April 21, 2005
President’s initiative launched
President Emmert’s leadership initiative is up and running and being fine-tuned in the early stages as the team prepares to launch a campuswide information gathering effort.
At one of the team’s first meetings, a decision was made to rename the initiative the Leadership, Community and Values Initiative. “The team felt that this name was more inclusive for the entire UW community which encompasses over 25,000 faculty and staff and better reflects the issues that we want to address which are not limited to leadership.” says Patti Carson, vice president of human resources.
By the end of April the team will have finalized two survey instruments, one for faculty and the other for staff. These will be distributed in mid-May.
The survey, which can be completed in a few minutes, asks questions about the UW’s values, culture, climate and diversity. It asks individuals questions such as how they feel about job satisfaction, their work environment, prospects for career advancement and the availability of mentoring, how individuals judge the climate for diversity and also for creative work.
“This survey will gather critical information,” Emmert says. “It will help us decide how to improve the quality of the work experience of our faculty and staff. We hope to learn what people appreciate about the UW as a place to work, and how to build on our strengths. We also expect to gain insight into what isn’t working or what kind of changes could make a significant difference. I hope that the campus community embraces this opportunity for positive change and actively engages in the process.”
The surveys will be available for completion both online and on paper. They will be supplemented by interviews with stakeholder groups. These include the president, provost, executive vice president, members of the president’s cabinet, the Board of Deans, union leadership, the Faculty Senate leadership and members of the senate committees on minority affairs and faculty affairs, leadership of the Professional Staff Organization, the Associated Students of the University of Washington, the Graduate and Professional Student Senate, the President’s Staff Forum, the Diversity Council, the President’s Advisory Committee on Women and librarians.
The team also will be inviting faculty and staff to participate in facilitated discussion groups. Dates, locations and times of these discussions will be publicized through University Week, a link on the UWIN navigator page and through departmental communications.
While the surveys are being conducted and the discussion groups are forming, the team also will be gathering information about how UW’s peer institutions address issues of leadership, community and climate, as well as how the most admired private sector organizations deal with these questions.
“We want to learn more about the core values that are most important to people,” says Lea Vaughn, secretary of the faculty and professor of law. “Leadership and values are closely linked, and our style of leadership also exemplifies our values. Values are embedded in the structure and function of the entire community, and can motivate people to do their best. When people at the UW do their best, and treat each other with respect, everyone, and not just employees, benefit — students, alumni, patients in the hospitals, affiliated busi-nesses and Washington state citizens.”
Information will be analyzed over the summer, with a final report due in late September. A Web page containing key documents and a time line will be launched shortly. Results of the survey and action planning will be shared with the University community in October.
Members of the Leadership Initiative Team are: Jerry Baldasty, chair and professor of communications; Stephanie Camp, associate professor of history; Jim Antony, associate professor of education; Shaoyi Jiang, associate professor of chemical engineering; Merri Huffine, administrator in family & child nursing; Jill McKinstry, head of Odegaard Undergraduate Library; Linda Barrett, director of budget operations, Planning & Budgeting; Carmen Sidbury, diversity director, College of Engineering; Christina Surawicz, professor of gastroenterology, Harborview Medical Center; Larry Robinson, professor and chair of rehabilitation medicine, UW Medicine; Gene Woodard, director of custodial services; Jeff Compher, executive associate athletics director; Jason Smith, director of student services, Evans School of Public Affairs; Naomi Sanchez, assistant dean of career services, Law School; Sara Contreras, manager of program operations, Education Program, UW Tacoma; Arthur Nowell, dean of the College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences; Susan Jeffords, vice provost for academic planning; Rusty Barcelo, vice president and vice provost for minority affairs; Ana Mari Cauce, professor and chair, Psychology Department; and Lea Vaughn, secretary of the faculty and professor of law. Project specialists are Beth Warrick, director of Training and Development, David Hekman, a doctoral candidate in business administration. Patti Carson facilitates the group.
