Academic Council Receives Report on Faculty Culture Survey

A 2020 campus climate survey of university faculty brought good news of overall high satisfaction across faculty ranks and wide faculty support for action on race, equity and discrimination issues, while noting that not as much progress has been made as university leaders would like after several years of targeted initiatives.

Provost Sally Kornbluth presented the findings of the faculty survey last Thursday at the monthly meeting of the Academic Council. The faculty survey is separate from a university-wide survey on race and equity issues that included staff and students for the first time. Results of that survey will be released later this semester.

The faculty survey is conducted every five years, and the timeline of data provides valuable information on change and progress over time, Kornbluth said.

Compared to the last survey in 2015, faculty showed greater satisfaction across university units and across faculty ranks. The quality of students, intellectual stimulation and library resources continued to rank among the reasons for greatest satisfaction.

On the flip side, reasons for dissatisfaction were again related to issues of funding, space and time. Faculty expressed a need for more startup money, better classroom and office space and more time for research.

There also was some positive change on questions about diversity, equity and inclusion. On one key issue, faculty of all backgrounds agreed that their department was showing greater attention and commitment to building a more inclusive environment.

Despite this work, minority and female faculty members once again were less likely to agree that the climate is equal for all races and genders and more likely to agree that they have to work harder to be seen as legitimate in their department.

The growing support for university and departmental commitment on equity issues is good news, Kornbluth said; but the lack of progress on the targeted goal shows just how much work there is to be done. “We’re just not making progress on moving the needle as much as we would like,” she said. “The frustrating thing is that this finding flies in the face of all the efforts that are being done.”

Similar disparities across race, ethnicity and gender were found on issues of shared values, trust and addressing unprofessional behavior. On all three matters, minority and female faculty members reported lower scores of confidence.

Law professor Trina Jones asked Kornbluth what additional strategies might address these issues. Kornbluth said her office is continuing to review the survey data to seek points for action. For instance, the review could show that some departments that successfully addressing challenges and could provide a model for others. The university is also making comparisons with other universities in seeking programmatic ideas.

But Kornbluth added that some of the ongoing efforts are showing evidence of positive change.  One is that recruitment of Black faculty is strong, and – just as importantly – there’s progress on retention of Black faculty. At the same time, the university is expanding the numbers of educational programs related to equity to meet growing demand by faculty members.

Some issues will need to be addressed at departmental levels. Kornbluth said that most faculty complaints of unprofessional behavior are made against other faculty members. She added that while institutional biases must continue to be addressed, some of the issue comes down to how we treat each other on an individual level.

“When you dig deep into the complaints we receive, many of them involve not being treated well by faculty members,” said Abbas Benmamoun, vice provost for faculty advancement. “We all have a role to play in how we treat each other. To make progress on this, there has to be a multifaceted answer. We all have to take ownership of the problem.”