In fall of 2021, utilizing national surveys created by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) collected campus climate data from LMU faculty and staff. Campus climate is broadly defined as a campus community’s current attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and standards regarding respect, diversity, and inclusion. How individuals experience the campus climate influences a variety of outcomes such as job and career attitudes, health and well-being, and satisfaction.
Data from 282 faculty respondents and 467 staff respondents revealed some positive results regarding climate for DEI. For example, 94 percent of staff and 90 percent of faculty respondents agree that the values of diversity, equity and inclusion and commitment to anti-racism are consistent with the university mission. Notably, 57 percent of staff and 44 percent of faculty are already seeing organizational culture changes in their department, which have resulted from DEI initiatives at LMU. This is noteworthy because some of these initiatives were launched as recently as the 2020-21 academic year. Additionally, 86 percent of staff and 75 percent of faculty in the sample feel included in their department. Sixty-seven percent of staff and 70 percent of faculty indicated they are satisfied with their job overall. These findings indicate overall satisfaction with our current DEI efforts, while also reflecting room for improvement and continued community engagement.
Survey results also revealed areas for further consideration, improvement, and exploration including salary, career advancement, and having a voice in decision-making. About 29 percent of staff and 32 percent of faculty are satisfied with the relative equity of salary and job benefits. Approximately 39 percent of staff and 44 percent of faculty are satisfied with support for career advancement; 34 percent of staff agree that their concerns are considered when making policy; while 42 percent of faculty agree that they are sufficiently involved in campus decision-making. These preliminary findings merit further investigation and analysis through an empowerment evaluation process.
The rollout of these findings will take a phased approach. Phase I includes sharing these preliminary results. Phase II includes further analysis by demographic data including race/ethnicity, gender, and job status. Phase III involves engaging with the data using an empowerment evaluation process and developing recommendations. We will establish a website by fall 2022 where results of this survey, as well as past and future surveys, will be made available to the campus community.
Survey findings will also be shared with university leaders to inform the university’s strategic direction. The overall findings will guide the next steps and future direction of the vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. In the next few months, DEI will update unit-level planning, informed by the climate survey results. Preliminary findings suggest the need to further foster a campus climate for belonging and inclusion. For the 2022-23 academic year, DEI will make changes to the systemic analysis process previously developed and additional education opportunities regarding climate, power dynamics, privilege, and culture.
