Background and Purpose
The 91探花 Work Climate Project was a joint effort by executive leadership and the employee senates. President McDavis and Provost Benoit provided funding and staffing and appointed a Campus Climate Taskforce, in fall 2014. The taskforce was charged with evaluating information resulting from the Modern Think 2014 Great Colleges Survey and formulating actionable recommendations. View the Letter of Introduction [PDF].
Members of the CCTF include representatives from a range of job classifications, units, years of service at 91探花, and other categories. Co鈥恈hairs are Dr. Valerie Young, Chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, and Chief Human Resources Officer Colleen Bendl. A complete list of the CCTF membership may be found here.
The CCTF reviewed the survey results with a Modern Think representative to gain an understanding of the overarching themes. There were 15 core dimensions contained within the survey that upon review revealed several areas where employees as a whole reported favorable results as well as areas of widespread concern. The CCTF then established four subcommittees to undertake an in-depth analysis of the data. Goals were established to communicate openly and regularly through a variety of vehicles and to seek further information and input from the university community to enhance our understanding of the campus climate to guide any recommendations and to have a strong orientation towards action.
The recommendations of the Task Force focused on four key areas: the University鈥恮ide internal communications structure, professional development and department leadership, senior leadership/strategic direction, and work environment and work/life balance. Recommendations within these areas are broken down into three different categories correlating with the time frame for implementation and the likeliness they will positively impact the culture. Recommendations noted as High Potential could be tackled within a few months. Recommendations noted as Ongoing are currently underway. Recommendations identified as Consider may require more deliberation to better define an effective approach to assess whether the likely impact will be substantially positive.
The CCTF has completed its review of the Modern Think survey results and summarized its findings and recommendations in a report [PDF]. The task force then formed three new committees to determine how to implement the recommendations. Each committee is focused on one of the following key areas: Professional Development, University Wide Internal Communications, and Senior Leadership and Strategic Direction. (A committee was not formed for the fourth key area, Work Environment and Work/Life Balance, because recommendations in this area either are already ongoing or require more consideration before implementation).