The 2010 Campus Climate Survey: Status Characteristics As Predictors of Campus Climate Perceptions
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Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses 8-2010 The 2010 aC mpus Climate Survey: Status Characteristics as Predictors of Campus Climate Perceptions Kelly Linker Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Linker, Kelly, "The 2010 aC mpus Climate Survey: Status Characteristics as Predictors of Campus Climate Perceptions" (2010). All Theses. 912. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/912 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE 2010 CAMPUS CLIMATE SURVEY: STATUS CHARACTERISTICS AS PREDICTORS OF CAMPUS CLIMATE PERCEPTIONS A Thesis Presented to The Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Applied Sociology by Kelly D. Linker August 2010 Accepted by: Dr. Brenda J. Vander Mey, Committee Chair Dr. William M. Wentworth Dr. Ye Luo ABSTRACT Diversity issues are still real and relevant concerns for organizations; university campuses are no exception. This study surveyed the faculty and staff at Clemson University in South Carolina about their experiences with diversity issues and the campus climate. The research question evaluated what influenced employees to have a negative perception of the campus climate. In addition to status characteristics, a respondent’s level of cultural competence and exposure to harassment and discrimination were considered. A respondent’s race was found to be the most influential of the status characteristics while experiencing harassment or discrimination was also significant. Cultural competence was significant in some models, pointing to the appropriateness of incorporating this relatively new concept into the campus climate literature. Administrators and other stakeholders at the university can use this information when making policy decisions or changes. In addition, the Cultural Competence and Campus Climate Indices created through this study hold promise for subsequent research. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Wentworth and Dr. Luo, for providing both helpful feedback and much-needed encouragement throughout this process. They were also very flexible and understanding when the occasion called for it. I would like to thank my chair, Dr. Vander Mey, for all of the many hours that she has put into my thesis. I very much appreciate the influence that she has had on every step of the project. I also want to thank several other people on campus that helped with this project at different phases. The President’s Commission on the Status of Black Faculty and Staff supported the idea of a partial replication of their 2005 survey. Leon Wiles, Altheia Richardson, Shirley Timmons, and Greg Hawkins provided feedback on both the direction of the project and the questionnaire. Greg Hawkins also handled putting the survey online and offered advice on the technical aspects of the survey. I would like to thank him both for that and for his speedy responses to my many questions. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family for supporting me throughout this process, even when the word ‘thesis’ became taboo. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................v INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................1 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................3 The Sociology of Organizations ................................................................................................ 3 The Sociology of the Subordinates ........................................................................................... 5 Prejudice and Discrimination ................................................................................................... 7 Federal Laws ........................................................................................................................... 9 The Chilly Climate ................................................................................................................ 10 Harassment ............................................................................................................................ 12 The Intersectionality of Race, Gender and Class.................................................................. 13 Diversity in the Workplace ..................................................................................................... 14 Cultural Competence ............................................................................................................. 16 Resistance to Diversity............................................................................................................. 18 Campus Climate Studies ......................................................................................................... 19 HYPOTHESES ................................................................................................................22 METHODS.......................................................................................................................25 Survey Data .............................................................................................................................. 25 Measures ................................................................................................................................... 27 Campus Climate .................................................................................................................... 27 Factor Analysis...................................................................................................................... 29 Minority Status ...................................................................................................................... 33 Cultural Competence ............................................................................................................. 34 Harassment and Discrimination ............................................................................................ 35 Frequencies and Descriptives ................................................................................................ 36 Findings..................................................................................................................................... 39 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 50 Implications .............................................................................................................................. 57 Limitations................................................................................................................................ 58 Conclusions and Suggestions for Further Research............................................................. 59 APPENDICES..................................................................................................................61 APPENDIX A. CAMPUS CLIMATE QUESTIONNAIRE................................................. 62 APPENDIX B. FULL SURVEY RESPONSES..................................................................... 81 APPENDIX C. ADDITIONAL ANALYSES....................................................................... 130 REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................137 iv LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Merton’s Prejudice-Discrimination Typologies ...................................................8 Table 2. Items for Campus Climate Index ........................................................................28 Table 3. Campus Climate Index by Employee Category..................................................29 Table 4. Factor Loadings ..................................................................................................31 Table 5. Items for Factor 1 “Others”.................................................................................32 Table 6. Items for Factor 2 “Individual”...........................................................................33 Table 7. Items for Cultural Competence Index.................................................................34 Table 8. Cultural Competence Index by Employee Category ..........................................35 Table 9. Frequencies for Analysis Variables (Categorical) ..............................................38 Table 10. Descriptives for Analysis Variables (Continuous) ...........................................39 Table 11. Campus Climate Regressed on Status Characteristics, Cultural Competence, Harassment and Discrimination, and Controls ..................................................................43 Table 12. Factor 1 (“Others”) Regressed on Status Characteristics, Cultural Competence, Harassment and Discrimination, and Controls ..................................................................46