Caltech’s Development and Institute Relations Department (DIR) has spent considerable time during the past 18 months developing a comprehensive program that responds to the difficult situations team members can face when interacting with donors, alumni, volunteers, and friends. While the title of this entry is Advancement and the #Metoo Movement, we realize that our team members can be exposed to other uncomfortable circumstances around race, sexual orientation, and politics just to name a few. Our “Difficult Situations Programming” is designed to ensure our staff have the tools and experience to navigate complex and uncomfortable circumstances, understand policies and resources available to them, and reinforce leadership’s commitment to providing a harassment free and productive working environment.
From the Judges
The institution developed a program that trained their advancement team members for dealing with uncomfortable situations (such as harassment, race, sexual orientation, politics, etc.) while interacting with donors, alumni, and various stakeholders. This program is innovative, engaging, and well-planned and it stood out to the judges. This idea showed that the administration is in tune with the current environment and the needs of the employees.
