A joint faculty-staff meeting at thestart of each academic year promotes asense of shared vision in which the dean, faculty, and administrative leadershiplay out selected accomplishments andgoals. Human Resources (HR) provides staff and faculty opportunities to connect outside of the regular daily routine. HR coordinates regular Druker Design Gallerytours of current exhibitions led by faculty curators. In collaboration with the GSD Joint Council, HR hosts an annual “DesignToday” lecture given by a GSD facultymember to provide an opportunity forstaff to learn about the intellectual content of the School.

Staff orientation to the GSD now includes a staff luncheon that helps foster a sense of community. Staff events throughoutthe year, especially around the holidays,reinforce this ethos.

Takeaway

This practice is an example of how to use convenings around goal-setting as a part of trust-building. Schools can create ashared vision in which the dean, faculty,and administrative leadership lay a foundation for select goals and accomplishments.This can be done for the academic year or beyond.Two ways to accomplish this are:

• Introducing new employees to thecommunity by way of a staff luncheon.This practice fosters a sense of community and belonging.
• Creating community events throughoutthe academic year to build and sustainthe sense of community that already exists, while allowing new members toenter the space and build relationships.