About the Great Place Initiative
In 2015, Alfreda Brown was charged with leading a University Climate Study. A University Climate Study Steering Committee was formed, chaired by Kathryn Wilson, Professor of Economics, and Shay Little, Vice President for Student Affairs.
The University Climate Study was implemented in Spring 2016 through national experts Rankin & Associates. The results were delivered in Spring 2017 to the university community and a new charge was formed in alignment to the university's Strategic Priorities, the Great Place Initiative, to ensure response and action on results from the University Climate Study and other university climate-based surveys.
In AY16-17, Mark Polatajko, Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration, Alfreda Brown, Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Jack Witt, Vice President for Human Resources, were charged with ensuring ULI 2.3 was being addressed, specifically focusing on ascertaining that the University Climate Study had a home, thus priming it for action.
A Steering Committee was formed led by Mandy Munro-Stasiuk, Associate Provost, and Dana Lawless-Andric, Associate Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which served as the action body to ensure Kent State was a great place to learn, work and live guided by data, successful practices, and opportunities for growth. The Great Place Initiative ended in 2020 and the subcommittees disbanded, but the accomplishments of the committee are still present on campus.