's interdisciplinary curriculum is centered on the process of inquiry as well as on the development of knowledge. Courses and experiences introduce students to thinking strategies used in various disciplines and areas of study, and application of these thinking and problem solving skills to larger issues and questions. Classes prepare students to learn on their own, and move from the skills of critiquing and interpreting knowledge to constructing knowledge. Fairhaven prepares students to listen carefully and engage respectfully in discussion, and to value and respect different world views, and appreciate multiple voices reflecting the diversity of experience in our society. Fairhaven students should learn to communicate clearly in various modes and to value modes effective in other cultures. They should develop curiosity about and tolerance for diverse ideas and values, and the ability to engage in dialogue about controversial issues. They should learn to recognize that maintaining healthy diversity is essential for all living systems -ecological, cultural, ideological, genetic -to provide flexibility and adaptability.

Student Involvement in Learning and Evaluation:
Students are encouraged to design an interdisciplinary concentration integrating the contributions of several disciplines to a central problem, issue, or theme, or to choose a major in another college. Seminar formats encouraging collaborative assignments enhance active student participation. Motivating students to develop their own goals for learning is central to Fairhaven's programs. Narrative assessments, including a student self-evaluation and written responses from faculty, foster this process.

Examination of Issues Arising from a Diverse Society:
Cultural pluralism is an important part of Fairhaven's curricular focus. A positive learning environment embraces difference. We recognize that survival requires diversity -that difference is essential, and is in the best interest of the planet. Courses and other learning experiences provide an examination of the impacts and contemporary and historical roots of race, class and gender relations. Social issues such as, homophobia, ageism, and internalized oppression are examined along with strategies for conflict resolution.

Leadership and Social Responsibility:
Courses and experiences encourage students to practice and assume leadership roles, and to challenge leaders responsibly and intelligently. Students will be encouraged to find their connection with the world, to understand relationships of thought and action, theory and experience, to cultivate opportunities to apply what they learn, and to develop a strong sense of themselves as individuals in a community, including the benefits and responsibilities that come from membership in it.

Innovation:
The college seeks to help students learn in a collaborative and noncompetitive way, examining the new and different while avoiding new dogmas and conformities. The college assumes a responsibility to provide leadership for Western Washington University in diversifying the curriculum, faculty, and student body, as well as demonstrating models for alternative curricular forms and course structures. Fairhaven's programs offer alternatives for students seeking more responsibility for their educations. Fairhaven's curriculum seeks to help students develop a strong sense of history and its importance in understanding the present, and the desire and ability to define connections between social phenomena. Courses and experiences should help students become aware of connections and encourage them to act in relation to their interdependence with all around them. The curriculum seeks to help students develop an intimate knowledge of the physical world and effects of science and society on it, and an ability to use these tools to resolve human and environmental issues. The curriculum seeks to help students develop an appreciation for and experience with literature, the arts, and movement, and an exploration of these as modes of expression and communication in the worlds of ideas and social action. May 30, 1995. This mission statement is a living document and will be revisited regularly.