2016 Lehigh Survey: Recommendations and Actions

The Lehigh Survey: General Campus Community

The CEC’s proposed recommendations with regard to the general campus community are as follows:

Recommendations:

• 1. Consider appointment of a Vice President for Equity and Community who would serve as the chief diversity officer and who would have a significant role in implementing these recommendations and in developing additional recommendations, and would provide constant leadership for the diversity and inclusion initiatives to enrich the campus climate.
  • Seek University President’s approval for the appointment of a Vice President for Equity and Community
  • Request engagement of a search committee to immediately begin the candidate search process
• 2. Continue publicizing options for reporting conduct that is inconsistent with The Principles of our Equitable Community. (such as harassment and discrimination), ensuring to the extent possible that reporters are protected from adverse consequences (e.g. retaliation)
  • Provide an annual disclosure report to the campus community on what is being reported as it relates to harassment, discrimination, etc., similar to the reporting of Clery Act statistics
  • Review the University’s processes and procedures for responding to incidents of harassment and discrimination and consider possible changes that may have a greater impact on reducing fears of retaliation for pursuing and/or participating in the reporting process
• 3. Review, analyze, and break down climate survey data to identify themes, trends, and correlations.
  • Consider the appointment of the faculty research team responsible for developing the climate survey as the primary analyzer of the additional data analysis sought pursuant to these recommendations
  • In addition to the breakdown of data specifically requested in the recommendations below, additional analysis of a number of measures critical to understanding the climate and ways of changing the climate (including all of the potential effects of harassment and discrimination and relevant attitudes, beliefs, and motives) is necessary to continue to develop appropriate recommendations
  • Invest in qualitative analysis software for use by the faculty research team responsible for developing the climate survey and “work-power” (e.g. graduate assistant) to code qualitative data

The Lehigh Survey: Students

The CEC’s proposed recommendations with regard to students are as follows:

Recommendations:

• 1. Broaden, expand, and publicize opportunities for increasing education and developing skills on topics relating to diversity and inclusion.
  • Perform a campus-wide internal audit of current diversity and inclusion programming, training, and education to determine where additional efforts can and should be focused to reinforce programming, training, and education efforts already in place
  • Consider developing a common language for the campus community, possibly utilizing the VISIONS framework (“Guidelines for Effective Dialogue”) or the Restorative Justice framework
  • Investigate ways to reinforce messaging already in place on the topics of diversity and inclusion
  • Invite individuals interested in assisting with these efforts to participate in reinforcing messaging and utilizing the common language
  • Recruit volunteers to introduce the “Guidelines for Effective Dialogue” to any department or unit that has not been trained and wishes to utilize them
  • Determine the extent to which external assistance is needed to implement the recommendations which will advance the initiative for an enriched campus climate and the extent to which internal resources may be effectively allocated or reallocated to this end
• 2. Review, analyze, and break down climate survey data to identify themes, trends, and correlations
  • Review and analyze survey data in relation to data collected through other on-campus surveys, e.g., the American College Health, Association-National College Health Assessment II (ACHA-NCHA), the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL), international research survey, the Lehigh National Student Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE), and the Senior Exit Survey
  • Analyze survey data as it relates to and intersects with the University’s CORE report recommendations, particularly in areas relating to international, graduate, and Greek students

The Lehigh Survey: Faculty

The CEC’s proposed recommendations with regard to faculty are as follows:

Recommendations:

• 1. Adopt well-defined hiring practices that imbed The Principles of our Equitable Community and the expectation that hiring plans serve the goals established for creating and retaining a diverse and inclusive faculty
  • Review the current faculty hiring process to ensure the process considers and promotes the value of a diverse workplace
  • Discuss the role of diversity in hiring practices and the faculty search process at the May 2016 “Lessons Learned” program
  • Present climate survey key results to individual colleges to build greater awareness of climate concerns, particularly as they relate to the hiring and retention of faculty
  • Explore possibility of implementing mandatory training for faculty search committee members on the topic of diversity in hiring
• 2. Establish and reiterate the expectations of all members of the Lehigh community as stated in The Principles of our Equitable Community
  • Imbed education on The Principles of our Equitable Community and prohibition on harassment into new faculty orientation
  • Consider developing and incorporating a common language possibly utilizing the VISIONS framework (“Guidelines for Effective Dialogue”) or the Restorative Justice framework into classroom conversations and curriculum
  • Reiterate these expectations of behavior with new department chairs at new department chair orientation, emphasizing the need for creating a positive environment for faculty, staff and students
  • Promote the practice of including The Principles of our Equitable Community on all course syllabi
  • Educate and encourage faculty to implement The Principles of our Equitable Community in class and to include a statement on what the Principles mean and how they apply in that specific course
  • Provide assistance for executing these practices through the University’s Associate Vice Provost for Diversity at department meetings and/or college meetings of the faculty
• 3. Explore implementation of mandatory management training in diversity and inclusion principles for newly hired or promoted supervisors.
  • Consider appropriateness/effectiveness of developing a full “suite” of training options, (e.g., online, in-person/on campus, off campus) targeted at supervisors
  • Explore possibility of providing a number of paid work “hours” as part of an employee’s benefits plan to be used for personal or professional development so that continuous learning is not forsaken due to employment obligations
  • Advance discussion around the inclusion in tenure and promotion evaluations of the contributions made by faculty members to creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive community Recommendation Implementation of Recommendation
• 4. Review, analyze, and break down climate survey data to identify themes, trends, and correlations
  • Break down survey data by various populations, e.g., college, rank, gender, race, etc.
  • Break down survey data specifically for groups with dual roles on campus, e.g., graduate assistants, research assistants, and teaching assistants, as well as post-doctoral individuals who have experiences as both students and employees

The Lehigh Survey: Staff

The CEC’s proposed recommendations with regard to staff are as follows:

Recommendations:

• 1. Create increased dialogue and engagement on diversity and inclusion related issues in the evaluation of supervisors.
  • Build the 360-degree and 180-degree Employee Reviews into performance evaluations
  • Consider interaction of supervisor with direct reports in evaluating whether supervisor properly exercises their supervisory role or abuses the power ingrained in the role as supervisor
• 2. Explore implementation of mandatory management training in diversity and inclusion principles for newly hired or promoted supervisors
  • Consider appropriateness/effectiveness of developing a full “suite” of training options, (e.g., online, in-person/on campus, off campus) targeted at supervisors
  • Explore possibility of providing a number of paid work “hours” as part of an employee’s benefits plan to be used for personal or professional development so that continuous learning is not forsaken due to employment obligations
• 3. Evaluate whether concerns about equity of pay are founded and, if so, develop plans for mitigating inequities.
  • Collaborate with the Office of Human Resources to collect and analyze data on compensation, broken down by gender and race
• 4. Review, analyze, and break down climate survey data to identify themes, trends, and correlations.
  • Analyze survey data regarding the dynamics of staff-to-staff harassment, e.g., what it is, where it happens, who is responsible, who is being disciplined, etc. to formulate a targeted means of addressing and preventing such behavior
  • Consider revising climate survey to include religion and spirituality to collect information about where the issues in this area lie