Implementing Climate Workshops for Department Chairs
Overview
Do you want to improve departmental climate on your campus, especially for women and minority faculty, but do not know where to start? Are you frustrated when, despite your efforts to improve campus climate, yet another faculty member leaves your institution due to “climate issues” at the department level?
The UW-Madison Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute, with funding from the National Science Foundation, developed a workshop series for department chairs that addresses these issues and provides advice and support to department chairs seeking to enhance departmental climate.
WISELI and the CIC-WISE working group will host a one-day training session to prepare participants from CIC and other universities to implement similar workshops on their own campuses. In this “train the trainer” session, the UW-Madison team will share their experiences implementing the workshop series, "Enhancing Department Climate: A Chair's Role,"© familiarize participants with the process and materials used at UW-Madison, and review alternative approaches that might work at participants’ own campuses.
Goals
- Prepare at least one peer facilitator to work with department chairs on your campus
- Increase awareness of climate and its influence on the research and teaching missions of a department
- Develop understanding of the importance of departmental climate for professional success and retention, especially for women and minority faculty
- Understand the role department chairs can play in influencing department climate
- Acquire advice, tools and resources for engaging chairs in conversations about department climate and the varying perspectives and experiences their department members may have
- Learn about methods for assessing climate in departments
- Develop knowledge about interventions and changes to recommend to chairs, and about resources available to support chairs in their efforts to improve climate
Training Session Components
- Introduction to “department climate” and the role of the chair
- Importance of departmental climate, especially for women & minority faculty
- Role of department chair in setting the climate for the department
- Tips for talking to chairs about their departmental climate—common reactions, helping chairs understand climate from the perspective of other department members, gaining their buy-in to make positive changes in the department
- Assessing department climate
- Importance of unit-level measurement
- Different methods of assessing climate
- Confidentiality, human subjects concerns
- Common reactions of chairs before, during, and after climate measurement exercises
- Making change in the department
- Common issues uncovered in climate assessment activities
- Resources for chairs with specific types of issues
- Examples of changes implemented by chairs
- Literature on adult learning: Rely on peer facilitators, engage in active learning, make a commitment to change, provide follow-up action to promote accountability
- Evaluation and assessment of progress
Who Should Attend
Individuals who would benefit most from this workshop are those who would be actively involved in conducting your campus’ workshops for chairs. This is not a general workshop for department chairs. Because the workshops are most successful when led by peer facilitators, these individuals ideally should include:
- A senior faculty member who has an interest in facilitating discussions among department chairs about climate. This individual should be a respected member of the faculty with a strong interest in equity issues and a demonstrated commitment to creating a positive working environment for all. Previous chair experience is helpful, but not required. Strong facilitation skills are required.
- A researcher/evaluator who will be able to work with workshop leaders to provide data on climate at the departmental level.
- A faculty or staff person who can serve as an additional facilitator and can also provide resources, advice, logistical help, etc.
Registration
To register for this workshop, please link to the CIC Conference Registration. Please register by Monday, May 11, 2009. (Note: To take advantage of conference rates for hotel rooms reserved for this event, hotel reservations must be made by April 30, 2009.)
Hotel Accommodation
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Dahlmann Campus Inn, 601 Langdon Street for the night of June 1st at a rate of $135/night (single occupancy). A smaller number of rooms has also been reserved for June 2nd. Reservations must be made by April 30, 2009.
Reserve a room online by following this link, or by phoning the Dahlmann Campus Inn at (800)589-6285 or (608)257-4391. Ask for a room for the "CIC/WISELI" group reservation #86281.
The Dahlmann Campus Inn offers transportation to and from the the Dane Country Regional Airport, parking, a continental breakfast, hot hors d'oeuvres in the evening, and turndown service.
The Dahlmann Campus Inn is located two blocks from UW-Madison's Memorial Union, the workshop location.
Additional rooms have been reserved at the Doubletree Hotel, Madison at a rate of $159. Please ask for the rooms reserved for WISELI (Code: WIS). Reservations must be made by April 30, 2009.
Other nearby hotels include:
- The Edgewater Hotel
- The Madison Concourse Hotel
- The Best Western Inn on the Park
- The Best Western Inntowner
- The Lowell Inn
- Wisconsin Union Guest Rooms
Travel
Please see "Directions" on the UW-Madison visitor's page for information on getting to Madison by air, car, or bus.
Map indicating location of The Dahlmann Campus Inn and UW-Memorial Union.