Saint Anselm College Climate Assessment Project

• Do all individuals at Saint Anselm experience the same level of understanding and respect?
• Does the College atmosphere nurture members of all cultural groups?
• Does the campus culture give voices to all its members and encourage their creativity?

The Campus Climate Assessment is designed to help us answer these and similar questions.

Background:
In the Spring of 2007, Father Jonathan created the President’s Advisory Council on Inclusiveness to provide guidance to the college on a host of issues related to the overarching goal of inclusiveness (see the College Statement on Inclusiveness). As a first step toward becoming the genuinely inclusive community Saint Anselm intends to be, the council undertook a Climate Assessment Project. The objective of the project is to develop a clear picture of the environment on campus with regard to diversity of all kinds. The results of the study will serve as a baseline against which to measure progress, and they will help to shape future planning for the college’s inclusiveness goals.

In the fall of 2007 the council interviewed four firms that had responded to its request for proposal, and selected Diversity Associates of Northeastern Pennsylvania to conduct the climate assessment. The consultants made a preliminary campus visit in November, and then returned to conduct a series of focus groups in mid-February (see Key Themes from Focus Groups).

The last step in the process is the electronic survey that will be available to all members of the college community for two weeks (April 8-22). The electronic survey addresses issues of race, gender, class, sexual orientation, religion, ability issues, status at the college, and other forms of difference.

For more infomration on the survey process, please see Climate Assessment Survey.

Communication:
Updates on the inclusiveness initiative and on the Climate Assessment Project in particular will be posted regularly on this Web site. The process will be open and transparent, and the results of the consultants’ report to the college will be communicated to the community in the fall of 2008.

The hallmark of inclusiveness is open and honest dialogue. All members of the college community are encouraged to communicate their thoughts, concerns, and recommendations to the members of the President’s Advisory Council on Inclusiveness (see President’s Advisory Council on Inclusiveness), or to send an email to Inclusiveness@anselm.edu.