Workplace Interactions Initiative
Climate Workshops for Department Chairs
Enhancing
Department Climate: A Chair's Role
WISELI
has developed a series of three climate workshops for Department
Chairs.
Two series of workshops are currently being offered for the Spring 2008 semester. The first series of three climate workshops will begin on February 1, 9:30-11:00am (room to be announced). The second series of three climate workshops will begin on February 5, 2:00-3:30pm (room to be announced). The remaining two sessions in each series will be scheduled in consultation with participating department chairs. If
you are interested in participating in this workshop series
please contact us.
The workshop series is described below:
Goals:
- To
increase awareness of climate and its influence on the
research and teaching missions of a department
- To
identify various issues that can influence climate in
a department
- To
present research on how unconscious assumptions and biases
may influence climate
- To
enable chairs to assess climate in their own departments
- To
provide chairs with opportunities to enhance climate in
their departments by learning from each others' experiences
and ideas.
- To
provide chairs with advice and resources they can use
to enhance climate in their departments
Description:
Based
on the concepts of active learning, a series of three workshops
will engage small groups of department chairs in discussions
about climate in their own departments, and will provide chairs
with the opportunity to learn from each others' experiences
and ideas. A brief departmental climate survey administered
between the first and second workshops will allow chairs to
identify specific issues of concern for their departments
and develop a plan to address these issues.
Session
1:
- Department
chairs will engage in a general discussion of climate
and the importance of fostering positive climates. Topics
to be discussed include:
- Provost's
Definition of Climate
- Importance
and benefits of fostering positive climates
- Results
from the recent studies of faculty and academic
staff worklife at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Results
from surveys and in-depth interviews with faculty
and staff at UW-Madison
- Understanding
Climate from others' perspectives
- Research
on the influence of unconscious biases and assumptions
- Introduction
to web-based departmental climate survey
- Presentation
of resources to assist chairs in their efforts to enhance
departmental climate
Session
2:
Chairs will receive survey
results for their individual departments, spend some time
reviewing these results and have the opportunity to discuss
survey findings. They may share with the group of chairs
some positive results of the survey and comment on what
they are doing to achieve these results. They may describe
a negative result and solicit advice or suggestions from
other chairs, from the facilitator, and/or from provided
resource materials. The main objective of this session will
be to share experiences and expertise with other chairs
and to learn from each other. Chairs will discuss and develop
an action plan to address issues revealed by the survey.
Chairs will also learn about resources and people on campus
who can help them in their efforts to enhance climate.
Session
3:
Chairs will meet to discuss
how they shared survey findings with their departments,
what activities they engaged in to enhance the climate in
their departments, and how successful they were. Chairs
will also address specific topics such as the influence
of leadership styles, organizational structure, and decision-making
styles on departmental climate.
When:
Session 1: February 1st, 9:30-11:00am OR February 5, 2:00-3:30pm.
Sessions 2 and 3 will be scheduled to accomodate your needs. Please contact
us if you are interested in participating in our workshops.
Resources
WISELI's Recommendations for Enhancing Department Climate [ ] (Also available as  )
WISELI's Resources for Department Chairs [] (Also available as )
WISELI Publication: Benefits and Challenges of Diversity []
WISELI Publication: Case Studies for Discussion - Hiring, Retention and Promotion of Women Scientists []
UW Provost's Office - Department Chairs' Toolkit
UW
Provost's Climate Initiative Web Page
Existing
Workshops on Campus that address Climate related topics
[]
UW
Policies on Illegal Discrimination and Harassment []
AWIS
(Association for Women in Science) Academic Climate Page
Evaluation
Climate
survey for individual departments []
Formative
evaluation of WISELI's climate workshops for department chairs
[]
Department
Climate Workshops: "Typical" Themes []
Department
Climate Workshops: Status Spring 2005 (Participation by
school/college)
[]
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