We want to take a moment to tell you about an important initiative launching this monthÌýwith the goal of transforming our campus culture into one that is more just and inclusive for all who come to ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ to pursue their academic and professional goals.
Next week, you will receive an email with a personal link and an invitation to participate in theÌýCampus Culture Survey, which is a comprehensive effort to better understand the experiences of all faculty and staff and the extent to which you feel respected, supported and valued as a member of the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ community.
The survey should take 10 to 25 minutes to complete, and you will be able to provide anonymous feedbackÌýabout the sense of community and connection you feel at ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ and your experiences with discrimination, hostile treatment and protected-class harassment, including sexual harassment.
It’s also important to note that the campus’s first duty of care is protecting your privacy and the integrity of the data gathered through this survey.
Steps we are taking to protect your privacy include:
- Automatically erasing your personal information from your survey responses when you submit the survey.
- Storing anonymized survey responses in a secure and encrypted location.
- Aggregating responses and publicly displaying results only when at least 10 participants have responded to a survey question.
Faculty and staff, graduate students and undergraduate students will receive different but comparable versions of the survey based on unique needs and experiences. In addition, the staff versionÌýwill be available in English and five other languages.
We invite you to read the survey’sÌýFrequently Asked QuestionsÌýto learn more about the survey and the steps the campus is taking to ensure your anonymity as a survey participant. The survey is a collaboration by theÌýOffice of Institutional Equity and ComplianceÌý(OIEC), theÌýOffice of Data AnalyticsÌý(ODA), and theÌýOffice of Diversity, Equity and Community EngagementÌý(ODECE).
Experiencing a sense of belonging is a powerful indicator of whether or not you are thriving on our campus and whether you have the support you need to succeed as a faculty or staff member.
Your voice and your experiences are critical to understanding the steps we’ll need to take in the near future to build a more just and inclusive campus community for all.
Thank you for engaging in this important campuswide effort.
Sincerely,
Philip P. DiStefano, Chancellor
Russell Moore, Provost
Patrick O’Rourke, Chief Operating Officer