University of Louisville
PA-5: Assessing Diversity and Equity

Online Campus Climate Surveys are regularly administered to the university community. Recent surveys for students focused on diversity and inclusion relative to student life and their experiences in the classroom. The employee survey includes questions provided by the Campus Environment Team, the Unit Diversity Committee Chairs, and the Commission on the Status of Women in addition to questions related to diversity and inclusion. The Vice Provost for Diversity and International Affairs, in collaboration with the chairs of the commissions, recommends interventions and advises the administration regarding changes to better serve the needs of students, faculty and staff. The Campus Climate and Diversity Survey for Faculty and Staff is a campus-wide assessment of diversity, inclusion, and workplace climate at the University of Louisville. With input from campus constituents, including the Chairs of the Campus Diversity Committees and the Campus Environment Team, the survey was re-envisioned in 2017 to better meet the needs of our community members and to ensure that the university is fulfilling its mission with respect to climate, diversity and inclusion. The survey questions are about faculty and staff perceptions of the various contributors to the campus climate at UofL. The survey is divided into two modules, with one module administered each year. This new cycle allows for the 1) collection of baseline information, 2) creation and implementation of action plans, and 3) reassessment of the themes/modules again after sufficient time for implementation, to measure improvement based on the actions taken. For more information on the new process, please review the Campus Climate and Diversity Survey 2-Year Survey Cycle at http://louisville.edu/diversity/campus-climate-survey-results/CampusClimateandDiversitySurvey2YearSurveyCycle.pdf A PeopleSoft query was used to provide a listing of all 6,919 faculty and staff (derived from the official staff and faculty census file) for Fall 2017. A total of 1,903 (27.5%) individuals responded to the survey; this number of respondents meets the requirements to be considered a representative1 sample of the University’s faculty and staff population.

The Campus Environment Team has drafted an action plan to respond to the issues raised in the Campus Climate Survey. The action plan can be found at http://louisville.edu/diversity/campusclimate under “2017-2018 Campus Climate Action Plan” near the bottom of the page. The draft has been shared with UofL President Bendapudi and Provost Boehm for discussion and implementation. In follow-up to the action plan, focus groups are being formed in 2018 to provide opportunities for further discussion and recommendations to improve the campus climate. As a result, changes have been made to improve the campus culture, such as: • Domestic partner benefits – the University of Louisville was the first state-supported university in Kentucky to adopt domestic partner benefits to qualifying adults. • Gender- Neutral restrooms – several restrooms on campus were converted to gender-neutral restrooms in response to the need to be sensitive to members of the campus community who are gender non-conforming or transgender. In addition, gender-neutral restrooms will be a part of all new campus constructions. • Cultural Center – a Cultural Center was developed to facilitate and enhance cultural programming and education to the campus community. • Hispanic/Latino Initiative – an initiative designed to empower Hispanic/Latino(a)s to earn a college degree at the University of Louisville and create an environment in which they can enrich their lives and the community. • Office of Diversity Education and Inclusive Excellence - Created in July 2016, based on recommendations from the 21st Century Culture of Excellence and the President’s Diversity Steering Committees, the Office for Diversity Education and Inclusive Excellence is a functional area designed to support campus and community-wide diversity education and training. This unit serves as a focal point for driving the University of Louisville’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion; which fundamentally advances our mission of achieving preeminence as a nationally recognized metropolitan research university. Innovation occurs when diversity is reflected in thought, perspective, and experience. To this end, this unit is committed to fostering a community that strives towards inclusion and equity by: • Consulting individuals, departments/units, university leaders regarding best practices concerning diversity and inclusion • Providing resources to campus and community constituencies • Offering leadership and training opportunities to campus and community constituencies • Conducting workshops and training sessions regarding diversity, inclusion, and equity Commission on the Status of Women - In 1994, the Commission on the Status of Women (COSW) organized a report which presented the status of women in all employment categories and recommended changes to improve the climate for women and all UofL employees. In 2008-2009, COSW organized an update to the original 1994 report. The members of COSW analyzed and reviewed each of the objectives and recommendations to ascertain whether progress has been made towards outcomes for the identified goals. As part of the methodology for this review, the COSW conducted 10 focus groups and individual interviews with campus leaders. UofL policies, procedures, publications and programs were reviewed. Based on the findings, the Commission on the Status of Women made recommendations regarding representation, recruitment, retention, campus environment and integration of work and family life for women. The Provost has appointed the Vice Provost for Diversity to serve as the point person in addressing these recommendations. (http://louisville.edu/cosw/) Commission on Diversity and Racial Equality (CODRE) - Working collaboratively with Institutional Research, CODRE’s Campus Environment Team completed a diversity study in 2014, summarized the data, and developed recommendations that were compiled and sent to the President and Provost by Dr. Faye Jones, Chair of CODRE. The recommendations were organized around a three-year strategy for implementation.

Quantitative data resulting from this survey were reported in the aggregate to the Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity & International Affairs within 30 days of the survey’s close. The quantitative report was then shared with the campus community via public posting online and an all-campus email. An action plan derived from the survey results was then developed within 90 days of the survey’s close by the Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity & International Affairs which solicited the community's thoughts and ideas at http://louisville.edu/diversity/campusclimate/forms/climate-and-diversity-survey-suggestion-form and sought the community's participation in topical focus groups via http://louisville.edu/diversity/campusclimate/forms/focus-group-form In addition, the Vice Provost for Diversity and International Affairs hosts periodic meetings (formally and informally) with students, faculty and staff from under-represented groups to get their opinions and discuss issues or concerns related to diversity, inclusion and campus climate.