Tips on humanizing your campus--or at least your dept.

Several years ago, Linda Pierce heard Pennsylvania State University President Graham Spanier say he wanted to "humanize the university."

The term struck a chord with Pierce, Penn State's work/life coordinator. To her, humanizing a school means creating a culture "where people feel valued, where people feel respected, and are comfortable balancing their professional and personal lives."

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It involves assessing what kind of culture currently exists, identifying the desired culture, reviewing current policies and practices and gauging the commitment of upper-level administrators to a cultural change.

Pierce spoke about humanizing schools at the College and University Work/Family Association (CUWFA) conference in Philadelphia in March 2003 and with WIHE.

What's the current culture?

Identifying a school's current culture comes first. A climate survey can do this, especially at a large school like Penn State, with 23 campus locations and more than 81,000 students. In 1996, Penn State surveyed all 16,000 full-time faculty and staff and got a 47% return rate; four years later, it did a smaller, statistical sample survey. Another all-employee survey is planned for 2004.