EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2007 Faculty Climate Survey
This survey is the second in a continuing series intended to periodically monitor faculty opinion
concerning the climate on campus. The survey concept was conceived and authorized by the
Faculty Senate in 2001. The aim of conducting periodic surveys remains to provide feedback to
the University community regarding faculty perspective on issues and performance measures
that affect the campus working environment, as well as to track change and evolution at the
University.
The survey was designed to again evaluate the performance of the central administration in order
to enable comparison with the results obtained in the 2002 Faculty Climate Survey and to extend
the reach of the survey to faculty opinion as it related to their colleges and departments.
All full time faculty were invited to participate in the online survey, which was conducted in
December 2006. The overall response was 46% (560 out of a possible 1227) and for tenured and
tenure track faculty, the response was 56%. The response rate across academic ranks was
somewhat uneven, with more Assistant Professors responding than the other ranks. The response
by College was quite variable, ranging from 24 to 89%.
The overall performance rating for the central administration was close to normal. Of 23
performance dimensions, the three top-rated areas were:
• Fostering diversity in the University
• Developing appropriate intercollegiate athletic programs
• Execution of administrator’s position with honesty and integrity.
The three lowest rated areas were:
• Allocating resources to colleges
• Obtaining private support and development
• Obtaining financial support from the state legislature
When respondents were asked about nine administrative initiatives for the future, the four most
highly rated were:
• Increasing salary and benefits for existing faculty
• Increasing research support
• Increasing undergraduate student quality
• Increasing faculty size
Questions