Inside Iowa State

February 16, 2005

Campus climate work teams have lots of suggestions

by Anne Krapfl

Five work groups asked to come up with action plans that would improve Iowa State's campus climate for diversity are not short on ideas. The five teams that make up the campus climate implementation committee reviewed at their Feb. 11 meeting a grid containing more than 140 proposed action items.

They include things such as "create a reward system for advancement of campus climate improvement," "train academic advisers adequately about the centrality of diversity courses," "create an ombuds office" and "educate [search] committee members about 'myths' of unavailability of underrepresented candidates."

The grid will be part of a report and recommendations, titled "Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity and Community, 2006-2011," that will be submitted by April 15 to President Gregory Geoffroy.

There may be duplication of ideas among the five work teams, and the group's next task is to eliminate duplicates, shorten the list and prioritize what remains.

"The work this group has done is absolutely overwhelming -- the amount of work and the kinds of ideas they have put together," said Larry Genalo, materials science and engineering, who chairs the implementation committee. "It has created our next task, trying to get the grid down to a third of what it is now."

Preparing the action grid

Consultant Susan Rankin, who conducted the university's campus climate survey a year ago, remains involved in the project and joined the group by phone. Rankin created the action ideas grid as the work teams turned in their lists to Genalo. She encouraged the group to pare its 33-page grid to about 10 pages. Her grid eventually will include details for the action items such as time frame (within the five years of the plan), measurable outcomes, suggested administrative oversight, resources (or sources for resources) and relevance to the 2004 climate survey.

Each of the five work teams drafted action items with a specific focus. They are:

• University commitment (policies and services). Achieve a just campus environment where everyone feels welcome, respected and safe.
• Curriculum and pedagogy. Develop a curriculum that guides students to think critically about social issues and provides faculty with tools to teach inclusively.
• Research and scholarship. Create an academic environment that appreciates and values cultural/social differences.
• Access and retention. Recruit and retain historically underrepresented students, staff and faculty.
• Inter-group and intra-group relations. Create a just environment that recognizes and celebrates cultural and other differences such as gender, race, sexual identity or disabilities

Subcommittee work now resumes to trim and prioritize the action items. The full implementation committee will next meet the week of March 7.

Five work groups asked to come up with action plans that would improve Iowa State's campus climate for diversity are reviewing more than 140 proposed action items. A report and recommendations, titled "Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity and Community, 2006-2011," will be submitted by
April 15 to President Gregory Geoffroy.