OHSU Vision, Mission and Values

A vision for the future

Dr. Danny Jacobs.
Danny Jacobs, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, became OHSU's fifth president on Aug. 1, 2018. Read his comments on the path ahead and OHSU's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Our vision is to partner to make Oregon a national leader in health and science innovation for the purpose of improving the health and well-being of Oregonians and beyond.

OHSU’s focus on healing, teaching and discovery — combined  with our deep history in Oregon — is unique. We are the state’s only academic health center and one of the only universities in the U.S. devoted exclusively to educating doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and public health  professionals. We not only treat the most complex health needs in the region, we make discoveries that save lives and train leaders to address the societal issues that impede health. 

You can learn more by checking out our OHSU 2025 Strategic Plan.

OHSU's mission

As part of its multifaceted public mission, OHSU strives for excellence in education, research and scholarship, clinical practice and community service. Through its dynamic interdisciplinary environment, OHSU stimulates the spirit of inquiry, initiative and cooperation among students, faculty and staff.

Setting the example for integrity, compassion and leadership, OHSU strives to:

  • Educate tomorrow's health professionals, scientists, engineers and managers in top-tier programs that prepare them for a lifetime of learning, leadership and contribution.
  • Explore new basic, clinical and applied research frontiers in health and biomedical sciences, environmental and biomedical engineering and information sciences, and translate these discoveries, wherever possible, into applications in the health and commercial sectors.
  • Deliver excellence in health care, emphasizing the creation and implementation of new knowledge and cutting-edge technologies.
  • Lead and advocate for programs that improve health for all Oregonians, and extend OHSU's education, research and health care missions through community service, partnerships and outreach.

OHSU's values

Transparency is the foundation on which trust grows and develops, and as such is essential to everything  we do — including collaboration, a cornerstone of OHSU strategy. Transparency  builds credibility — and, over time, a sense of institutional integrity — by  creating clarity around key facts in many areas from clinical outcomes to financial and other performance data. This can be uncomfortable because transparency can also reveal areas of vulnerability, but it is necessary to  inspire public trust, to meet the needs of those we serve, and to fulfill our missions. There is no trust without transparency.

The first goal of OHSU 2025 Plan captures the centrality of diversity to OHSU values and strategy: "Building a diverse, equitable environment where all can thrive and excel." Patients should be able  to see providers who understand and can meet their diverse needs — providers who appreciate and respect differences, whether ethnic background, race,  language, religion, abilities, sexual orientation or culture. Students learn best in a diverse educational environment, from mentors with varied backgrounds and experiences, and are thus better equipped to treat the increasingly diverse patient population. In the research mission, diversity promotes creativity. Innovation happens when you bring together people with a wide variety of backgrounds and ideas. Embracing diversity is the right thing to do, and the smart thing to do as well.

Find out more about diversity at OHSU.

As Oregon’s only comprehensive academic health center, OHSU is and should be the standard-bearer for quality. We are looked to by the community — and by extension the nation and the world — to establish the benchmarks for quality and to model behavior that adheres to those standards. Our commitment to quality extends throughout the institution. We embrace the pursuit of quality in the broadest possible sense — a commitment to excellence in our mission areas and integrity in our behavior.

As a mission-based organization with a vision to improve the health and well-being of Oregonians, OHSU exists to serve others. To be effective, we need to be approachable and accommodating — we must offer comfort and reassurance and uphold the confidence of those we serve. This is true of internal clients, collaborators and stakeholders as well as patients, external partners, community leaders and the general public. We must always remember that the people we serve do not experience OHSU as an institution, but as a person — whether in a patient ward, on a physician consult line, through research collaboration or navigating our complex campus. OHSU’s reputation is made and remade, every day, one encounter at a time.