What Does Community Mean to You?

Inter-campus conversation will culminate in “community” action plan

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

University of New Hampshire campus and students

Here’s some homework: Think about what community means to you.

Hint: There’s no right or wrong answer, but every answer will be important for a task force of campus community members who have been charged with thinking hard about this very question and igniting a conversation to find out what UNH understands “community” to mean.

The task forced kicked off a series of campus conversations on the topic this past week at UNH School of Law. Next week, the conversations will continue at the Manchester campus and during the University Day celebration in Durham on Sept. 16.?

Jaime Nolan, associate vice president for community, equity and diversity, says the effort will help the UNH community discover how it feels about itself and imagine what it could be.

President Mark Huddleston called for the task force last spring after the results of an independent evaluation of Title IX efforts across the University System of New Hampshire revealed that UNH could be doing more to build a university community that is welcoming and safe for all.

“A safe and healthy campus is one grounded in widely shared values and deeply rooted norms of behavior wherein people respect and take care of one another,” Huddleston wrote in announcing the group, which has been charged with making recommendations for how UNH can build and sustain such a community.?

The task force, comprising faculty, students and administrators from all three campuses, will host conversations through the fall semester and then analyze the data collected to shape a plan of action next spring.

At University Day, members of the task force will collect individuals’ thoughts about their ideal UNH community.

What does community mean to you? What does the ideal UNH community look like? What’s on your to-do list to make our campus a better place?

Nolan hopes campus community members will pause to contemplate their feelings about those questions.?

University Day is Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015, from 3:30 – 6:30 p.m. on the Thompson Hall lawn in Durham. What does “community” mean to you? Bring your answer to table 270.