This past spring, faculty and staff were invited to participate in an internally developed survey on our campus workplace culture. This was in place of the annual Great Colleges to Work For survey. This internally developed survey focused on growth areas from prior ‘Great Colleges’ surveys while also saving the university money on external survey costs. Thank you to the 351 people who participated.

We collectively use survey results to define focus areas for improvement that will advance creating a stronger workplace culture. Survey results for each major unit on campus were shared with the respective unit leaders earlier this summer. Throughout the summer, each leader worked with their teams to develop specific focus areas for continuous improvement in their unit. In turn, these focus areas helped inform university focus areas overall.

As prioritized by university leadership, our prioritized areas of collective improvement are:

• Robust and transparent communication
• Positive relationships and connection, across departments and within
• Supporting faculty and staff well-being and support
• Cultivating a culture of resiliency

In reviewing the results across the university, the units with the most positive responses were: The Ray Center, Advancement, Administration, the Provost’s Office, Global Engagement, and ITS.

Many areas of strengths and improvement were shared in the survey results. As an example, suggestions to improve on cross-department collaboration on campus included:

• Intentional interactions
• Breaking down silos through communication and understanding
• Creating cross-departmental teams
• Hosting workshops
• Rewarding collaboration
• Setting clear expectations for common goals

Thank you for your commitment to creating a great workplace culture. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions regarding the survey, please reach out to Nate Reagen.

— Nate Reagen, Office of the President