The mission of the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center (PDRC) is threefold: teaching, research, and service in poultry medicine.

The teaching function includes teaching of poultry medicine in the professional curriculum in veterinary medicine, teaching poultry medicine in the poultry science curriculum, preparing veterinarians to work in the poultry industry via the Master of Avian Medicine program, and training researchers in poultry medicine through the MS and Ph.D. programs in Infectious Diseases, Veterinary Pathology, and Poultry Science.

The research programs emphasize problems in the diagnosis and control of economically important diseases of poultry. Applied and basic research is focused on solving problems of importance to the industry.

The service function exists to provide diagnostic and consultative services to the commercial poultry industry. This is accomplished by providing diagnostic, necropsy, consultation, and field services to local companies as well as companies located throughout the United States, and the world.

The three functions of teaching, research, and service are in many ways interchangeable. For example, service to the poultry industry also provides material for teaching and keeps faculty members abreast of industry problems so they can better focus their research. Teaching prepares students for careers in research and service. Research develops new knowledge for teaching and improved services. In the end, all three functions center around teaching and learning.