By Michelle Hines, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 7-24-08
GREENSBORO, NC – The Chronicle of Higher Education ranks UNCG among its “2008 Great Colleges to Work For.”
UNCG stood out in six of 27 survey categories: Job Satisfaction, Confidence in Senior Leadership, Work-Life Balance, Healthy Faculty-Administration Relations, Collaborative Governance and Post-Retirement Benefits. Results were published in the July 18 edition of the Chronicle and were based on responses from more than 15,000 employees at 89 higher education institutions.
Five institutions were ranked in each of three divisions, designated by the number of employees. UNCG was rated alongside other “medium-sized” universities and colleges such as Drake University, Canisius College and Indiana Wesleyan University who employ between 500 and 2,499 people.
UNCG Chancellor Patricia A. Sullivan, who retires July 31 after nearly 14 years at the helm, attributes the strong showing to open communication, a caring atmosphere on campus and acknowledgement of the contributions of all employees. “I’m very proud of this for what it says about the university community,” Sullivan said. “It’s not about me, it’s about the campus community. I want them to celebrate this accomplishment.”
Provost David Perrin added that much of the credit should go to Sullivan and those in her administration. “The survey’s findings are a testimony to our model system of shared governance between the faculty and administration, and to the outstanding leadership provided by Chancellor Sullivan and my predecessor, Provost Emeritus Ed Uprichard,” Perrin said.
Sullivan, who will be succeeded by Dr. Linda P. Brady, said she was contacted by the Chronicle about participating in the new survey administered by a human resources consulting firm called ModernThink. She thought that an independent assessment of workplace satisfaction done at no cost to the university would provide invaluable feedback. She had nearly forgotten that she had given the go-ahead for the survey when she saw the results.
Sullivan, who describes UNCG as “an accountable, caring community,” expected the best but was gratified to see it in print. “The Faculty Senate and the Staff Council have told us how much they value shared governance, how important it is, and that their sense is that it’s working at UNCG,” she said. “But when you see it in a national survey, it’s like it really is true, this is what they told outside people. And that is a terrific validation.”
Kathryn Crowe, past chair of UNCG’s Faculty Senate, said the results of the Chronicle survey corroborate results of a UNCG faculty satisfaction survey done in 2006-07. In that survey, Crowe said, 85 percent of the faculty who responded indicated that they were “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with UNCG as a place to work and 75 percent said they were “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with UNCG’s administration.
Dr. Rebecca Adams, current chair of the Faculty Senate, said the Chronicle survey results aren’t surprising, especially the high ratings in the Healthy Faculty-Administration Relations and Collaborative Governance areas, “given the strong working relationship Chancellor Sullivan and Provost Uprichard developed with faculty and staff senates over the years.”
“Provost Perrin has continued to engage faculty and staff in important discussions during this past year, and commitment to shared governance was an important criterion during our search for a new chancellor,” Adams said. “Chancellor-Elect Brady has already met with faculty senate leadership during her recent visit to campus, and I am confident she will continue and build on this important tradition. Our administration’s commitment to collaborative governance is one of the qualities that makes UNCG a very special community.”
Sullivan said she favors outside surveys like the Chronicle’s because employees generally feel more comfortable answering questions honestly. “Sometimes it’s hard to get those opinions one-on-one in groups or what have you. I think those kinds of surveys, like those we do of our students every year, are important. You can’t make every decision based on them, but you do look at the trend of responses over time so that if you see things begin to change in a negative direction, you can begin to ask questions, ‘Well, why is this, and what can we do about it?’”
When asked why she thought UNCG did so well in the Chronicle survey, Sullivan first pointed to the air of openness and respect she has worked to create on campus. “I hope that the spirit of open communication and continual dialogue that we’ve maintained with faculty and staff regarding big and small university issues is a force behind it. Also, we’ve tried to discuss issues that are coming with the various constituency groups in advance so that when we have to act or when we have to move they’re not uninformed. And maybe they agree or they don’t agree, but I think keeping the lines of communication open has been really important. It’s about making people feel that they have an interest and they have a say, and that the well-being of the university is for all of us, not just for certain people.”
Sullivan also stressed that encouraging employees to support one another and the greater community, and giving them the recognition they deserve likely played a role. “There just seems to be a pattern of caring that I’ve seen here all these years, and it gets stronger and stronger over time. I think our recognition of service has helped a lot -- the staff awards, the faculty awards, the student awards -- where you can honor people for their contributions to service.
“I think those are good things to do because they encourage people to think beyond their immediate role and their immediate job, and think about how their work or their behavior impacts people around them. We spend a lot of time together, and if we make that time together a positive experience for all of us, our work is going to be a more positive experience."
