The Kaleidoscope Group Proprietary and Confidential Diversity & Inclusion Audit Summary NLU Diversity & Inclusion Council January 18, 2007

The Kaleidoscope Group Proprietary and Confidential Diversity/Inclusion Audit Process  Conducted leadership interviews to develop draft Diversity Vision of Success  22 phone interviews including a representation of: (April/May 2006)  Board of Trustees  Administration, Staff, Faculty Leadership  Alumni  All Deans  Conducted diversity web-based student, staff & faculty surveys (July 2006)  Conducted 13 focus groups based on survey results (September 2006)  African American focused also included issues of disability  Latino focused also included issues of disability  Conducted marketplace, workforce, and workplace review  Created Report & Recommendations for Implementation

The Kaleidoscope Group Proprietary and Confidential Audit Logistics  Web-based diversity surveys  Faculty: 120 out of 253 (47%)  Staff: 160 out of 467 (34%)  Students: 470 out of 14,460 (3%)  People of color focus groups to further explore survey perceptions  Faculty: Mixed group  Staff:  African American Management  African American Non-Management  Latino Management  Latino Non-Management  Students:  African American Undergraduate  African American Graduate  Latino Undergraduate  Latino Graduate

The Kaleidoscope Group Proprietary and Confidential Audit Themes

The Kaleidoscope Group Proprietary and Confidential Organizational Strengths  Staff/ Faculty willing to make a commitment to diversity; they see the importance of diversity  Staff, Faculty, & Students reported that people by age and gender work well together  Faculty:  Appreciate colleagues and students  Freedom to research interesting areas  University is attractive to both genders  Staff:  Enjoy the people they work with & working with students  Benefits  flexibility of work and school  some managers appreciative  report that they work well together across different races/ethnicities  Students:  Financial aid  some faculty willing to help  small class size  see diversity in student body and faculty as enriching their education

The Kaleidoscope Group Proprietary and Confidential Key Areas of Concern  Lack of diverse representation at all levels, throughout the NLU community due to lack of:  Attraction to diverse candidates  Diverse recruitment processes  Appropriate selection practices  Advancement opportunities  NLU environment is not perceived as inclusive  Diverse community & marketplace focus needed

The Kaleidoscope Group Proprietary and Confidential Attraction  Only half of faculty surveyed feel that NLU is an attractive place for people of color.  Latino students and staff perceive that NLU is more attractive to Anglos and Blacks.  Latinos and Black students perceive lack of financial aid and lack of advisors and professors of their race and ethnicity.  Over half of students surveyed perceive a lack of diverse role models.  Lack of clarity on diversity mission and lack of attendance at diversity training impacts attractiveness to diverse candidates.  “North Shore Campus” tag line perceived as contrary to diversity strategies

The Kaleidoscope Group Proprietary and Confidential Diverse Recruitment  Students of color perceive that the NLU brand is not well known and may hinder recruitment.  Less than half of staff and students surveyed feel NLU actively recruits people with diverse backgrounds - half of the faculty share this perception.  Latinos felt that a Latino representative is needed to recruit students, staff, and faculty from their community

The Kaleidoscope Group Proprietary and Confidential Selection Practices  Faculty & staff feel that the hiring practices are inconsistent and unclear for people of color.  “Favoritism is not tolerated here” (Faculty: 25%, Staff: 27%, & Students: 59% favorable)  “The University Search Practices are fair and inclusive of all races & ethnicities.” (Faculty: 61% favorable)  The majority of students expressed the desire to have more diverse faculty and advisors.  African American managers perceive a lack of accountability for hiring of minority faculty.  Black and Latino staff perceive the “hiring from within” policy applies for them less frequently.

The Kaleidoscope Group Proprietary and Confidential Advancement Opportunities  Less than half of faculty & staff surveyed feel that people are promoted based on qualifications  Faculty of Color feel that the tenure track is subjective and inconsistent and that the standards are unclear.  40% of faculty surveyed feel they do not have equal access to development opportunities.  Latino staff feel that lack of communication is a barrier  Some Black staff perceive Blacks are set up to fail and put in positions for which they are not ready  40% of staff surveyed feel that opportunities for growth or advancement are limited, performance is not evaluated fairly and feedback is not given professionally to improve effectiveness.

The Kaleidoscope Group Proprietary and Confidential Inclusive Environment  Faculty, Staff, and Students of color often feel disrespected and demeaned.  For People of Color, there was a lack of trust for this diversity process due to past repercussions for participating in previous surveys.  Latino staff perceive that Spanish-speaking ability is not valued and perceived as a negative.  Faculty of Color feel isolated because of lack of administrative support and student help with research and more tenured faculty not reaching out; feel like outsiders.  Some Black staff feel that faculty talk down to them.

The Kaleidoscope Group Proprietary and Confidential Inclusive Environment  Sexual orientation was described by many as taboo. Several students described being treated negatively due to their sexual orientation.  People of color & People with disabilities perceive that expectations for their performance are very low.  Students & staff with disabilities feel a lack of accommodations at some campuses, a lack of respect and understanding from managers & faculty, and specific demeaning behaviors were reported.  Over half of staff surveyed perceive a lack of communication between departments thus creating lack of services to students.

The Kaleidoscope Group Proprietary and Confidential Community & Marketplace  60% of staff, 73% of faculty, 53% of students surveyed feel that Community Outreach & Social Justice are important at NLU.  Latino students do not feel reflected in marketing visuals  Black students perceive lack of focus on their communities

The Kaleidoscope Group Proprietary and Confidential Kaleidoscope Group Recommendations: Diversity & Inclusion Implementation  Communicating diversity  Creating a supporting an inclusive environment  Diverse marketing and recruiting strategies  Diversity & inclusion education  Implement fair & inclusive people processes and measure results