Understanding and Enhancing Social Engagement at Carleton (April 2024)

Social engagement and connection enhance team building, bolster individual and group success, build trust, improve collaboration, creativity, and communication, to name a few. The abrupt pivot to remote working during the pandemic presented a unique challenge – students, faculty, and staff had to unlearn and relearn ways of working together. While many eagerly anticipated the “return to normal” after COVID restrictions lifted, campus life is not what it was. There seem to be fewer people on campus, fewer opportunities for spontaneous interaction with colleagues to discuss research, teaching, and university life. Such social interactions are often a source of new ideas, innovation, and collegial governance. Our project is motivated by the perceived decline in social engagement among and across academic and professional staff on campus following the pandemic. We delve into the question: how can we increase social engagement and connections on the Carleton campus?

SIG Members:

• Amrita Hari (Director, Feminist Institute of Social Transformation)
• Ed Bilodeau (Assistant University Librarian, Technology and Content Services)
• David Mendeloff (Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs)
• Julie Garlen (Director, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies)