Email sent to faculty, classified staff, officers of administration and graduate employees, January 15, 2026.
From: Provost Christopher P. Long and VP Mark Schmelz (provost@uoregon.edu)
Subject: Assessing and improving the work environment at the UO
Dear colleagues,
The University of Oregon’s ability to teach, innovate, and serve rests on the people who make this institution what it is. We want everyone who works here to feel respected, valued, and well supported to do their best work in the pursuit of our shared mission. At its core, this means that you have the human and practical resources you need to succeed: strong, respectful relationships with colleagues and students; opportunities for growth over the course of your career; and meaningful work that draws on your strengths. These things matter for individual flourishing and for the vitality of the university as a whole.
Employee engagement is a central element of our strategic goal to create a flourishing community, and it provides a shared framework for understanding workplace conditions, for assessing them with care, and for taking concrete action where improvement is needed. While engagement looks different across roles and units, we know that higher levels of engagement are consistently associated with resilience during periods of change; a sense of belonging, sustained motivation and energy at work; and continued learning and growth.
Measuring engagement
To better understand our community’s experience, the university has partnered with Gallup to administer an employee engagement survey from February 23 through March 9, 2026. The survey uses Gallup’s research-based engagement model along with University of Oregon-specific measures of flourishing. Responses are confidential and will never be reported at the individual level. On February 23rd, you will receive a unique link via email to take the survey.
After the survey
Engagement neither begins nor ends with a survey. Our results will provide a snapshot to inform conversation and action across our institution. To ensure meaningful follow-through:
- The survey focuses on factors that are actionable and proven to influence engagement and flourishing.
- We have already established an Engagement Champions Network of faculty, staff, and administrators from each division, school, and college who will support learning, communication, and action within units.
- In spring term, units will receive their results along with a framework for developing meaningful action steps.
- Results will be shared and discussed with employees.
To learn more about engagement and the winter 2026 survey, please visit the Ducks Engage website.
Thank you for helping to create a community where each of us can do our most meaningful work.
Warm regards,
Christopher P. Long
Senior Vice President and Provost
Mark Schmelz
Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer