Thirty-six participants who attended the first Days of Listening and Discovery sessions in May, 2003, came together on September 22, 2003, to reflect on their DLD experience and help identify concrete action items and next steps for improving campus climate.

Click here to see DLD Phase II results.

Days of Listening & Discovery (May 2003)

Our thanks to the enthusiastic participants – all 185 of you – who joined in the first "Days of Listening and Discovery" sessions held on May 1-2, 2003 — a whirlwind five sessions in two days! The energy from the exchanges of experiences among students, staff, faculty, alumni, and visitors was incredible. And an additional thanks to those who prepared for and spent time facilitating the process.

We are pleased to publish the rich information generated during paired interviews, table discussions, and session feedback. Your wishes for UW-Madison, both from individuals and small groups, are presented in the links at right. All the conversations involving many voices provided an opportunity to discover the positive, generative forces from participant’s "best experiences." It is through these constructions of meaning that our future work with campus climate may be created.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI), an approach to organizational analysis and learning, guided the design of the sessions for the Days of Listening & Discovery. AI is based on the simple assumption that every organization has something that works well and these strengths can be the starting point for creating positive change. The sessions in May reflected the Discovery or initial phase of AI. As the process continues, discovery leads to new understanding fostering innovation and change. To learn more about Appreciative Inquiry, visit the AI Commons.

You may recall that the exercise of gathering demographic data about our participants was hampered (during several of the sessions) by mechanical challenges. Alas, the ideal link between ideas generated and representative collections among us was not realized for all of our sessions. There will be opportunities to review our procedures and equipment in planning for future sessions.

Links to information from participants (themes, values and wishes), plus information about the Days of Listening and Discovery sessions, can be found by following the links at right.

You can continue to participate by reviewing what we have shared and joining in planning for action to enhance our campus. We welcome your reactions, feedback, and ideas. We also encourage you to try this approach in your own unit/department. Send your thoughts or questions in an email to climate@provost.wisc.edu, and stay tuned for invitations to activities this fall.

Home | UW Home