Rankin Climate uses over two decades of studies that act as a bedrock to complement its everyday decisions, planning and research. Our members pride themselves on continuously expanding their knowledge to stay up to date — from Aguirre to Zambrana.
We can more accurately develop campus-specific assessment tools to evaluate an institution’s campus climate using the latest findings. It is important to always be aware of new, outside analysis that can benefit your organization by building on top of our own groundwork and investigations.
Foundational Literature
Foundation of Campus Climate Research and Assessment
In 1990, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education (ACE) established that to build a vital community of learning, an institution must create a community that is purposeful, open, just, disciplined, caring, and celebrative (Boyer, 1990). Achieving these characteristics is part of “a larger, more integrative vision of community in higher education, one that focuses not on the length of time students spend on campus, but on the quality of the encounter, and relates not only to social activities, but to the classroom, too” (Boyer, 1990, p. 7).
In 1995, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) challenged higher education institutions “to affirm and enact a commitment to equality, fairness, and inclusion” (1995, p. xvi). The AAC&U proposed that colleges and universities commit to “the task of creating inclusive educational environments in which all participants are equally welcomed, equally valued, and equally heard” (p. xxi). The report stated that a primary duty of the academy was to create a campus climate grounded in the principles of diversity, equity, and justice for all individuals to provide the foundation for a vital community of learning. The visions of these national education organizations serve as the foundation for current campus climate research and assessment.
Definition of Campus Climate
Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pedersen, and Allen (1999), extending the work of Hurtado (1992), described campus climate as the combination of an institution’s historical legacy of inclusion/exclusion, psychological climate, structural diversity, and behavioral dimensions. Historical legacy includes an institution’s history of resistance to desegregation, as well as its
current mission and policies. Psychological climate refers to campus perceptions of racial/ethnic tensions, perceptions of discrimination, and attitudes toward and reduction of prejudice within the institution. Structural dimensions of campus climate take into account demographic and facilities/resources, while the behavioral dimensions consist of social interaction, campus involvement, and classroom diversity across race/ethnicity. Building on this model, Rankin and Reason (2008) defined campus climate as “the current attitudes, behaviors, and standards, and practices of employees and students in an institution” (p. 264). Rankin and Reason (2008) specified
Because in our work we are particularly concerned about the climate for individuals from traditionally underreported, marginalized, and underserved groups we focus particularly on those attitudes, behaviors, and standards/practices that concern the access for, inclusion of, and level of respect for individual and group needs, abilities, and potential. Note that this definition includes the needs, abilities, and potential of all groups, not just those who have been traditionally excluded or underserved by our institutions. (p. 264)
Influence of Climate on Faculty, Staff, and Students
Using this definition as a foundation, Rankin & Associates Consulting, LLC develops campus-specific assessment tools and analyzes the resulting data to understand and evaluate an institution’s campus climate.
Campus climate influences individuals’ sense of belonging within social and academic institutional environments (Rankin & Reason, 2005; Museus, Yi, & Saelua, 2017; Strayhorn, 2012; Strayhorn, 2013). Johnson (2012) defined sense of belonging as students’ “feelings of connection and identification or isolation and alienation within their campus community” (p. 337). Similarly, Strayhorn (2012) characterized sense of belonging as “students’ perceived social support on campus, a feeling or sensation of connectedness, the experience of mattering or feeling cared about, accepted, respected, and valued by, and important to the group (e.g., campus community) or others on campus (e.g., faculty, peers)” (p. 3). Strayhorn (2012) also characterized individuals’ sense of belonging as a “basic human need [that takes on] increased significance in environments or situations that individuals experience as different, unfamiliar, or foreign, as well as in context where certain individuals are likely to feel marginalized, unsupported, or unwelcomed” (p. 10). For many underrepresented and/or underserved faculty, staff, and students, college and university campuses represent such an environment.
Researchers have conducted extensive research regarding the ways in which campus climate contributes to a sense of belonging, or lack thereof, for various student populations. For example, recent research investigated the role of campus climate in constructing a sense of belonging for student athletes (Gayles, Crandall, & Morin, 2018); women students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields (Johnson, 2012); first-generation students (Means & Pyne, 2017); racial and ethnic minority students (Maramba & Museus, 2011; Mwangi, 2016; Tachine, Cabrera, & Yellow Bird, 2017; Wells & Horn, 2015); Black men (Wood & Harris III, 2015); students with disabilities (Vaccaro, Daly-Cano, & Newman, 2015); and first-year LGBPQ students (Vaccaro & Newman, 2017). Researchers also have explored the ways that an individual’s sense of belonging influenced their intent to persist at an institution (Booker, 2016; García & Garza, 2016; Hausmann, Schofield, & Woods, 2007; Museus, Yi, & Saelua, 2017).
Intent to persist and/or retention is a primary outcome measure of campus climate (Mayhew, Rockenbach, Bowman, Seifert, Wolniak, 2016). Mayhew et al. (2016) noted that campus climate factors including “having meaningful peer interactions and relationships, and experiencing overall social and academic integration and involvement” contributed positively to student persistence and retention (p. 419). Researchers identified additional social, cultural, and academic factors that influenced students’ intent to persist, including peer engagement, opportunities for engagement with others from diverse backgrounds, faculty engagement opportunities, classroom climates, student group opportunities, and institutional support programs and initiatives. Research in recent years has demonstrated how those factors specifically influenced intent to persist among Black undergraduate women (Booker, 2016; Walpole, Chambers, & Goss, 2014), Black undergraduate men (Eunyoung & Hargrove, 2013; Palmer, Wood, Dancy, & Strayhorn, 2014), Latinx students (García & Garza, 2016; Heredia, Jr., Piña-Watson, Castillo, Ojeda, & Cano, 2018; Tovar, 2015), racial minority students (Baker & Robnett, 2012; Johnson, Wasserman, Yildirim, & Yonai, 2014; Lancaster & Yonghong J. X., 2017), students with disabilities (Kutscher & Tuckwiller, 2019), queer-spectrum and trans-spectrum individuals (Blumenfeld et al., 2016), and graduate students (Ruud et al., 2018).
Research regarding the influence of campus climate on individuals’ persistence and retention also examined the experiences of underrepresented faculty populations, including Black faculty (Griffin, Pifer, Humphrey, & Hazelwood, 2011; Lynch-Alexander, 2017; Siegel, Gregory Barrett, & Smith, 2015), international faculty (Lawrence et al., 2014), racial and ethnic minority faculty (Jayakumar, Howard, Allen, & Han, 2009; Whittaker, Montgomery, & Martinez Acosta, 2015), queer-spectrum and trans-spectrum faculty (Garvey & Rankin, 2016), and women faculty in STEM fields (Pascale, 2018). Much of the research regarding minority faculty retention highlighted the critical role of effective mentorship in the success, promotion, and retention of underrepresented faculty (Zambrana et al., 2015; Lynch-Alexander, 2017). Presently, scant research specific to staff retention exists.
In addition to research regarding sense of belonging and retention, campus climate research also studied the effects of campus climate on faculty, staff, and students’ social, emotional, academic, and work-related campus experiences including academic engagement and success (Glass & Westmont, 2014; Hurtado & Ponjuan, 2005; Dugan, Kusel, & Simounet, 2012; Garvey, Squire, Stachler, & Rankin, 2018; Oseguera, Merson, Harrison, & Rankin, 2017) and well-being (Gummadam, Pittman, & Ioffe, 2016). One common finding suggested that minority faculty, staff, and students generally perceived campus climate differently than did their peers. Those unique perceptions often adversely affected a variety of outcome factors.
Some campus climate assessments also measured the intersectional experiences (i.e., how multiple aspects of one’s identity combine and influence another identity) of faculty, staff, and students in relation to the current attitudes, behaviors, standards, and practices of employees and students of a given institution (Booker, 2016; Griffin, Bennett, & Harris, 2011; Hughes, 2017; Johnson, 2012; Maramba & Museus, 2011; Park, Denson, & Bowman, 2013; Patton, 2011; Rivera-Ramos, Oswald, & Buki, 2015; Walpole et al., 2014). The following sections present campus climate research findings for selected campus constituents with the awareness that intersectionality is at the core of all lived experience.
Faculty & Campus Climate. Campus climate actively shapes the experiences of faculty, particularly related to faculty members’ professional success, sense of belonging, and perceptions of professional development opportunities and support. Most research regarding faculty and campus climate relates specifically to faculty members’ racial identity, sexual identity, and/or gender identity. A summary of the literature is offered below.1
1 For additional literature regarding faculty experiences and campus climate, please visit www.rankin-consulting.com.
Research that examined the campus climate experiences of racial minority faculty found that these faculty members commonly experienced high levels of work-related stress, moderate-to-low job satisfaction, feelings of isolation, and negative bias in the promotion and tenure process (Dade, Tartakov, Hargrave, & Leigh, 2015; Eagan & Garvey, 2015, Patton & Catching, 2009; Urrieta, Méndez, & Rodríguez, 2015; Whittaker, Montgomery, & Martinez Acosta, 2015). Racial minority faculty at two-year institutions reported similar climate experiences, as well as negative perceptions of self, decreased work productivity, and decreased contributions to the institution as a result of a hostile campus climate (Levin, Haberler, Walker, & Jackson-Boothby, 2014; Levin, Jackson-Boothby, Haberler, & Walker, 2015). Dade et al. (2015) contended that structural inequalities, lack of cultural awareness throughout academic institutions, and institutional racism also presented significant barriers to the emotional well-being and professional success of Black and/or African American faculty, particularly Black and/or African American women faculty.
Intersectional research regarding the experiences of racial/ethnic minority women faculty notes that racial/ethnic minority women faculty frequently failed to receive professional mentorship and leadership development opportunities in a manner consistent with the opportunities of their White colleagues (Blackwell, Snyder, & Mavriplis, 2009; Grant & Ghee, 2015). Describing the outcomes of these experiences, Kelly and McCann (2014) found that pre-tenure departure commonly was attributed to “gendered and racialized tokenization and isolation, a need for more intrusive style of mentoring, and poor institutional fit” among racial/ethnic minority women faculty (p. 681). Focusing on gendered and racialized service expectations, Hirshfield and Joseph (2012) found that racial minority women faculty also experienced significant “identity taxation” within the academy (p. 214). Their findings suggested that racial minority women faculty faced formal and informal expectations to provide mentorship and emotional labor in support of racial and gender minority students.
Campus climate research specific to the experiences of women faculty indicated that women faculty members often experienced gender discrimination, professional isolation, lack of work-life balance, and disproportionate service expectations within campus environments (Grant & Ghee, 2015). These experiences prompted higher rates of institutional departure by women faculty compared to their men colleagues (Gardner, 2013). Maranto and Griffin (2011) also identified women faculty’s perceived lack of inclusion and support as primary contributors to their perceptions of “chilly” departmental experiences. According to Maranto and Griffin (2011), “Our relationships with our colleagues create the environment within which our professional lives occur, and impact our identity and our worth” (p. 152).
Additionally, recent research has highlighted the disparities in the quantity and types of service activities women faculty were asked to perform including institutional service and advising, particularly within male-dominated fields (O’Meara, Kuvaeva, Nyunt, Waugaman, and Jackson, 2017). Guarino & Borden (2017) found, when controlling for faculty rank, race/ethnicity, and field of study, women faculty performed significantly more service, particularly internal service, or service on behalf of the department or institution, than did men faculty. Hanasono et al. (2019) suggested that such internal service, or what the authors called “relational service,” not only was performed more often by women faculty, but that relational service also was less valued in evaluation processes, subsequently affecting women faculty tenure, promotion, and retention.
Campus climate researchers also have investigated the hostile and exclusionary institutional climates queer-spectrum and trans-spectrum faculty and staff continued to experience (Bilimoria & Stewart, 2009; Garvey et al., 2018; Seelman, Woodford, & Nicolazzo, 2017) within institutional environments.2 According to Bilimoria and Stewart (2009), failure to hide one’s queer or trans identity may result in alienation from professional spaces and unwanted scrutiny from fellow faculty members. As a result, queer-spectrum faculty and staff reported feeling compelled to maintain secrecy regarding their marginalized identities. For queer-spectrum faculty, hostile campus climates also can result in poor job satisfaction. Dozier (2015) specifically identified prejudicial comments, invalidation of LGBT-related research and cultures, and social exclusion at the department-level as generating a hostile climate and low job satisfaction for “out” gay and lesbian faculty. Blumenfeld, Weber, and Rankin (2016) and Rankin et al. (2010) identified campus climate, specifically feelings of hostility and isolation, as significant factors in queer-spectrum and trans-spectrum faculty members’ desire to leave an institution. Identifying the influence of institutional geography, Garvey and Rankin (2016) found 2 Rankin & Associates, LLC utilizes the term “queer-spectrum” in our materials to identify non-heterosexual sexual identities. Identities may include: lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, asexual, pansexual, and/or polysexual as well as other sexual identities. Rankin & Associates, LLC utilizes the term “trans-spectrum” in our materials as an umbrella term to describe the gender identity of individuals who do not identify as cis-gender. Identities may include: transgender, gender nonbinary, gender-queer, and/or agender, in addition to other non-cis-gender identities. that queer-spectrum and trans-spectrum faculty also were more likely to seriously consider leaving an institution if the institution was located in a town and/or rural environment.
Staff & Campus Climate. Scant research exists about how staff members experienced campus climate and how that climate influenced staff members’ professional success and overall well-being. From the limited research available, findings suggested that higher education professional and classified/hourly staff members perceived a lack of professional support and advancement opportunities. Staff commonly attributed their perceived lack of support and advancement opportunities to their personal characteristics, including age, race, gender, and education level (Costello, 2012; Jones & Taylor, 2012). Garcia (2016), Jones and Taylor (2012), and Mayhew, Grunwald, and Dey (2006) found that staff members’ perceptions of campus climate were constructed through daily interactions with colleagues and supervisors, institutional norms and practices, and staff members’ immediate work environments.
For example, in an investigation of the campus climate experiences of student affairs professionals working at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), Garcia (2016) found that compositional diversity of a department and the microclimate of individuals’ office/departments directly affected staff members’ perceptions of campus climate. Garcia’s findings echoed the work of Mayhew et al. (2006), who found that how staff members experienced their immediate office/department influenced how staff members perceived the broader campus climate. According to Mayhew et al. (2006), “Staff members who perceived their local unit to be non-sexist, non-racist, and non-homophobic were consistently more likely to perceive that their community had achieved a positive climate for diversity” at an institutional level (p. 83).
In a rare investigation of the various forms of labor staff and administrators of color performed independent of their assign job duties, Luedke (2017) explored the mentor-mentee relationships in which staff and administrators of color frequently engaged in support of first-generation Black, Latinx, and biracial students. Luedke (2017), in an application of social reproduction theory, offered an analysis of the various forms of social and emotional support staff members provided students, as well as the social capital staff and administrators mentors of color cultivated on behalf of students. Key to the relationships between staff members of color and students of color, Luedke (2017) noted, was staff members’ acknowledgement of students’ backgrounds and nourishment of the skills and experiences students possessed when they enrolled in institutions.
Undergraduate Students & Campus Climate. Most literature about campus climate and undergraduate students examines campus climate in the context of students’ racial identity, sexual identity, and/or gender identity. Research findings demonstrated that campus climate influenced students’ social and academic development and engagement, academic success, sense of belonging, and well-being. Scholars also have repeatedly found that when racial minority students perceived their campus environment as hostile, outcomes such as persistence and academic performance were negatively affected (Booker, 2016; Eunyoung & Hargrove, 2013; Strayhorn, 2013; Walpole et al., 2014). Research regarding the campus climate experiences of populations such as low-income students, students with disabilities, first-generation students, students who were veterans, international students, American Indian/indigenous people, undocumented students, and student-athletes, has become increasingly available over the past decade.3 A summary of the most robust areas of campus climate research specific to student experiences, including the role of microaggressions in constructing hostile and exclusionary campus climates for minority undergraduate students, is offered in the following paragraphs.4
3 For additional research regarding student-specific campus climate experiences, please visit www.rankin-consulting.com.
4 This review is intended to map the broad scope of campus climate research; it is not intended to present comprehensive findings of all research in this area.
Hostile or exclusionary campus climates negatively affect racial minority students in a number of ways. For example, scholars have found that when racial minority students viewed their campus environment as hostile, negative outcomes in persistence and academic performance resulted (Booker, 2016; Eunyoung & Hargrove, 2013; Strayhorn, 2013). Additionally, Walpole et al. (2014) evaluated the ways that race-based microaggressions contributed to hostile and exclusionary campus climates for racial minority students, often resulting in reduced academic success and decreases in retention and persistence. In related work, Mills (2019) examined Black undergraduate students experiences with environmental microaggressions, in contrast to interpersonal microaggressions, at a predominately White institution (PWI). Referencing the work of Sue et al. (2007), Mills (2019) distinguished environmental microaggressions as occurring at systemic levels while having “no apparent offender” (p. 1). Mills (2019) identified six racial microaggressions themes experienced by Black undergraduate student subjects. Themes included: segregation (particularly within student housing), lack of representation across institutional populations, campus response to criminality or an assumption of criminality, cultural bias in courses, tokenism, and pressures to conform to standards of whiteness. In a separate investigation, Yosso, Smith, Ceja, and Solórzano (2009) examined the effects of various forms of racial microaggressions (including interpersonal microaggressions, racial jokes, and institutional microaggressions) on Latinx students.5 Scholars including Reynolds, Sneva, and Beehler (2010) have also noted the negative impact hostile racial climates have on Black and Latinx students’ intrinsic and extrinsic academic motivations, which subsequently diminished students’ academic success.
5 Rankin & Associates, LLC utilize the gender-inclusive term “Latinx” in our materials to identify individuals and communities of Latin decent. That terminology has been adopted in this review document, even when reporting campus climate research that used terms including “Latino,” “Latina,” and/or “Latino/a.”
Research regarding the experiences of racially diverse women students, particularly within science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, has explored how students’ academic success and well-being were affected by their perceived sense of belonging. Booker (2016) described the challenges that Black/African American undergraduate women face in the classroom, including microaggressions from faculty, microaggressions from peers, and expectations that students represent their race(s) when speaking about specific course topics. As a result of such experiences, Black/African American undergraduate women experienced a decreased sense of belonging in the classroom and a perception that faculty members were non-approachable. Similarly, in their study of racially diverse women in STEM, Johnson (2012) found that perceptions of campus racial climate and students’ experiences within different college environments, including residence halls, classrooms, and dining facilities, were significant predictors of students’ sense of belonging.
In their investigation of students with disabilities attending four-year institutions, Fleming, Oertle, Hakun, and Hakun (2017) found that the way students with disabilities perceived campus climate directly affected students’ sense of belonging and satisfaction at their institution. Vaccaro et al. (2015) also noted the importance of sense of belonging among students with disabilities, particularly first-year students with disabilities as they adjusted to a postsecondary educational environment. Relatedly, Kutscher & Tuckwiller (2019) provided an investigation of the unique challenges students with disabilities experienced in higher education environments namely as they related to personal characteristics, academic and social engagement, and accommodations and subsequently how these factors influenced persistence among students with disabilities. In an evaluation of the barriers students with disabilities experienced, Hong (2015) identified faculty perceptions, engagement with advisors, college stressors, and quality of support programs and services to be the most salient frustrations students with disabilities encountered.
Examining the role of social class in relation to students’ first year experience, Ostrove and Long (2007) found that students’ individual sense of belonging actively mediated the relationship between low-income students’ class background and their adjustment to postsecondary education.6 Similarly, Soria and Stebleton (2013) found that working-class students experienced feeling less welcome, or a lesser sense of belonging, compared to their middle- and upper-class peers. In an investigation specific to private, normatively affluent institutions, Allen and Alleman (2019) found that students who experienced food insecurity frequently self-excluded from food-oriented social events. In addition, students frequently missed academic and community engagement opportunities owing to students’ need to work.
6 For additional research regarding various minority populations’ experienced sense of belonging, please visit www.rankin-consulting.com.
Campus climate research specific to the experiences of queer-spectrum and trans-spectrum faculty, staff, and students indicates that queer-spectrum and trans-spectrum individuals experienced hostility, discrimination, and lack of sense of belonging within various institutional environments (Rankin et al., 2010; Seelman et al., 2017). Vaccaro and Newman (2017) examined how lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, and queer (LGBPQ) students developed their sense of belonging during their first year at an institution. The authors found that students’ sense of belonging was influenced by individuals’ degree of outness, university messaging specific to LGBPQ individuals, and meaningful social interactions with peers. Garvey, Taylor, and Rankin (2015) specifically identified the classroom climate as a key indicator of how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community college students perceived campus climate. Trans-identified students reported more negative perceptions of classroom climate, campus climate, and curriculum inclusivity than did their heterosexual and queer-spectrum peers (Dugan et al., 2012; Garvey et al., 2015; Nicolazzo, 2016).
Graduate Students & Campus Climate. The majority of research regarding students’ campus climate experiences focuses on the experiences of undergraduate students. The available campus climate research specific to graduate students suggests that, particularly, women graduate students, graduate students of color, international graduate students, and trans-spectrum graduate students experienced an exclusionary campus climate.
Regarding the experiences of international graduate students, Yakaboski, Perez-Velez, and Almutairi (2018) investigated Saudi graduate students’ interactions with faculty, staff, and U.S. students. Though the study’s subjects portrayed positive interactions with faculty and staff, students described negative and discriminatory interactions with U.S. students, specifically noting a “lack of cultural and religious understanding or acceptance and pervasive gender stereotypes for Muslim women who veil” (p. 222). These findings demonstrated the varied campus climate experiences of Saudi graduate students, and perhaps more broadly, international graduate students.
Scholars recently have been conducting more research regarding the campus climate experiences of racial minority women graduate students. For example, through a Black Feminist Thought (BFT) framework, Shavers and Moore (2014) examined how Black women doctoral candidates experienced campus climate through social and academic engagements. The researchers found that Black women graduate students engaged in “survival oriented” or “suboptimal resistance strategies” to persevere through feelings of isolation, lack of community, and lack of support within their individual programs and the broader campus climate (p. 404). Identifying the effects of hostile campus climates for racial minority women graduate students in STEM fields, Ong, Wright, Espinosa, and Orfield (2011) wrote, “The existing empirical work on graduate experiences overwhelmingly identifies the STEM social and cultural climate—that is, the interpersonal relationships with other members of the local STEM communities and the cultural beliefs and practices within STEM that govern those relationships—as the leading challenge to the persistence of women of color in STEM career trajectories” (p. 192).
Campus Climate: Institution Type
In their examination of trans-spectrum (including trans and gender non-conforming) graduate students, Goldberg, Kuvalanka, and Dickey (2019) found that trans-spectrum graduate students commonly demonstrated a gender presentation inconsistent with their self-perceptions based on their concern for their own physical and emotional safety. Trans-spectrum graduate student survey respondents in Goldberg et al.’s (2019) study identified acts of gender identity invalidation and misgendering by peers, faculty, and advisors as a source of emotional stress. Regarding trans-spectrum graduate students’ advisor interactions, Goldberg et al. (2019) identified respondents’ interactions with their faculty advisor as a specifically “salient context for experiencing affirmations versus invalidation of one’s gender identity” (p. 38). Campus climate research has demonstrated that positive engagement with peers and faculty is a critical factor in the success and well-being of trans-spectrum graduate students.
Though the majority of campus climate research available pertains to four-year and predominately White institutions (PWIs), there is increasing research available regarding campus climate at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI), two-year and/or community college institutions, and religiously/spiritually affiliated institutions.7 Today’s broadening scope of campus climate research also includes research specific to professional schools, including schools of medicine and law.8 A summary of the most robust areas of campus climate research specific to student experiences is offered in the following paragraphs.
7 For research regarding Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Tribal Colleges, or private institutions, please visit www.rankin-consulting.com.
8 Rankin & Associates, LLC acknowledges that the institutional categories provided are not mutually exclusive. For example, research described regarding Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) may also include findings related to two-year or community college institutions.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Within recent years, researchers have begun to investigate campus climate specific to HBCUs. The majority of HBCU-specific campus
climate research examined the experiences of minority and underrepresented populations in HBCU environments including: Black international students (Mwangi, 2016), Asian American and Latinx students (Palmer & Maramba, 2015a; Palmer, Maramba, 2015b; Palmer, Maramba, 2015c), first-generation students (Longmire-Avital & Miller-Dyce, 2015), and African American gay and bisexual men (Patton, 2011) and/or queer-spectrum and trans-spectrum students (Lewis & Ericksen, 2016).
HBCU-specific research has provided insight into the role of faculty engagement in constructing minority students’ perceptions of HBCU’s campus climates, often in contrast to PWIs. For example, McCoy, Luedke, & Winkle-Wagner (2017) examined the role of faculty interactions in constructing racial minority students’ perceptions of STEM disciplines. Drawing from Bourdieu’s social reproduction theory, McCoy et al. (2017) contrasted the faculty mentoring experiences of racial minority students majoring in a STEM discipline at a predominantly White institution and racial minority students majoring in a STEM discipline at an historically Black institution. McCoy et al. (2017) found that students perceived faculty at the PWI institution to be unwilling to mentor students and, instead, as commonly working to “weed out” students. In contrast, respondents at the historically Black college characterized faculty as providing positive mentoring and constructive professional development opportunities. Extending their prior research, Winkle-Wagner and McCoy (2018) found that students from the PWI described a challenging environment based on experiences of exclusion and isolation. In comparison, HBCU students characterized the composition of their STEM program as diverse, and described their program and institution as supportive of individuals’ needs. In research specific to the experiences of Asian American and Latinx HBCU students, Palmer and Maramba (2015) found that faculty interactions were important to students’ campus climate experiences. Palmer and Maramba’s (2015b) study participants characterized HBCU faculty as supportive and as demonstrating care and concern for students’ well-being.
Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI). In 2017, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) reported that HSIs, defined as institutions whose total Hispanic enrollment constitutes a minimum of 25% of the total enrollment, enrolled 66% of all Hispanic undergraduates in the United States (2019 Fact Sheet: Hispanic Higher Education and HSIs, 2019). Despite the limited research regarding campus climate experiences at HSIs, the research available demonstrated the positive effects of attending an HSI for Latinx students. Research suggests that Latinx students’ HSI enrollment encouraged racial-ethnic identity development and contributed to greater senses of belonging and positive self-perceptions about individuals’ own academic capabilities (Arbelo-Marrero & Milacci, 2016; Chun, Marin, Schwartz, Pham, Castro-Olivo, 2016).
Additionally, recent research by Sanchez (2019) examined Latinx students’ experiences of racial microaggressions and subsequent sense of belonging at HSIs and Emerging Hispanic Serving Institutions (EHSIs).9 Sanchez (2019) found that although students at both HSIs and EHSIs experienced racist stereotypes and assumptions – including anti-Mexican or anti-immigrant stereotypes, stereotypes about students’ intelligence or college readiness, and assumptions that students were granted admittance or scholarship funding bases exclusively on their racial or ethnic identity – students enrolled at HSIs experienced racial microaggressions less frequently than did their peers attending an EHSI. Regarding students’ reported sense of belonging, Sanchez (2019) offered that students’ who depicted themselves as having a positive sense of belonging attributed their experiences to “being able to speak Spanish on campus without judgment, noticing that their campus culture embraced Latino culture, and having friendly and supportive professors and staff” (p. 249). Participants who reported a lesser sense of belonging felt that “campus culture was geared toward White students” and that “Latino cultural events or organizations on campus” were often “invisible” (p. 250).
9 Sanchez (2019) defines Emerging Hispanic Serving Institutions as “institution[s] with 15% to 24.9% Latino full-time undergraduate enrollment” (p. 241).
Two-Year Institutions and Community Colleges. The expanding scope of campus climate research also includes research about two-year and/or community college institutions. Most commonly, researchers have examined campus climate in the context of two-year institutions as it relates to certain minority populations. For example, research currently exists about the campus climate experiences of LGBTQ students (Garvey et al., 2015), racial/ethnic minority faculty (Levin et al., 2014; Levin et al., 2015), Black/African American women (Walpole et al., 2014), Black/African American men (Newman, Wood, & Harris, 2015; Wood & Harris, 2015), Latinx men (García & Garza, 2016), and faculty of color (Levin, Haberler et al., 2014a; Levin et al., 2015) in two-year community colleges.
Consistent with findings specific to four-year institutions, campus climate research concerning two-year institutions has found students’ interactions and engagement with institutional agents, including faculty and staff, were highly influential both on perceived student academic success and students’ sense of belonging. In their examination of the factors that influenced sense of belong for Latinx men students and international students, García and Garza (2016) and García, Garza, and Yeaton-Hromada (2019), respectively, found that socio-academic integration, or academic interactions with faculty and administrative personnel, were the most salient for developing individuals’ sense of belonging and, subsequently, academic success and retention. Lundberg, Kim, Andrade, and Bahner (2018) similarly found that frequent and high-quality interactions with faculty were significant to Latinx students’ learning and engagement. Regarding the experiences of Black men’s sense of belonging and academic engagement with faculty, Newman, Wood, and Harris (2015) found that Black men’s perceptions of belonging were influenced by faculty members’ racial and gender stereotypes, faculty engagement with students, and acts of validation by faculty.
Jones (2013) examined the influence of the racial composition of two-year institutions’ student body on the institutions’ campus climate toward three unique diversity and inclusion outcomes: student engagement with racially and culturally different peers, students’ engagement with
peers who possess beliefs different from their own, and students’ understanding of racial difference. Jones (2013) found that community college student body racial diversity positively correlated with students’ frequent engagement with racially different peers and peers who held different personal beliefs and values from their own.
Religiously Affiliated Institutions. Recent campus climate research also examined campus climate at religiously affiliated institutions. For example, in an exploration of campus climate and student spirituality at religiously affiliated or faith-based institutions, Paredes-Collins (2014) found that the campus climate for diversity was a predictor of students’ spirituality, independent of student racial and/or ethnic identity. Regarding the experiences of students of color, Paredes-Collins (2014) found that sense of belonging was the single direct predictor of spirituality for students of color. The importance of student sense of belonging also was evident in findings of Ash and Schreiner (2016), who investigated the institutional factors which influenced intent to persist among students of color enrolled in Christian colleges and universities. Ash and Schreiner (2016) found that students’ perceptions of institutional fit, the institutions’ commitment to student welfare, and students’ perceptions of their ability to intellectually, socially, and psychologically thrive were direct contributors (or detractors) to students’ success.
Negrón-Gonzales (2015), in an investigation of the experiences of undocumented students at Jesuit universities, found that institutional actions (or inactions) with regard to social justice directly affected students’ perceptions of campus climate. In addition, Negrón-Gonzales (2015) found that the concept of social justice was a draw and an anchor for undocumented student enrollment at Jesuit institutions and that institutional silence related to immigrant rights yielded a silence among undocumented students. In a review of research regarding faith, gender and sexual identities, and Christian higher education, Rockenbach and Crandall (2016) acknowledged the complex relationship between each identity and encouraged institutional leaders to “address the most basic needs of LGBTQ individuals, namely, their safety, freedom from discrimination and harassment, and access to resources in support of their psychological and spiritual well-being.” They added, “At a minimum, leaders should establish campus policies and community standards that protect individuals from bullying and mistreatment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity” (p. 69).
Professional Schools. In a study of campus climate at law schools, Rocconi, Taylor, Haeger, Zilvinskis, and Christensen (2018) emphasized the need for structural diversity and diversity of interactions in building positive campus climate law school environments. In arguing for diversity of interactions for law school students, Rocconi et al. (2018) referenced the work of Daye et al. (2012), which concluded that “students attending law schools with racially diverse populations and high intergroup contact were more likely to perceive environments of openness and mutual respect” (p. 29). In addition to structural or compositional diversity, Rocconi et al. (2018) found that law students’ perceptions of the law school environment as friendly and supportive, positive interactions with faculty, and positive relationships with peers contributed to a greater frequency of diverse interactions. The researchers also described collaborative faculty interactions and curriculums that encouraged peer engagement as essential to realizing the full benefits of structural diversity. They further determined that engagement in pro bono work and participation in a student organization also contributed to an increased frequency of diverse interactions. Rocconi et al. (2018) explained, “intentionally engaging students with others from different backgrounds through curricular and co-curricular activities can help build a supportive and nurturing environment and foster the type of interactions that harness the educational benefits of diversity” (p. 34).
Focusing on law school faculty experiences, Barnes and Mertz (2018) investigated the factors contributing to job dissatisfaction for post-tenure racial minority law professors and post-tenure women law professors. Barnes and Mertz (2018) specifically identified institutional structures and implicit biases related to “issues of respect, voice, and collegiality” (p. 441) as significant factors that contributed to job dissatisfaction among post-tenure racial minority law professors. From their qualitative analyses, Barnes and Mertz (2018) noted subjects’ descriptions of “subtle and continuing ways in which [they] felt disrespected in their work settings” (p. 455), including their concerns being dismissed and being penalized or unjustly disciplined for raising concerns related to equity or exclusionary/hostile policies and/or behaviors. The researchers noted that subjects described the need for peer or support networks, often independent of the institution, for navigating the challenges associated with being a racial and/or gender minority law school professor.
With regard to medical school campus climate research, Kaplan et al. (2018) examined challenges in the recruitment, retention, and promotion of underrepresented faculty within academic medicine. Though minority faculty described their academic climate as neutral to positive, Kaplan et al. (2018) identified three consistent themes regarding the challenges minority faculty experienced related to recruitment, retention, and promotion. The first theme or challenge Kaplan et al. (2018) identified was a lack of critical mass or a lack of a “sufficient number of (underrepresented) faculty at an individual institution to create community and impact change” (p. 59). Kaplan et al.’s (2018) subjects also identified the dearth of programming or initiatives specific to the retention and promotion of minority faculty. Finally, they described the need for “a diversity champion or a group of individuals vested in diversity” at senior leadership levels to effectively address recruitment, retention, and promotion concerns (p. 59).
Campus Climate and Unwanted Sexual Conduct
In recent years, sexual harassment, stalking, intimate partner violence, and sexual assault at higher education institutions have become the subjects of national attention. In January 2014, in response to calls for state and federal action, President Barack Obama established the White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault. The Task Force released its first report, Not Alone, in April 2014, which emphasized the need for nationwide action to raise awareness about the prevalence of on-campus sexual assault, to prevent sexual assault, and to effectively respond to and meet the needs of victims of sexual assault. The Task Force asserted that “we are here to tell sexual assault survivors they are not alone” and “to help schools live up to their obligation to protect students from sexual violence” (Not Alone, 2014, p. 2).
The Task Force also recommended actions that should be taken by college and university communities, specifically campus administrations, regarding on-campus sexual assault. The Task Force encouraged campus leaders to conduct campus climate surveys to identify the prevalence of and attitude toward sexual assault on their individual college campuses (Not Alone, 2014). According to the report, “The first step in solving a problem is to name it and know the extent of it – and a campus climate survey is the best way to do that” (Not Alone, 2014, p. 2). Today, the United States Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Violence Against Women continues to support the use of campus climate surveys in their effort to reduce sexual assault, dating and intimate partner violence, and sexual harassment on college and university campuses. According to the federal office, “Campus climate surveys are essential because they generate data on the nature and extent of sexual assault on campuses, as well as campus attitudes surrounding sexual assault. Armed with accurate data, administrators and students can then begin to direct resources where they are most needed” (The United States Department of Justice: Office of Violence Against Women, 2018).
Inherent in examinations of sexual assault and campus climate are questions about how various members of the community experienced sexual assault and the prevalence and patterns of assault. Recent research has identified various campus populations’ unique and disproportionate experiences with unwanted sexual conduct and/or contact on college and university campuses. These populations included: women (Krebs, Lindquist, Warner, Fisher, & Martin, 2009), graduate students (Rosenthal, Smidt, & Freyd, 2016), lesbian and bisexual women (Martin, Fisher, Warner, Krebs, & Lindquist, 2011), students with disabilities (Brown et al., 2017), and trans-spectrum students (Griner et al., 2017). For example, in a national study conducted by the Association of American Institutions, as cited in the National Council on Disability’s 2018 report, Not on the Radar: Sexual Assault of College Students with Disabilities, researchers found that 32% of undergraduate female students with a disability experienced unwanted sexual contact, including the use of physical force or incapacitation. By comparison, the same report found that 18% of undergraduate female students without a disability experienced sexual assault. Also noting disparities in rates of sexual harassment and/or assault, Coulter et al. (2017) explained, “For sexual identity, sexual assault was highest among bisexuals and people unsure of their sexual identity (15.7% and 12.6%, respectively), followed by gays/lesbians (9.8%), and lowest among heterosexuals (6.4%)” (p. 729). Coulter et al. (2017) also reported that Black trans-spectrum students had a 58% probability of being sexually assaulted, an alarming finding that underscores the importance of intersectional campus climate research. With regard to graduate students’ experiences, McMahon, O’Conner, and Seabrook (2018) found that graduate students, in contrast to undergraduate student respondents, reported less awareness of campus resources and lower confidence in the outcomes of reporting an incident of unwanted sexual contact and conduct.
While some research is now available, the complex intersections of campus climate, unwanted sexual conduct, and various social identities such as gender identity, sexual identity, disability status, and racial identity justify the need for further research and careful attention from researchers, college practitioners, and administrators (Coulter & Rankin, 2017; Harris & Linder, 2017; Lundy-Wagner & Winkle-Wagner, 2013; Wood, Sulley, Kammer-Kerwick, Follingstad, & Busch-Armendariz, 2017).
Role of Campus Senior Leadership
Improving campus climate to build diverse, inclusive, and equitable educational environments and opportunities for all is not a simple task. In their seminal research, Hurtado et al. (1999) stated, “Campuses are complex social systems defined by the relationships maintained between people, bureaucratic procedures, structural arrangements, institutional goals and values, traditions, and the larger sociohistorical environments where they are located.
Therefore, any effort to redesign campuses with the goal of improving the climate for racial and cultural diversity must adopt a comprehensive approach” (p. 69). Smith (2015) also asserted that building a deep capacity for diversity requires a commitment by all members of the academic community, but perhaps most importantly, a sincere commitment by campus leadership. Smith (2009) explains, “The role of leadership cannot be underestimated in creating change for diversity.” Additionally, “Leadership can make a dramatic difference to whether and how diversity is built into the institution’s understanding of itself or whether it is merely a series of programs or initiatives that run parallel to the core elements of the campus” (p. 264).
To foster a diverse, inclusive, and equitable campus, whether senior leadership actively supports those goals is just as important as how senior leaders engage these topics and concerns. Furthermore, how campus leaders approached topics of diversity influenced students’ perceptions of diversity and willingness to engage diverse perspectives. For instance, Harper & Yeung (2013) found that student perceptions of institutional commitment to diversity positively correlated with students’ willingness to engage diverse perspectives. Similarly, in relation to the perceptions of racial minority faculty, Squire (2017) found that how campus leadership responds to nationally known incidents of racial inequities or discrimination affected faculty members’ perceptions of the institution’s commitment to diversity, as well as faculty members’ overall faculty experience. According to Squire (2017), “Faculty of color noted that the ways that their institutions responded to racial incidences had direct effects on the way that they understood their institution’s values concerning diversity, equity, and justice” (p. 740). Squire also found that faculty of color held a perception that universities, in their pursuit of serving a public good, “should respond to community incidences in ways that are appropriate to the scope of the matter” (p. 739). For institutions that have created or are in the process of creating a Chief Diversity Officer position, how the position is structured, as well as what resources and authority the position retains “sends a powerful message about the role’s importance on campus and illustrates the values of an institution” (Williams & Wade-Golden, 2013, p. 151-152). Ultimately, how senior leadership defined and demonstrated their commitment to diversity, equity, and social justice was critical to how faculty, staff, and students experienced campus climate.
In their discussion of the complex role of today’s college and university presidents, Green and Shalala (2017) remind administrators that it is the responsibility of senior leadership to enhance students’ “inclusion in and belonging to the broader campus community” (p. 15). In their foundational work regarding effective diversity-oriented leadership, Astin and Astin (2000) asserted that leaders must engage in transformational leadership practices, where senior leaders serve as community-oriented change agents. The researchers emphasized that effective leadership requires modeling of specific leadership behaviors. These behaviors and skills included a commitment to collaboration and shared purpose, demonstrations of authenticity and self-awareness, and the ability to respectfully and civilly disagree with others. Astin and Astin (2000) also highlighted the essential skills of empathy and listening for effective transformative leadership. Noting the value of behavior modeling, they wrote, “[I]f the president is able to model the principles of transformative leadership in her dealings with her cabinet and if she openly advocates that cabinet members do the same with their immediate colleagues, she could well create a ripple effect that can transform the culture of an entire institution” (Astin and Astin, 2000, p. 86). Williams and Wade-Golden (2013) concurred that transformational leadership practices were critical in today’s higher education. According to Williams and Wade-Golden (2013), “Diversity issues cannot exist on the margins. To the contrary, issues of access, retention, curricular diversity, and engaged scholarship represent a new ‘academic diversity cannon’ that has become fundamental to fulfilling the mission of academia in the new millennium” (p. 171). Fortunately, campus climate research and assessment can provide today’s senior leaders with both the information and skills necessary to build equitable and just environments for all members of their campus communities.
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