Power of belonging

Results from a recent campus survey reveal the power of culture and the high expectation people on campus have for what the University of Dayton community offers.

Administered in fall 2023, the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments survey asked faculty, staff and students about how campus environments shape their experiences and outcomes, including feelings of belonging, said Gerica Brown ’08, assistant dean of inclusive excellence strategic initiatives.

“Students at the University of Dayton generally feel a sense of community and belonging at UD,” she said of the results. “At the same time, what we learned is that not all students have the same shared experience. For example, we found that students with multiple marginalized identities reported lower experiences of community and belonging at UD.”

For the first time, the University has data on intersecting identities — from religious affiliation and sexuality to race and socioeconomic background — across all schools and divisions, making previously unseen experiences visible.

“Students want to be here because they believe there is something special about this community,” she said. “Now we can better understand who is actually having an experience that lives up to expectations, and who is not.”

UD chose the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments survey, which is also used at other universities, in part because of the Marianist belief in the inherent dignity and right to thrive of every person, said Mary Ziskin, associate professor of educational administration and one of the leaders for UD’s inclusive excellence council assessment team. As the University strives to be an organization that actively bridges gaps in access and success across diverse identities, it is also important to have wide-ranging data that can be used to guide priorities and actions.

“It’s needed for understanding student success, and it supports us in improving and striving for excellence,” Ziskin said.

Julio Quintero, director for inclusive excellence strategy and initiatives, noted the effort of the more than 1,500 students and 830 faculty and staff who completed the survey. “It takes investment for individuals to reflect on the survey questions and respond in an honest manner that captures their experiences,” he said. “There is pain in trying to understand the gaps.”

Also among the findings is that, overwhelmingly, respondents want more opportunities to have dialogue and discussions about political and social issues with people from different backgrounds than themselves. “While most wouldn’t necessarily see this as critical to belonging before we instituted this survey, we now understand that this is connected to belonging and to how people experience the University of Dayton,” Brown said.

The results of the first campus climate survey, conducted by a consultant in 2018, helped inform the creation of the Flyers Plan for Community Excellence, UD’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategic plan. The 2023 survey will be repeated in fall 2026. This will allow for continuous assessment, understanding the successes campus has made and charting the path forward, said Tiffany Taylor ’24, vice president for diversity and inclusion.

“Our goal is to ... [prioritize] student success and [cultivate] an exceptional organizational culture.”

“Our goal is not to have folks think about diversity, equity and inclusion as a standalone process, but as something that is embedded in the unit goals and prioritizes student success and cultivating an exceptional organizational culture,” Taylor said.

The data will also inform the next iteration of the campuswide diversity, equity and inclusion strategic plan, which will continue to make visible and understood the experiences of everyone in the campus community.

A version of this article appears in print in the Winter 2024-45 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 6. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE