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Survey: Hundreds of Northern Iowa faculty, staff ‘seriously considered’ leaving
Survey looked at sexual assault, harassment, compensation, comfort
Apr. 20, 2023 2:27 pm, Updated: Apr. 20, 2023 5:20 pm
Nearly two-thirds of the 299 University of Northern Iowa faculty members who responded to a campus climate survey in the fall said they had “seriously considered leaving UNI” — citing an array of reasons including low pay, growing workload, and unwelcoming “climate in the State of Iowa.”
Of the 613 UNI staff members who responded, 53 percent said they too had considered leaving, according to the fall 2022 survey that netted 3,329 total respondents, amounting to 31 percent of the campus’ faculty, staff, and student population.
About half of UNI’s 602 total faculty; 54 percent of its 1,135 staff; 28 percent of the campus’ 7,739 undergraduates; and 19 percent of its 1,210 graduate students completed the survey — which looked at a broad swath of issues, including sexual assault on campus; harassment and discrimination; compensation; political tension; workload; and general degree of acceptance.
Beyond the number of those who had “ever” considered leaving UNI, 44 percent of faculty and 26 percent of staff said they were — at the time they took the survey — seriously thinking about leaving, percentages that amounted to a total 291 people.
“One theme that emerged from respondents concerning why they considered leaving UNI involved being overworked and burnt out,” according to the survey, reporting 657 respondents provided comments on why they thought about leaving.
One person said, “The workload has gotten overwhelming. We are short staffed, and job duties just keep getting added without a pay increase.”
Findings from the nearly 500-page report were presented during two UNI town hall meetings this week, and officials said its findings generally were consistent with higher education institutions nationally.
“This study is particularly important as university leadership seeks to better understand the perceptions of the many interactions with our university and campus community following the major disruption that was COVID-19,” according to a UNI news release.
Intimidating, offensive, hostile
About 14 percent — or 462 survey respondents — said in the last year they had experienced exclusionary, intimidating, offensive, or hostile conduct that had interfered with their ability to live, learn, and work at UNI.
About 18 percent — or 601 people — said they’d observed others experiencing exclusionary, intimidating, and bullying behavior.
“I have witnessed students and professors at UNI dismiss certain people because of their conservative beliefs.”
Another respondent wrote, “Conservative ideas are silenced at UNI. From getting bad grades to hostile comments in group discussions, it’s best to keep your mouth shut if you aren’t a liberal.”
Among undergraduate respondents, 12 percent — or 252 students — said they personally experienced the harmful conduct and named among top reasons: mental health or psychological disability; gender and gender identity; sexual identity; and political views.
In analyzing comments from UNI respondents who elaborated on their experiences, the survey identified several themes — including gender discrimination, racism, religion-related harassment, political bias, and issues with roommates, colleagues, and supervisors.
- One undergraduate student said a staff member at a dining hall was “very verbal about sexual intentions toward myself and other women working there.”
- Another student said a faculty member yelled “after I told her that I was experiencing mental health issues.”
- A staff member said, “I have learned that it doesn’t benefit me to report harassment, a hostile working environment, and/or retaliation to HR or OCEM because they don’t do anything.”
- A student said a “group of presumably drunk people yelled a homophobic slur from their car at me and my friend when we were walking.”
- One trans student said a professor misgenders all the time and asked in a group setting, “Is that your real name?”
- An employee said, “I have had co-workers joke about people’s gender identity and question immigration status simply because they are from Mexico.”
Looking at off-campus experiences, 1,008 respondents shared feedback, including one Black student who wrote: “On two separate occasions, someone has driven near me yelling some sort of obscenity. The first incident, an individual drove up to me while I was walking, stuck their arm out of the window, and yelled, ‘white power.’”
Unwanted sexual conduct
Seven percent, or 223 respondents, said they experienced unwanted sexual conduct while at UNI — including relationship violence, stalking, sexual harassment, and violence like rape. Four percent, or 131 people, said they experienced “unwanted sexual interaction” — like catcalls and harassment — and 3 percent, or 95, said they experienced “unwanted sexual contact” — like rape, fondling, sodomy, and use of drugs to incapacitate.
Of all the respondents who said they experienced unwanted sexual contact, most — 87 percent — said they didn’t report the assault. Of the 13 percent who did, 58 percent said they were satisfied with the outcome.
When asked why they didn’t report, some respondents said they either didn’t initially recognize it as sexual assault, were afraid or embarrassed, or chose not to because the other person wasn’t affiliated with UNI.
‘Dead name’
Far more women responded to the survey than men, and a majority of respondents were straight and white. About 59 percent of all respondents identified as Christian; 32 percent identified as Democrat, while 19 percent identified as Republican.
Among just faculty, 54 percent identified as Democrat and 7 percent identified as Republican. When asked about their political views, 40 percent of all respondents characterized themselves as moderate. Half of faculty called themselves either liberal or very liberal, compared with 13 percent who described themselves as conservative or very conservative.
When asked about UNI’s overall campus climate, 79 percent of all respondents said they were either comfortable or very comfortable on campus. But more people with at least one disability — including depression, anxiety, and ADHD — reported being uncomfortable on campus than those without a disability.
To questions about barriers across campus, 17 percent of respondents with disabilities said they struggled with transportation and parking — among other challenges related to campus construction, classrooms and labs, and technology.
“Respondents who identified as having disabilities/conditions also shared that they had issues getting accommodations at the institution.”
Similarly, some transgender and nonbinary respondents said within the last year they experienced barriers related to restrooms, locker rooms, athletic facilities, and signage. About half said they had issues with pronouns used or opportunities to share pronouns.
And, when citing specific needs, the students said they wanted more gender-neutral bathrooms on campus and changes to UNI’s ID card practices.
“I hate the UNI ID card,” one person wrote, noting its use of their “dead name.”
“The fact that my employer has access to my dead name because I am not in a position to legally change it yet is incredibly jarring and disturbing,” another person wrote.
Compensation
When faculty were asked their thoughts on compensation, just 18 percent agreed or strongly agreed that tenure-track faculty salaries were competitive. About 23 percent agreed or strongly agreed that UNI’s adjunct faculty salaries are competitive, according to the survey.
A higher 68 percent agreed or strongly agreed health insurance benefits are competitive, and 64 percent said retirement benefits are.
Among all faculty respondents, 40 percent felt positively about their career opportunities at UNI — although far more white faculty, 34 percent, than minority faculty, 16 percent, felt good about their career prospects on campus.
Similar percentages said they would recommend UNI “as a good place to work.”
When asked for specifics, respondents provided thoughts on pay, workload, and politics.
“It is a good place to work, but people won’t come here due to laughable salaries and now location (Iowa as it currently is),” one person wrote.
Another said, “There is simply too much work and not enough staff nor time to complete it,” one respondent wrote, with others calling out the campus for lack or resources, training, and advancement opportunities.
Faculty members across Iowa’s public universities, in arguing for pay raises before the Board of Regents on Wednesday, cited low compensation — compared with peer institutions.
Jon Perkins, president of the Iowa State University Faculty Senate, in a letter to the board said, “Mean faculty salaries in all of ISU’s colleges are now significantly below our peer institutions.”
“I am very concerned that as a result of our low salary levels and history of low salary adjustments, current and prospective faculty will seek better opportunities elsewhere,” he wrote. “There is a pervasive sense among the faculty that their hard work is neither understood nor appreciated by the people of Iowa.”
Regarding next steps at UNI, administrators are planning discussion forums in the fall.
Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com
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