Event Details - Conversation of Understanding

Fostering Welcoming and Belonging on SIU Campuses 

Findings from the 2022 Campus Climate Survey revealed the following: Over 50% of faculty, staff, and administrators felt welcome on campus; over 60% of veterans, LGBTQIA+, international, and people with disabilities felt welcome; staff members of color reported lower levels of respect and unequal treatment to their white counterparts; Hispanic faculty members were seven times more likely than white/Asian counterparts to strongly agree they experience racism; Black students were twice as likely to want to leave the campus compared to white students.

This COU will address opportunities to improve a sense of belonging and cultivate spaces for all members to thrive. The benefits of belonging include higher job satisfaction, reduced stress, more connection and communication, and increased innovation.

Students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members from across the SIU System are invited to join a live virtual discussion focusing on critical issues regarding equity and justice in our country and what we can and must do to address those issues within the SIU System and beyond. The event will feature an SIU community panel sharing findings and solutions based on the 2022 Viewfinder Campus Climate Survey. A Q&A session will follow where audience participants can use the YouTube comment section or submit questions before or during the event by emailing doris.williams@siu.edu.

Conversations of Understanding have become a fixture across the SIU System and on our individual campuses. They are a series of exchanges where students, alumni, faculty, staff and the broader SIU communities can share their experiences and thoughts on a variety of themes related to antiracism, diversity, equity and inclusion. We want to be a model for others in higher education and be recognized as a leader in our region and beyond for our work in fostering understanding of relevant contemporary issues.

Sponsored by the SIU System President’s Office and the SIU System Diversity Advisory Council.