Thank you for hosting a conversation session. The thoughts of students, faculty and staff about the findings of the SU Climate Assessment Survey will be instrumental in helping the Climate Assessment Planning Committee prepare its recommendations to the University community.
Arranging a Small-Group Climate Conversation
- Determine who you want to invite and create a list.
- Pick a proposed date/day/time/location (and book the location, if necessary).
- Contact Denise Dowdall (ddowdall@syr.edu; 315.443.9116) to arrange for an optional facilitator (or more than one facilitator for a larger group).
- Plan for simple food/beverages (optional, but typically appreciated) and arrange for a flip chart or white board for note taking.
- Prepare and send a message of invitation (Sample Invitation [DOCX, 13KB]). Later, you may consider sending a reminder message (Sample Reminder Message [DOCX, 12KB]).
- Day of: refer to the “Running the Discussion” section below.
Day-of Last-Minute Checks
Double check the room setup: tables and chairs (one or more round tables work best), the flip chart or white board, and the food/beverages.
Running the Discussion
Offer a brief welcome (you do not have to get into a lot of detail) and introduce the facilitator. He/she will take it from there.
At the conclusion, thank the facilitator and the participants. Gather up any notes for reporting.
If you decide not to use a provided facilitator and prefer to manage the conversation yourself, it’s recommended that you base the discussion on these two questions: 1) What one or two actions do you recommend that would improve the learning, living, and working environment at Syracuse University for you personally? 2) What one or two actions do you recommend that would improve the learning, living, and working environment at Syracuse University overall?
You might also consider an open-ended question (this type of question often prompts the best answers): Is there anything more you would like to say related to the climate survey results?
Follow Up
The facilitator will make notes on a flip chart or white board. It’s helpful to also have someone as a designated note taker to catch major points of the discussion.
Once your Small-Group Climate Conversation has concluded, please send notes from the discussion to Denise Dowdall (ddowdall@syr.edu) or enter them in the online comments form.
You may also want to send a short thank-you note to the attendees.