Community is a group of diverse individuals who share a sense of belonging, connection, and trust with one another, where members feel valued and supported, often through shared experiences, values, and a sense of mutual responsibility within the group; essentially, it's a space where people feel like they are part of something larger than themselves and can rely on others around them.
Belonging is the feeling that you are accepted, valued, and supported by your colleagues and organization. It is a basic human need that can lead to better performance, innovation, and retention.
Connection refers to a feeling of being valued, appreciated, and part of a team, class, academic department or cohort, by your colleagues and peers, where individuals feel comfortable sharing ideas and working together, essentially creating a sense of belonging within the university and its mission; it encompasses positive relationships and trust among coworkers and peers, which can contribute to increased productivity and job satisfaction and satisfaction with the student experience.
Trust is created through exposure to our authentic selves and authenticity involves “integrity between what you say and how you are or what you do” (brown, adrienne maree. Holding Change: The Way of Emergent Strategy Facilitation and Mediation. Chico: AK Press, 2021, 135). Trust is cultivated over time through purposeful action, vulnerability, and a demonstrated willingness to redress failures of trust. Attention and presence build trust.
Student Examples
Belonging
- Helping others with varying experiences and perspectives feel comfortable sharing their opinions and ideas.
- Communicating to your peers that their unique contributions are valued.
- Seeking ways to connect with your cohort and classmates, including with people different than you.
- Bringing your whole self and supporting and encouraging others to bring their whole selves to your shared interactions.
- Making others feel that their well-being is a priority.
Connection
- Having positive relationships, interactions, and rapport with peers, faculty, and staff.
- Seeking purpose in coursework by aligning personal values with program learning outcomes and/or the university’s goals and values.
- Communicating openly and working productively through conflict. Feeling comfortable expressing ideas and concerns even in the midst of fear.
- Teamwork—collaborating effectively with peers towards shared objectives. Getting input from people with various perspectives, ideas, and experiences.
- Engaging in classroom activities, co-curriculars, and social events to build connection and motivation. Exposing yourself to a wide variety of experiences.
Trust
- Taking responsibility for your mistakes and seeking to correct issues that were caused.
- Providing candid feedback with the recipients' best interest in mind.
Faculty Examples
Belonging
- Helping diverse students and peers with varying experiences and perspectives feel comfortable sharing their opinions and ideas.
- Communicating to students and peers that their unique contributions are valued.
- Seeking ways to connect with colleagues including with people different than you.
- Bringing your whole self and supporting and encouraging others to bring their whole selves to your shared interactions.
- Making others feel that their well-being is a priority.
Connection
- Having positive relationships, interactions, and rapport with students and colleagues.
- Seeking purpose in professional life by aligning personal values with the university’s goals and values.
- Communicating openly and working productively through conflict. Feeling comfortable expressing ideas and concerns even in the midst of fear.
- Teamwork—collaborating effectively with peers towards shared objectives. Getting input from people with various perspectives, ideas, and experiences.
- Designing teaching and learning activities that build connection and motivation for students and expose them to a wide variety of experiences.
Trust
- Co-creating/co-delivering teaching and learning experiences and/or research.
- Being clear in your syllabi about expectations and holding yourself and students to those expectations.
- Completing grading of assignments and communicating with students in a timely manner.
- Providing candid feedback with the recipients' best interest in mind.
Staff and Faculty Examples
Belonging
- Helping colleagues or students with varying experiences and perspectives feel comfortable sharing their opinions and ideas.
- Communicating to colleagues that their unique contributions are valued.
- Seeking ways to connect with colleagues including with people different than you.
- Bringing your whole self and supporting and encouraging others to bring their whole selves to your shared interactions.
- Making others feel that their well-being is a priority.
Connection
- Having positive relationships, interactions, and rapport with colleagues.
- Seeking purpose in professional life by aligning personal values with the university’s goals and values and your daily work.
- Communicating openly and working productively through conflict. Feeling comfortable expressing ideas and concerns without fear.
- Teamwork—collaborating effectively with colleagues towards shared objectives. Getting input from people with various perspectives, ideas, and experiences.
Trust
- Co-creating and building co-ownership of departmental goals or projects.
- Being clear as a supervisor about expectations and holding yourself and others to those expectations.
- Completing work that others rely on in a timely manner.
- Providing candid feedback with the recipients' best interest in mind.
Institutional Examples
Belonging
- Creating institutional structures and programs that make students and employees feel that their well-being is a priority, such as wellness and basic needs programs.
Connection
- Creating access to spaces and events that bring people together to share nuanced experiences and ideas and connect with others.
Trust
- Co-creating university priorities through processes that bring unique and varying voices to the table.
- Following through with implementation of priorities once established.