Office of the President president@fandm.edu
Fri, Dec 11, 3:55 PM
Dear Students and Colleagues,
I am writing to announce the formation of the Presidential Task Force on Campus Climate and to invite your feedback and participation as we move forward.
As you may recall, in 2018, the campus began consideration of a campus climate survey that would be fully inclusive, with participation from faculty, professional staff, and students. In fall 2019, the survey was designed and administered by Rankin and Associates, and we had an excellent response rate. In October 2020, we shared the results of the survey with the F&M community.
Most recently, a call for volunteers to be a part of the Presidential Task Force on Campus Climate went out in November, and the large number of people who expressed interest in serving is a good indicator of F&M’s collective commitment to our community.
At the bottom of this message you will find the charge for the Task Force, along with the names of the chairs and members of the subcommittees who will be leading this work. I am grateful to everyone who volunteered for their dedication to the College and to improving the F&M experience for all.
I am mindful of the critical importance of this work, and I am excited to see it move forward with all due speed and care. I have made it a priority to maintain momentum, despite challenges related to COVID-19. I encourage you to check periodically for new information on F&M’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion web section, along with the DEI Information and Progress Tracking page, and F&M’s Black Lives Matter resources page. We do our best to keep these pages up to date, but we also recognize that it can be hard to track all the DEI initiatives that are continuously underway all across F&M’s offices and departments, along with the extraordinary work that is undertaken by our students. To shine a light on your initiatives and bring them to the attention of our community, please reach out to Vice President Gretchel Hathaway (gretchel.hathaway@fandm.edu).
I want to close this message with an expression of hope. Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of all our community members. I am deeply grateful for Vice President Hathaway’s tremendous work in her first few months at F&M, but, as we all acknowledge, the improvement of our campus climate is not her job alone; it is everyone’s responsibility. As we complete fall semester and look to the spring and beyond, I am convinced that our hope for the future lies in the recognition that this work belongs to all of us.
With warm wishes,
Barbara K. Altmann
President and Professor of French
PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE ON CAMPUS CLIMATE
https://www.fandm.edu/president/initiatives/f-m-campus-climate-survey
DECEMBER 2020 – MAY 2022
Charge to the Presidential Task Force on Campus Climate
Developed by: President Barbara Altmann; Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Gretchel Hathaway; Vice President for Strategic Initiatives Alan Caligia; Associate Professor of Government and Director of Faculty Diversity Initiatives Stephanie McNulty; and Director of the Alice Drum Women’s Center and LGBTQ Student Life Chelsea Reinmann
The Presidential Task Force on Campus Climate is formed as an essential component of a multifaceted and College-wide approach to creating lasting positive change. It augments both the present-day focus of the DEI Team and the future-focused work of the DEI Strategic Planning Committee. It embodies our mission-based commitment to think critically and inspire both independent and collaborative action, and it represents our collective insistence on creating a community where every person feels safe, valued, and has a strong sense of belonging.
The work of the Task Force is necessary to allow for a deeper understanding of the results of the campus climate survey and better enable our College to continually move forward. The survey reflects the experiences of members of our campus community — faculty, staff and students. It is important that we concentrate on the issues raised in the survey and find solutions, design proactive programming, and alleviate obstacles to enhance a more equitable and inclusive campus climate.
The goal of the Task Force is to improve the campus climate at F&M using the data generated by the 2020 Campus Climate Report. The Task Force will consist of two subcommittees, one that focuses on short-term and long-term actions, and one that utilizes the data:
- The action subcommittee will focus on creating recommendations for feasible initiatives and a timeline for implementing them, and then overseeing the rapid implementation of those initiatives.
- The data subcommittee will oversee the generating of additional reports and analyses using the climate survey data (as requested, using a transparent process that allows people to request reports through the committee).
The full Task Force will meet once per month, and the subcommittees will meet more frequently. The Task Force will submit updates to and consult with appropriate committees, including: Professional Staff (as part of their lunch series), DipCon, Faculty Council, and others in a timely manner.
The Task Force will accomplish its work between January 2020 and June 2022. The chairs and Task Force members welcome and encourage feedback and input. Please contact any of the members of the Task Force listed below to share your thoughts, ideas, or questions.
LEAD CO-CHAIRS: GRETCHEL HATHAWAY AND ANNALISA CRANNELL
ACTION SUBCOMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS: NAKIA PERRY and ZESHAN ISMAT
Sonia Elliott
Patrick Fleming
Susan Knoll
Nadia Mann
Amy Mulnix
Kelly Schenke
Kathrin Theumer
Mark Villegas
Kathryn Wanner
Sheldon Wenger
DATA SUBCOMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS: ALAN CANIGLIA and JANINE EVERETT
Chris Alexander
Dave Ciuk
Janine Everett
Jessica Haile
Jorge Mena-Ali
Joe Pritchett
Kim Hirata Warshawsky