A group of UND employees have taken it upon themselves to find out if their co-workers are happy with the university's administration.
On May 13, James "Jim" Whitehead, Kim Kenville, Jim Higgins and Tom Petros sent a 25-question survey to faculty via email, which the Herald obtained.
Whitehead declined to comment and the others didn't respond to requests for an interview except for Kenville, who wrote in an email "we will see what the data says and go from there."
UND spokesman Peter Johnson said this wasn't something he considered common and did not personally know why the survey was created, though he admitted recent tension and a need for better communication could be at play.
"Obviously we've got work to do in communication," he said.
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UND President Robert Kelley had similar sentiments at a University Council meeting May 13, saying he recognized a need for more collaboration with faculty in budgetary and fiscal matters.
"I can certainly commit myself to providing information, we have lots of avenues to provide information, but I think this is something we need to do together," he told the group of about 75 employees. "Communication goes both ways."
The campus climate was also a topic of conversation at a late April forum to address improvements at the Chester Fritz Library.
Visiting consultant Grand Valley State University Dean of University Libraries Lee Van Orsdel said she heard a "deep anger" on campus as the forum got heated, with some university employees voicing concern the library wasn't being supported by administrators.
Also in April, UND Student Government considered and eventually tabled a vote of no-confidence for Kelley and three other high-level administrators, citing issues with transparency over the development of long term tuition models.
The survey asks faculty their views on transparency for several entities: the president's office, provost's office, the office of the dean for graduate studies and the dean's office for the responding faculty member.
The survey closes today.
The email sent to faculty with the link to the survey states results will be made available in aggregate form but does not say when.
