Goal 5 - Promote a Vibrant and Diverse Community

Goal 5 -Promote a Vibrant and Diverse Community of Faculty, Staff and Students to Advance the Mission of the School in an Engaged and Respectful Community

Tactics:

Foster an environment of trust, respect, loyalty and collegiality through training, mentoring, and identification of methods to address hostile work environments
Promote principles of community through clear and visible shared values that bring people together by valuing contributions to all aspects of the school’s mission
Encourage dialogue and communication across all groups to highlight collaboration and identify common topics of interest
Create outlets of communication for all school stakeholders using a variety of methods, channels, and forums (e.g., tea times)
Coordinate connections with like-minded faculty, staff and students to promote discussions and encourage feedback
Organize community building activities within normal work hours (e.g., social events, common projects, group work-collaborations, recreational activities)
Promote community projects across the school to encourage engagement among groups focused on common causes (e.g., cancer fund raising projects)

Tactics:

Clearly define and communicate standards for success, rewards and compensation across all faculty and staff titles
Address multiple mission fatigue and burnout by identifying signs of stress and offer programs and methods to help individuals improve their wellness and work-related stress
Identify areas of inadequate staffing resources to address real workload
Recognize factors that reduce retention of faculty and staff and seek ways to mitigate negative factors
Continue to participate in compensation and workload equality programs and efforts across faculty titles
Identify situations where staff talent and skills are mismatched with job duties and identify jobs suited to their abilities and talents
Recognize evidence of individuals who promote principals of community and seek ways to reward them as part of merit/promotion processes
Hold faculty and staff accountable for respectful communications and professional behavior
Create realistic workloads by prioritizing programs that are targeted for excellence
Seek ways to balance the clinical focus and address the competing demands of profits vs. teaching
Expand the use of technology without creating new stresses
Promote recognition of teaching and research efforts beyond the DVM curriculum
Improve faculty input into teaching and clinical schedules while balancing team teaching logistics and methodologies

Tactics:

Promote a shared vision through both governance structures and community building activities
Seek ways to reward and champion effective teams and community building vs. individuals
Promote common priorities, partnerships and inclusiveness across programs to bring people together
Provide leadership and mentorship training to help build teams and community engagement
Identify succession planning for all team members as an expression of team values and career development
Provide equal efforts for professional development for faculty and staff
Establish a Community Council with faculty (all title series) and staff representation to produce sustained ideas to promote principles of community, improve human welfare, and enhance diversity and inclusion
Establish a Staff Council to identify issues that cut across traditional lines and to enhance staff recognition
Provide better on-boarding for staff and faculty (e.g. communications, shared vision, community spirit, tours, mixers, etc.) to create a greater sense of and engagement in the school
Encourage and implement principles of work/life balance (i.e. discourage weekend e-mails, allow flexible work schedules, create a family friendly environment)
Identify metrics and ways to measure and report to the whole community on the progress of community building activities, the community’s sense of engagement, and work-life balance results