Summary Report of Campus Climate Surveys 2002, 2009, 2010

Abstract

UMD seeks to create a campus climate that values and supports the educational and employment goals of its members and to advance the social justice values of diversity, equity and inclusion. An important step in achieving these goals is to assess the campus climate. In 2002, UMD campus members were asked to complete a climate survey designed by Prof. Sue Rankin of Penn State University and administered by Ms. Angie Nichols. This survey was also used in the 2009 Climate Survey.

In spring 2010, a racist, homophobic incident (Facebook) occurred on campus prompting increased awareness and discussion about the campus climate for UMD students and employees, particularly for individuals of color. In fall 2010, UMD students of color (undergraduate and graduate students, U.S. and naturalized citizens and international) were asked to complete a climate survey to collect more information because there were too few responses from students of color in the 2009 survey. The questions in the 2010 survey comprised a subset of the earlier survey.

The second part of the 2010 assessment was a series of focus groups with students of color. Results from this series are currently being analyzed and will be posted on this website later in spring 2011.

The Co‐Chairs of the UMD Campus Change Team (CCT), Susana Pelayo‐Woodward and Bilin Tsai, have prepared this summary with assistance from Prof. John Arthur and Dr. Giljae Lee to communicate some of the results from the three surveys to the UMD community. The discussions and recommendations of the CCT will be informed by these results. In addition, future climate surveys will be conducted.