Belonging at Loyola MD

Thank you for recognizing the need to create a shared responsibility and commitment to belonging at Loyola for all community members. We hope that this site will serve as a resource to deepen your understanding of the importance of belonging and what you can do to make positive changes in our campus community.

• Defining Key Terms
• Increasing Belonging at Loyola
• Get to Know Your Village
• Get Involved

Creating the Campaign

In 2018-2019, Loyola University contracted with Dr. Susan Rankin & Associates to conduct an assessment of campus to evaluate the overall campus climate. The Climate Survey was designed to examine how members of the Loyola community experienced the current campus climate. It looked at the university’s policies, practices, and procedures and how they influence behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions.

The Climate Survey results indicated many strengths of our community, but also found that many students indicated that they considered leaving Loyola, especially during their first year. The number one reason given was a lack of a sense of belonging.

The Climate Survey also found that exclusionary, offensive, or hostile conduct targeted some aspects of identity. The Belonging Campaign is a response to those members of our community who had these experiences to show them through our actions, not just these words, that they are valued members of the Loyola community.

The Belonging Campaign seeks to dispel the idea that creating a sense of belonging is an individual effort. In fact, a sense of belonging requires the investment of all members of a group or community. One of the campaign's missions is to acknowledge the complexity of belonging and to emphasize the idea that it is everyone's responsibility.

Campaign Goals

Understanding the importance of creating belonging helped define the goals of this campaign. When community members feel a sense of belonging, it brings the following benefits:

• Increases psychological well-being
• Creates more meaningful relationships
• Improves physical health
• Maximizes academic success
• Boosts student retention

With these benefits in mind, we set the following goals:

• To increase awareness of a collective responsibility in building a sense of belonging for all
• To give students, faculty, and staff concrete actions they can take to increase belonging
• To create a community where members are appreciated, acknowledged, and accepted

We hope that the Loyola community feels positively impacted by this campaign during the Spring 2020 semester and beyond.