Building on the work of a faculty and staff advisory committee, the college will launch an online survey to assess our climate for all employees (including graduate student employees) in October. The survey, which will be administered by the UW Survey Center, will be used to inform plans to improve our climate and increase inclusion across the college. Results will help direct efforts to make our community as welcoming and productive as possible.

Originally, a pilot of the survey was planned for the spring 2020 semester, but the move to mostly off-site work in response to the pandemic delayed those efforts.

“By surveying all CALS employees during the same period, we can provide responses to all departments, centers and units that reflect the same moment in time and in a timely fashion,” says Senior Associate Dean Mark Rickenbach.

All CALS employees will receive an e-mailed invitation to participate in the survey in October. Responses will be collected through early November, with departments, centers and units receiving aggregated reports of the findings early in 2021. Sharing the results will include an engagement process to help units identify priorities to effect change.

Survey results cannot serve the same purpose as direct reporting of violations to UW–Madison policies related to Title IX, hostile and intimidating behavior or bias incidents. Options for reporting:

Hostile and intimidating behavior

• Information for students: https://doso.students.wisc.edu
• How students can report: https://doso.students.wisc.edu/bias-or-hate-reporting  (Note:  hostile and intimidating behavior is included in bias and hate reporting.)
• Information for faculty and staff: https://hr.wisc.edu/hib/campus-resources
• How faculty and staff can report: https://hr.wisc.edu/hib/addressing-hib/reporting-options

Sexual harassment and assault (Title IX)

• Information: https://compliance.wisc.edu/titleix
• How anyone can report: https://compliance.wisc.edu/titleix/reporting-response-options

Mental health resources

• Information for students (University Health Services): https://www.uhs.wisc.edu/mental-health
• Information for faculty and staff (Employee Assistance Office): https://hr.wisc.edu/employee-assistance-office

Use these links to learn more about diversity and inclusion committees, programs and efforts in CALS:

• CALS’ Equity and Diversity Committee (EDC)
• EDC Lunch and Learn schedule
• Department diversity representatives
• Science/Medicine Graduate Research Scholars (Sci/Med GRS)
• Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS)
• Society for Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
• African, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American (AHANA) Pre- Health Society