June 14, 2022
Dear colleagues,
This spring, the University of Oregon conducted a workplace climate survey of faculty, officers of administration, classified staff, and graduate employees in support of our commitment to fostering a welcoming, inclusive, and respectful work environment. More than half (55 percent) of employees participated in the survey. We are grateful to everyone who invested time in the climate survey.
Gallup, our independent survey consultant, presented the initial results to university leadership last week. We have published these results on the IDEAL Climate Survey website and we encourage you to read them.
We are just beginning to review and understand the data, but it is clear that while employees report some positive experiences, the overall initial results are humbling and affirm that we have more work to do. Indeed, some of these issues are not new. The IDEAL Climate Survey provides a mechanism to establish a baseline against which we can measure our collective progress.
We are committed to redoubling our efforts to ensure that the UO climate is the best that it can be. The university has appointed an Analysis Committee and an Action Committee, both of which are already hard at work reviewing the data, analyzing the results, conducting unit-based analysis to better understand what is going on in our departments, schools, and colleges, and identifying opportunities to make positive change. You can learn more about the committees on the IDEAL Climate Survey website. Our goal is to have unit-level data by the fifth week of fall term in late October.
While campus leaders play an important role in shaping campus climate, all of us play an important role in contributing to the culture of our departments and university. As we affirm our commitment to addressing the opportunities for improvement identified by the survey, we need your support and input. We look forward to working together to ensure that our campus climate is the best that it can be.
Sincerely,
Michael H. Schill
President and Professor of Law
Patrick Phillips
Provost and Senior Vice President
Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh
Vice President for Equity and Inclusion
Mark Schmelz
Chief Human Resources Officer