RECAST | Campus Climate Update

From: Simonetti, Hannah <Hannah.Simonetti@evergreen.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, January 5, 2021 10:26 AM

Dear Evergreen community, 

As we head into winter quarter, we write with an update on the activities of the Campus Climate Workgroup.  By doing so, we intend to provide transparency and accountability for our collective work. Please find below a summary of climate results, a detailed discussion of our activities, and additional opportunities for your engagement with campus climate work.

Campus Climate Results

The Campus Climate Workgroup contracted SoundRocket Inc., a national survey firm, to successfully implement the first ever assessment of campus climate and culture in Winter 2020.  The workgroup received the survey results in the summer, and after much data analysis, released an Executive Summary to the public in early September 2020.

The Executive Summary discusses trends in the data and identifies challenges and opportunities for growth within our campus community (p.5):

• In general, community members who identify as trans, people of color, and people with a disability had a less positive sense of belonging and more frequent experiences of discrimination than members of other groups.  
• In some areas, community members who identify as women and LGBQA+ reported less positive experiences of campus climate. 
• Faculty and staff responses reveal considerable dissatisfaction with the overall climate at Evergreen and suggest a need for more meaningful engagement, sense of value, and opportunities for professional development. 
• Most community members said they would like to see more programs and resources to foster the success of a diverse student, faculty, and staff.

Campus Climate Next Steps

The Executive Summary concluded with next steps to be taken by the Campus Climate Workgroup. Today, we provide an update on the status of each of these steps: 

1. disseminate survey results and the executive summary through campus communications and presentations

President Bridges and Vice President Saliba distributed survey results and the executive summary via campus email on September 2, 2020. The survey results and the executive summary are permanently available to the public on the Inclusive Excellence and Student Success (IESS) website.  

2) facilitate conversation sessions about survey results in campus meeting spaces and one-on-one sessions

Members of the Campus Climate Workgroup have engaged the campus community in wide ranging conversations, presentations, and workshops, listed below. If you would like to schedule a workshop for your division, or would like to discuss campus climate privately with a member of the workgroup, please contact IESS (inclusiveexcellence@evergreen.edu)

• Campus Leadership Group (presentation and workshop session) 
• Board of Trustees (presentation and conversation) 
• Student and Academic Life (presentation and conversation) 
• Finance & Operations (presentation and workshop session) 
• Library, Media, & Centers (presentation and workshop) 
• Geoduck Student Union (presentation and conversation) 

3) provide opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to share stories and experiences to complement the survey results 

Throughout fall 2020, students, faculty, and staff shared stories and experiences during presentations and workshops. We intend to provide additional space for this goal during the upcoming 2021 Equity Symposium.

4) provide guidance to divisions of the college as they incorporate survey findings into their Inclusive Excellence Action Plans.

IESS Leadership has revitalized this work and are preparing revised guidelines and templates to relaunch these divisional plans in Winter 2021.

5) strengthen policies and programs around recruitment, persistence, and success of underrepresented groups of students, faculty, and staff at Evergreen 

The Campus Climate Workgroup has received welcome news from throughout the campus community about efforts to leverage climate data in our review of policies and programs that impact our underrepresented community members. If you would like to share your efforts with us, or would like support in your work, please contact IESS (inclusiveexcellence@evergreen.edu) 

• Student Affairs at Evergreen work group has integrated campus climate into their charge. 
• Academic & Career Advising has utilized campus climate data in the development of Holistic Advising Policies and Practices Review (HAPPieR) 
• New Academic Directions has integrated campus climate data into planning and proposals. 
• New Student Programs has infused campus climate data into the curricular and co-curricular activities, including an EverFi training on DEI and 2-hour lectures in each Greener Foundations course by staff of First Peoples Multicultural, Trans, and Queer Support Services on Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging. 
• The Advancement Team has identified inclusive excellence as one of its six core values.  Their strategic plan for 2020-21 prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion with measurable objectives across major areas of our work, including fundraising, grant seeking, alumni relations, and events.

6) promote community spaces and dialogues dedicated to fostering racial healing, value, and belonging 

In a joint statement with South Puget Sound Community College and St. Martin’s University, President Bridges reaffirmed Evergreen’s commitment to empowering our BIPoC communities through community spaces and dialogue. We recognize the collective commitment from across campus to further this goal. In this space, we highlight a few activities from the Division of Inclusive Excellence and Student Success. 

• A cohort of staff and faculty from IESS, Student Wellness Services, and Advancement attended the Association of American Colleges and Universities 2020 Institute on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation. This cohort hosted a Summer Institute on truth and racial healing. More recently, a group committed to reconciliation, mediation, and transformative justice from across the college has met to continue this work on campus.

• On November 23, a group of 25 staff from Evergreen Olympia and Evergreen Tacoma joined The People’s Institute Northwest for a day long workshop on undoing racism on our campuses.

• First Peoples Multicultural, Trans, and Queer Support Services hosted extensive programming throughout the fall quarter. Major programs included Día de los Muertos, Coming Out Day/Indigenous Peoples Day (with the Longhouse) with two-spirit artist and performer Ty Defoe, Trans Day of Remembrance with poet J. Masee II, Black Joy with Dr. Amir Gilmore, Performance and Activism with C.A.U.T.I.O.N. Recurring student led events included, Glitterhour, LGBT healthy relationships, self-care workshops, Evergreen Marginalized Voices Multimedia Collective, and Night Out But In.

• In Winter 2021, IESS will offer robust programming that furthers our collective commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion on our campus. Events include a celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a series of events for Black History Month, and our annual 2021 Equity Symposium on April 13 to 15. For more details, please see email from Therese Saliba on 12/23/2020, “Winter Racial Equity & Social Justice Programming and Resources.”

We look forward to continuing this work in community, 

Hannah Simonetti, Director of Campus Climate & Belonging and Director of First Peoples Multicultural, Trans, and Queer Support Services

Jacob Longaker, Associate Director of First Peoples Multicultural, Trans, and Queer Support Services

227 CAB| p: 360.867.6372

hannah.simonetti@evergreen.edu| http://www.evergreen.edu/  

2700 Evergreen Parkway NW | Olympia, WA 98505