2017 Lehigh Survey: Recommendations and Actions

The Lehigh Survey: General Campus Community

The Council for Equity and Community’s (CEC) proposed recommendations with regard to the general campus community are as follows:

Recommendations:

• 1. Continue publicizing options for reporting conduct that is inconsistent with The Principles of our Equitable Community (such as harassment and discrimination)
  • 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 fear of retaliation for pursuing and/or participating in the reporting process
  • Consider additional educational methods to inform the Lehigh community of their reporting options when witnessing or experiencing harassment or discrimination
• 2. Provide more opportunities for education on diversity and inclusion topics for the Lehigh community and communicate more consistently on issues relating to diversity and inclusion.
  • Explore tailoring current diversity and inclusion trainings, such as those offered by VISIONS, to the Lehigh community and providing more opportunities for cross-group training to encourage inclusivity
  • Routinely share information about creating an inclusive community, including through the InSTALLments and other means of communication
  • Continue developing events such as the CEC’s “Talking Tough Topics Together” series that promote respectful dialogue and bring the entire community together
  • Consider offering social activities that allow different constituencies to socialize in a setting where diversity and inclusion is not the focus of the event but an important byproduct of social interaction
• 3. Review, analyze, and break down climate survey data to identify themes, trends, and correlations.
  • 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 to change 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

The Lehigh Survey: Students

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

Recommendations:

• 1. Broaden and expand opportunities for increasing education on topics relating to diversity and inclusion and developing skills to allow greater involvement in diversity and inclusion efforts.
  • Connect with various students and student groups to develop peer-to-peer videos on topics such as stereotyping, The Principles of our Equitable Community, and the “Guidelines for Effective Dialogue”
  • Create more opportunities for building community through peer-to- peer communication among different groups of people, utilizing student leaders who routinely engage in these conversations and community building efforts to lead these opportunities
• 2. Continue implementation of efforts resulting from the recommendations from the 2015 Lehigh Survey that require further action.
  • 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

The Lehigh Survey: Faculty

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

Recommendations:

• 1. Engage faculty more fully in diversity and inclusion efforts and discussions.
  • Develop one-on-one mentoring and/or group discussion programming to address the challenges to having difficult discussions
  • Offer inclusive classroom trainings on learning styles, ability, cultural competency, and microaggressions
  • Provide opportunities for practicing the “Guidelines for Effective Dialogue”
  • Arrange focus groups and discussions with groups of faculty to better understand how they think of diversity and what may make them more interested in being involved with diversity and inclusion work at Lehigh
• 2. Continue implementation of efforts resulting from the recommendations from the 2015 Lehigh Survey that require further action
  • Explore possibility of implementing mandatory training for faculty search committee members on the topic of diversity in hiring
  • 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
  • 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 faculty tenure and promotion evaluations of the contributions made by faculty members to creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive community

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 and whether such training opportunities should be required by all supervisors
• 3. Continue implementation of efforts resulting from the recommendations from the 2015 Lehigh Survey that require further action.
  • Collaborate with the Office of Human Resources to conduct an audit by collecting and analyzing data on compensation and benefits to determine if those in minority categories are treated differently in these areas
  • 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