Is It Time for an Institutional "Climate Analysis"?

Is it Dick's intention to create new hurdles for existing faculty (in terms of additional academic requirements)? Is this a signal that he intends to 'clean house?' This would only add to the current atmosphere of low morale, mistrust, and fear at Goddard, and suppress debate, divergent views, and real dialogue. If Dick is really interested in applying research methodologies in order to enhance planning and community building at Goddard a good first step would be to institute what in the field of organizational development is called a 'climate analysis.' This is a research technique designed to solicit real information from all participating parties in just such a hostile environment. A climate analysis entails:

1. The use of an independent and neutral management consultant
2. Systematic and confidential interviews of all parties (students, staff, faculty, admin.)
3. Compilation, analysis, and summary of the collected information, reported back to all parties

The climate analysis process would ensure that sanctions would not be imposed on individuals who speak their mind. In addition, a climate analysis brings to the surface common themes which are ordinarily suppressed in a climate of fear. It provides real information about the state of our community, information that presently resides in our community but has not been expressed in a systematic and objective manner.

For the well-being of Goddard I respectfully suggest to the board that steps be taken to design and implement such a process. I invite the president to come forward in support of the application of such a respected and beneficial methodology.

Developing the Practice of Democracy
"A Goddard Degree in Citizenship"

"Democracy exists because under modem conditions it is the most efficient form of social organization. It exists because it is a flexible and sophisticated system for maximizing group effectiveness and speed of adaptation under conditions of chronic change and cultural complexity. ...democracy is a vast social movement embracing every aspect of human existence ??from family life to religion, from the rigors of economic survival to the free?floating creations of mythology. The democratic forums we are familiar with are merely the first harbingers of this megaculture which will eventually permeate every aspect of human thought and behavior, just as authoritarian ideas do today. All our assumptions, habits, and preoccupations will be transformed by it, and in future generations these new patterns will themselves become so deeply ingrained as to be considered 'Just human nature.'"
                -- Philip Slater (1991).

This college was set up as a social experiment in participatory democracy and community building