Dear RPI Faculty and Staff,

I am very pleased to share the Climate Survey Task Force Final Report. After we provided the Task Force Draft Report this semester, many of you provided feedback and I thank you for that. After reviewing your feedback, the faculty and staff members of the Task Force updated and prepared the final report, which includes a comprehensive set of recommendations to address pain points and carry RPI forward.

As you’ll see in the report, there is a summary table that highlights the recommendations in six areas: Organization Culture and Communication; Policy Reconciliation, Change, and Implementation; Workforce Development Support and Retention; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and Engagement; Supporting Student Needs; and Enterprise Risk Management (Pandemic).

You may download both the report and a PDF of the summary table here.

Many recommendations in the report have been implemented or are in the works. For instance, we will offer climate surveys to students, and we will conduct future surveys for faculty and staff. We heard you and revised some of our processes around Procurement. We also instituted Staff Appreciation Days, effective July 1, 2024. Employees will no longer be charged PTO time for winter break. These are just a few examples of the many recommendations already in process. 

Some of the recommendations are longer term, and involve more complex work and resources to implement. In many of those cases, the strategic planning committees are incorporating recommendations into the strategic planning process. As an example, the Welcome and Inclusive Committee is exploring recommendations around diversity, equity, and inclusion. I will share a more detailed response to the recommendations over the summer so that you can know what our intentions are with respect to each one of them.

When I came to RPI, I did so because we have a remarkable future, and I am excited to work with all of you to address our challenges and move the university forward. Our work together to address our opportunities to improve and grow will require commitment, patience, and all of us coming together as one university.

This report and your feedback, which is always welcome, will go a long way in helping us to foster a vibrant and cohesive culture of well-being and safety. I want to thank all of the members of the Task Force for their diligence on this report and a special thanks to all of you for your candor and trust.

As we continue to prioritize the recommendations, we will keep you informed of our progress. If you have questions or ideas, please share them.

Sincerely,

Marty A. Schmidt, ’81, Ph.D.
President