By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
A new Northern Kentucky University Campus Climate Study indicates faculty and staff are concerned about the direction of the university and believe the administration has nurtured a ‘culture of fear.’
The study included 2,242 respondents, which was made up of 1,295 students (9 percent), 380 faculty (37 percent) and 484 staff members (47 percent).
The survey findings were introduced Monday by Kathleen Roberts, Senior Advisor to the President for Inclusive Excellence and Title IX Coordinator to a campus-wide meeting.
The findings were presented by Brandelyn Tosolt, an associate professor in the College of Education and Human services and Caroline Macke assistant professor in the social work program and former director of the B.S.W. degree.
The last campus climate study at NKU was conducted in 2010.
Faculty and staff cited different reasons for believing a culture of fear exists at NKU.
For staff, the concern was focused on restructuring and outsourcing.
“I’m currently looking for a new job outside of NKU and can no longer provide for my family working here,” was a comment from one staff member.
Tosolt said for faculty members, the culture of fear focused on repercussions for speaking out, as evidenced by this comment:
“Even as I type this, part of me believes, despite the security statement to the contrary, that someone will find out who I am and fire me for expressing these ideas.”
Other concerns among faculty and staff included bullying, negative experiences with human resources and the need for an ombudsperson.
One faculty member expressed the need for an ombudsperson through this statement:
“Faculty who feel they are the victims of bullying, either by faculty or by administrators, must have a place to go with their concerns, must have guidance and must have support. There is a climate of fear, particularly among non-tenured faculty, who fear they cannot confront the bullies, without risking negative effect on their tenure process.”
“Even as I type this, part of me believes, despite the security statement to the contrary, that someone will find out who I am and fire me for expressing these ideas,” an NKU faculty member wrote on the survey.
Other concerns that were identified include a perceived shift in the focus of NKU, from a teaching to a research university, and the hiring of new administrators without providing raises for faculty and staff.
A faculty member offered this observation:
“When I began teaching here, I was proud to be at an institution where students would obtain a good education at a price that they could avoid debt. The growing pains of the last few years, especially the growth of the administration at the cost of the teaching mission, have left me wondering whether anyone knows what the purpose of the college is. We seem to have turned into a big business whose purpose is to process as many students as possible.”
In response to the question, “Would you recommend NKU?”, 89 percent of staff, 78 percent of faculty and 76 percent of students responded affirmatively, but there was a qualifier.
Participants believe the university provides a positive experience for students, but comments regarding the environment for faculty and staff were less encouraging.
One respondent offered this remark:
“I would recommend NKU to a student who wanted to come to school here, but I wouldn’t recommend NKU to a person who is starting their career.”
Strengths identified by students, faculty and staff included the university’s caring and family atmosphere, campus infrastructure, which includes buildings, location, affordability and safety and the breadth of academic offerings. Supportive people and offices, big-campus amenities with a small campus feel and student-faculty relationships were also seen as positives.
For purposes of the survey, campus climate was defined as the way in which students, faculty and staff perceive NKU, especially as it pertains to diversity.
That included perceptions about safety, prejudice, equal opportunities, university commitment to diversity, discrimination, support, a sense of belonging and fair and respectful treatment.
In his welcoming remarks at Monday’s presentation, NKU president Geoffrey Mearns focused on inclusiveness at the university, which he identified as a core value of the university plan that was developed in 2013.
“Since the plan was approved in 2014, we’ve taken several steps together to achieve that goal,” Mearns said. “We’ve created the office of LGBTQ programs and services, we’ve reorganized several units within student affairs into the center for student inclusiveness (and) we’ve continued to enroll an increasing number of diverse students.
Mearns left before the presentation was finished and did not comment on faculty and staff concerns during his opening remarks. He said the survey and presentation was designed to serve two purposes.
“One is really to learn more about the experiences of people…on our campus,” Mearns said. “Second (is) to understand those experiences better, so that we can develop some specific steps, some specific strategies to enhance and continue to increase our commitment to a welcoming and inclusive community.”
Many faculty and staff members who responded to the survey, however, saw an opportunity to express concerns they have been unable or unwilling to express to the administration.
The ‘culture of fear’ among staff and faculty has been a hot topic in private conversations for some time. The anonymity of the survey provided a forum for those who are reluctant to speak publicly.
Questions dealing with job satisfaction, morale and the direction of NKU also indicated dissatisfaction among many faculty and staff members.
Only in the category of job satisfaction, did more than half of the participants (52 percent of faculty and 56 percent of staff, respectively) give a “high” rating.
In the category of morale, 63 percent of faculty and 58 percent of staff rated the university low or medium. When asked about the direction of the university, 70 percent of faculty and 61 percent of staff rated the university low or medium.
Faculty respondents were especially critical in those categories, with 44 percent giving the university a “low” rating in each.
At the conclusion of the presentation, those in attendance were encouraged to engage in table discussions and offer suggestions based on the survey findings.
David Thomson, internship coordinator in the department of communications, said a lot of the angst comes from the belief that educators are not part of the growth at the university.
He points to the addition of new buildings around campus and, while he recognizes the university has to take funding where it can get it, teachers, many of whom have not received pay increases for several years, “should not be left behind.”
“The state and a lot of other people tend to be very willing to put buildings on campuses,” Thomson said. “My question is, who do you pay to staff those buildings so that they will stay and build your core faculty? That’s becoming a real problem.”
Another longtime faculty member who attended the campus-wide meeting, asked not to be identified and told the NKyTribune, “NKU’s administration will not take responsibility for their problems and the ‘culture of fear’ and administrative bloat they have created. The fear and intimidation are well documented in the survey . ..How will they respond to this data and the deep problems?
“I doubt anything will come of this. I expect more staff and faculty ‘reprogramming’ events where we are required to attend and waste our time. These have been common the last few years.”