Saint Joseph’s University, guided by our mission, seeks to create an open, fair and equitable environment for all students, faculty and staff. To focus our efforts, last fall I convened the President’s Council on Inclusion and Diversity, and tasked its representatives to review campus practices, recommend initiatives and policies to enhance our inclusion efforts, and encourage coordination across divisions. I am grateful for their counsel and their thoughtful work.
I am happy to announce that, upon the recommendation of the President’s Council, during the upcoming academic year, SJU will undertake a vital and relevant assessment of the campus climate for learning and working. This is our chance to learn more about our campus community and make positive, sustainable changes where they are needed. To ensure full transparency and to provide a more complete perspective, we have contracted with Rankin & Associates Consulting to help lead this effort. Rankin & Associates have conducted over 190 campus climate assessment projects over the last 20 years.
A team from Rankin & Associates has begun working with a committee of students, faculty and staff representing a variety of areas to develop and implement the assessment. The results will better enable us to develop programs and policies that will address problematic areas and enhance and replicate approaches which are shown to be successfully meeting the needs of our community.
A climate project web site is in development and will provide communication on the project process and results. Once available, we will share the address, as well as any additional information about the project.
I hope that you will join me in supporting this important initiative.
