Dear Colleagues,
As many of us return to campus this month and connect more with our colleagues and students in person, we have a unique opportunity to renew and rebuild our campus culture. One of the hallmarks of Santa Clara University has always been that our community is relationship-based—united in our mission on behalf of students, committed to shared values, and willing to do the work of listening and understanding to solve difficulties.
Since our absence from campus in March 2020, many of us have relied more on impersonal methods of communicating with one another. While tools like email and Zoom have helped us manage our time away, they have made our shared goal of building a sense of collective community quite a bit more challenging.
We have heard from so many of you about how we all must work together to improve our campus climate. We recognize that our community of belonging is directly reflected in how we communicate and engage with one another, especially in challenging conversations. Our communication mechanisms are tools to help us build the community we want to be; yet, many have expressed that we currently have too few ways meaningfully to engage with one another.
We share these concerns. To that end, over the past year university leadership has partnered with the University Coordinating Committee on this issue of our campus culture and email system. The UCC has discussed proposals with various governance groups and provided the administration with their best thinking, which has helped guide our decision-making.
Administrators also examined systems at other colleges and universities. We sought changes that would provide voice to faculty and staff in effective and meaningful ways, ensuring no person or group is silenced or undermined in their ability to bring up serious issues of concern with other faculty, staff and/or administrators.
Today we are excited to share some important updates and changes as we all strive to enhance our campus culture.
![Thumbnail image]() | Ombuds OfficeThis fall, we will create an Ombuds Office, a suggestion endorsed by members of shared governance about five years ago. The person hired into this position will be an independent, confidential resource for Santa Clara University faculty and staff. The office will help to resolve questions and concerns such as those regarding University policies and procedures; communication issues between faculty and/or staff; and will help to provide informal conflict management among individuals or groups. (Existing formal conflict resolution and grievance systems such as those for discrimination or harassment complaints will remain in place, though the Ombuds officer may be able to explain processes to individuals who seek help.) The Ombuds officer will help promote a safe, inclusive, respectful, ethical, and productive campus community in line with the University’s values and policies and will provide assessments and recommendations to improve overall climate. |
![Thumbnail image]() | Regular Dialogue & More Informal CommunicationThe acting president and acting provosts will host regular open forums—ideally monthly— for faculty and staff members and include members of the President’s Cabinet as appropriate. They will do so in coordination with leaders of the shared governance bodies. In addition, we propose that Cabinet members and deans meet with interested groups of faculty or staff regularly — possibly via office hours, coffee meetups, or other gatherings. And we welcome suggestions for additional informal ways to engage within our community. Please email suggestions to president@scu.edu. |
![Thumbnail image]() | Google Groups for Faculty and StaffThe current “non-essential” listservs for faculty and staff have been repurposed for announcements only, and three new Google Groups have been created for campus discussion (SCU Faculty Discussion, SCU Staff Discussion, and SCU Faculty-Staff Discussion). The Google Discussion Groups will work in the same manner as the current SCU-Faculty and SCU-Staff lists: Members of the group will receive all emails sent to their subscribed group(s), and will be able to reply to the sender or to the entire group.
Individuals will be able to decide how frequently they want to receive emails: in real time in their gmail inbox; via a daily digest once a day; or by going to the Google Group application itself. They can also opt out altogether. Future new hires will be invited to “opt in” to relevant Google Groups, with new-member additions maintained by the Faculty and Staff Senates, respectively.
The new groups will provide forums for raising issues of concern, a place for dialogue among peers, an avenue to assess sentiment on important university matters, or other uses as decided by each group.
You will receive very shortly an email from Technology Training with information on how to use the new Google Groups. You have been automatically enrolled, and can change frequency or opt out if you choose. |
![Thumbnail image]() | Announcements Email ListsTo ensure that those who opt out of any Google Groups will not miss important announcements of events, we will repurpose the prior non-essential lists into Announcements-only Lists—one for staff and one for faculty. All faculty and staff will be enrolled automatically to receive announcements from their respective Announcements List and can opt out if they want. Access to post announcements to this list will be granted by list moderators. |
Supplementing Existing Forums
These new commitments and tools will supplement continued forums in which issues of concern can and should be raised, including:
![Thumbnail image]() | Shared Governance InputAs always, faculty and staff members can raise issues and concerns with the University Coordinating Committee, who will ensure that we use our established shared governance processes for addressing them. UCC leaders can be contacted at ucc@scu.edu. |
![Thumbnail image]() | Ongoing Community ForumsWe will continue to host Community Conversations and the Diversity Forum, as well as working with Staff, Faculty, and Student Senates to share important news and updates and gather feedback at open forums. Community members can also raise concerns by contacting administrators in office hours, through email, and through their supervisors or department heads. |
Works in Progress
These initiatives are works in progress. We plan to continue to work with all SCU community members to solicit ideas for improvement and to find meaningful ways to work together and move Santa Clara forward.
As we come back in person, we have a great opportunity to really dig in and engage in new ways with each other, for the good of all in our community. Our university's mission and vision are to cultivate citizens and leaders to build a more just, humane, and sustainable world. All of us together are joined in this common purpose, and each of us contributes to creating this shared future. Our hope for these new forums and tools is that they will foster among us on campus the habits of trust and mutual care as the foundation for SCU's mission in the wider community.
Have a wonderful fall!
Lisa A. Kloppenberg
Acting President
University Coordinating Committee
President's Cabinet
University Deans
Executive Directors of SCU Centers of Distinction
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