Amplifying Actions: A Summit on Our IDEAL Climate is the UO’s spring climate survey update. The focus of the summit is to share information about the progress that we are making and the challenges that we are facing to enhance organizational climate and culture at the University of Oregon. The Spring Summit will encourage colleagues across campus who are working on similar efforts to share information in ways that lighten the workload and enhance the final tool or process that is being developed. It will also provide an opportunity for members of our broader university community to listen, learn and take useful information back to their home departments.
Registration is available via MyTrack Learning. Please note: you much register for each individual session including the plenary luncheon and closing reception. Registration closes Friday, April 26, 2024
Plenary Luncheon: The IDEAL Climate Survey Response: Where Do We Go From Here?
(12:00-1:00 PM, 5/2/24, EMU Ballroom)
In this plenary luncheon session, our Climate Survey Response Action Partners and colleagues from Gallup will provide a bird’s eye view of the movement, struggles and progress at the unit, departmental and central levels in response to climate survey data. They will also provide insights on where we could go from here. The plenary will provide an opportunity for UO community members to ask questions and make comments.
Panelists: Yvette Alex-Assensoh, DEI; Stephanie Marken, Gallup; Mish Middlemann, Action Partner; Dorothy Miranda, Action Partner; Liz Halimah, Action Partner; & Terry Curry, Action Partner
CONCURRENT SESSION 1 (register for one of the following)
Everyday Equity: Weaving Equity into Workplace Culture and Processes
1:15-2:00 PM, EMU Room 230 (Swindells)
Equity, which is fundamentally about ensuring fairness in our policies, processes, and systems -- is a crucial foundation on which to build the achievements and excellence that we seek. This session will showcase the ways in which units are using diverse approaches to embed equity and inclusion in everyday processes to bring about appropriate transparency, achievement, and fairness.
Panelists: Michael Griffel, University Housing; Rich Margerum, College of Design; tia north, Division of Graduate Studies; Elliot Berkman, CAS; Amy Boutell, School of Journalism & Communication
Facilitator(s): Elliot Berkman, CAS; Lesley-Anne Pittard, DEI
Our Flourishing Workplace: Building Community and Enhancing Teamwork
1:15-2:00 PM, EMU Room 023 (Lease Crutcher Lewis)
Departments and Teams that have a healthy workplace culture know that the time spent cultivating fairness, respect and teamwork definitely pays off. Much of this work includes building community around shared values as well as appreciating bona fide differences. This session will explore the successes and challenges that units are facing as they work to intentionally build community and enhance teamwork toward achieving UO’s mission.
Panelists: Kelly Wolf, Business Affairs; Da’Mon Merkerson, University Athletics; Abhijit Pandit, Information Services
Facilitator: Dorothy Miranda, Action Partner
Measuring Impact and Communicating Progress of the IDEAL Climate Survey Responses
1:15-2:00 PM, EMU Rooms 231/232 (Cedar + Spruce)
Measuring Impact and Communicating Progress: Higher Education institutions promote the importance of data-informed decision-making. As part of that ethos, our work on organizational climate and culture change must also assess impact and communicate about what is working well and what needs to be changed. In this session, participants will share how they are measuring and tracking impact and progress over time and communicating about the change that is occurring. Participants will have an opportunity to learn new measurement and communication tactics and share a few ideas of their own.
Panelists: Austin Hocker, Office of the Provost; Renee Delgado-Riley, Division of Student Life; Brian Fox, Finance & Administration
Facilitator: Liz Halimah, Action Partner
CONCURRENT SESSION 2 (register for one of the following)
Onboarding/Ever boarding: Engaging the Employee Lifecycle
2:15-3:00 PM, EMU Room 245 (Gumwood)
How can we use a continuous learning approach to engage newer and seasoned employees? What formal processes are we putting in place to ensure proper offboarding of employees as they transition to different UO teams or organizations? The session will bring together units that are working on everything from traditional onboarding to ever boarding and offboarding. Panelists will connect the dots of work taking place across campus as a pathway to collaboration and building stronger ever boarding tools and processes.
Panelists:; Will Johnson, Division of Global Education; Holly Coble, Division of Global Education; Jim Brooks, Financial Aid; Sierra Dawson, Office of the Provost, Tiffany Lundy, Human Resources
Facilitator: Kaia Rogers, Human Resources; Terry Curry, Action Partner
Pathways to Promote Professional Growth
2:15-3:00 PM, EMU Room 230 (Swindells)
Enhancing organizational climate and culture change involves individual, team-based and broader organizational adjustments and interventions. This panel will feature tools, policies and processes that clarify professional expectations as well as pathways to advancement, increase professional development and arm supervisors with the critical tools needed to shape employee experiences.
Panelists: Anna Shamble, Office of the VP for Research & Innovation; Heather Nelson, Purchasing & Contracting; Betsy Tanenbaum, Knight Campus; Julia Cohalan, Office of the General Counsel, Kevin Reed, Office of the General Counsel; Debbie Sharp, VPFA
Facilitator: Debbie Sharp, Office of the Senior VPFA
Foundational Elements of Physical and Psychological Safety
2:15-3:00 PM, EMU Room 023 (Lease Crutcher Lewis)
Physical and Psychological Safety are important foundational elements of a thriving and flourishing workplace. However, the campus-wide Climate Survey revealed that far too many of our faculty and staff of color, our colleagues with disabilities, women in the sciences and classified staff experience harassment and mistreatment on our campus. This panel will provide information on what has been done, thus far, to address those issues, where we hope to go from here, and how each of us can contribute to a campus where physical safety and psychological safety are commonplace.
Panelists: Mark Schmelz, Human Resources; Nicole Commissiong, Office of Investigations and Civil Rights Compliance; Brett Harris, Ombuds Program; Keith Frazee, University Communications
Facilitator: Mariann Hyland, Action Partner
Transformers: Perspectives From the Frontline
2:15-3:00 PM, EMU Rooms 231/232 (Cedar + Spruce)
The University of Oregon has a rich and vibrant tapestry of individuals, teams, and intentional communities focused on making sure that everyone achieves and belongs, regardless of identity, background or perspectives. In this session, Diversity Committee Members will share information about the work that they are leading at the unit level and identify opportunities to collaborate with others who are leading similar work. The conversations will be used to organize communities of practice to benefit from shared resources and shared knowledge to lighten the load and co-produce better outcomes.
Panelists: Dianna Carrizales-Engelmann, College of Education; Kris Winter, Student Life; Gerard Sandoval, Planning, Public Policy & Management and UO Senate; Yvette Alex-Assensoh, Division of Equity & Inclusion
Facilitator: Mish Middleman, Action Partner
Closing Reception
3:15-4:00 PM, EMU Room 245 (Gumwood)
The closing reception will provide an opportunity for participants to gather and make plans for next steps in collaborating on common bodies of action for building our IDEAL climate.
Facilitators: Gerard Sandoval, UO Senate and PPPM; Mariann Hyland, Action Partner