UNI Climate Study Update

Dear UNI Community,

On January 31st, the President’s Office and the Council for Inclusion, Transformative Social Justice, and Advocacy (CITSJA) issued an equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) update to campus on important initiatives we are undertaking to continue on our journey to strengthen our living, learning, and working environment for all. We are eager to continue this work by launching an action-focused climate study facilitated by Rankin & Associates, a firm with broad expertise in helping colleges and universities translate climate study and focus group information into actions that improve campus culture.

Rankin & Associates will begin their work with UNI during a climate study preparation visit on Monday, February 21, where the project consultants will visit with the Climate Study Work Group (CSWG), University Relations, Institutional Effectiveness & Planning, and Senior Leadership to review the project phases and outline key steps we will take together to facilitate a successful process that will continue through August 2023. Rankin will also visit with NISG leaders to assure that student voices are centered in this work. Rankin & Associates will be back on campus in April to facilitate focus groups with students, faculty, and staff to begin gathering information about our campus. There will be many ways for members of our community to engage in this collective effort; please be on the lookout for email updates from the Climate Study Work Group in the coming weeks for ways to engage in this process. A UNI Climate Study webpage is coming soon.  

Similar to the regular reviews of academic programs and accredited services at the university, the Climate Study Work Group is eager to take an in-depth review facilitated by Rankin to identify strengths and point to areas of our living, learning, and working environment that require our attention and leadership. In addition to facilitating an action-focused climate study process, Rankin & Associates also maintains a dataset that will allow UNI to compare our results to a national dataset of colleges and universities. 

Thank you in advance for your engagement in this process. We are eager to continue on this journey together, and to take meaningful steps that empower every member of the UNI community to reach their goals.

Thank you,

Cara Burnidge
Associate Professor
Philosophy & World Religions
Climate Study Work Group Co-Chair

Kristin Moser
Director and Assistant to the President
Institutional Effectiveness & Planning
Climate Study Work Group Co-Chair

Andrew Morse
Chief of Staff
Office of the President
Climate Study Work Group Co-Chair