Dear Colleague:
For higher education institutions like UTHSC, advantage begins with its team members that encompasses diversity, experience, and talent. This is accomplished through UTHSC’s ability to recruit, retain, and support and develop its team members through inclusion.
Inclusion occurs by involving all employees in the activities and life of the organization, and there are several ways to demonstrate inclusion but the three focused on in this message are communication, interaction, and information. Some specific examples of this taking place at UTHSC are:
- Through communication each UTHSC employee has been invited to share feedback about their workplace by participating in the Employee Engagement Survey. The deadline to participate is Friday, November 21, 2014 at https://www.modernthink.net/version2/login.html?companyId=598&surveyId=119. If you have additional questions contact Human Resources at 901-448-5600.
- Through interaction the Office of Equity and Diversity is sponsoring ten (10) Employee Resource Network groups. The Network groups will offer people of similar backgrounds an opportunity to join together. By participating in these networks, people gain access to knowledgeable employees who have experience in UTHSC’s culture, as well as valuable campus resources and support. More information can be found in the September/October edition of Diversity Matters at https://www.uthsc.edu/oed/newsletters/september-october-2014.pdf on page 5. If you are interested in joining a group email OED at hsc-oed@uthsc.edu.
- Through information live training is offered weekly in addition to speakers and webinars on various relevant topics. On Tuesday, December 2, 2014 the Office of Faculty Affairs in Academic, Faculty and Student Affairs is sponsoring a webinar titled “The Diversity Advantage: Incorporating Diversity Principles into the Selection Process” from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (CDT). The location is to be determined so mark your calendars.
To reiterate, each team member’s participation in the communication, interaction, and information opportunities referenced earlier and other opportunities enables UTHSC’s advantage in understanding the diverse and unique perspectives about its organizational culture. For now we need YOUR open and honest feedback to make UT and UTHSC an even better place to work. View this brief video of Chancellor Schwab and Executive Vice Chancellor Brown telling YOU why YOUR VOICE MATTERS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzfJ9S_RkYE.