Explore Stories of Belonging and Tell Us Yours on the New Belonging Website

A new website, Belonging.uark.edu, is now live and ready for the campus community to explore.

The website, created by a team in University Relations and based on the work of the belonging committee, is interactive and features stories and photos from students, faculty and staff across campus.

“This website is a place where our students, faculty and staff can share their own experiences of finding belonging on this campus. We hope this site will help others identify paths to help find their own belonging here at the U of A,” said Lori Lander, assistant vice chancellor for campus life and co-chair of the committee.

The belonging committee, made of members from Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Student Success as well as student representation, has been engaging various groups, organizations and departments on campus in conversations throughout the fall and spring to gather perspectives on belonging and community that will be used to inform an action plan for strengthening the feeling of belonging on campus.

The belonging committee began this exploration this past summer and has worked to define belonging and identify areas of the campus experience that are critical to creating a sense of belonging:

“Belonging is defined by each of us and connects us all as Razorbacks. From showing up to engagement to responsibility.

When belonging happens, you feel…

• Part of something that is greater than yourself.
• Empowered to explore self and community.
• Your voice matters to the community.
• Encouraged to learn from diverse experiences.”

In addition to the already published stories on the website, which will rotate over time, there is a place for members of the campus community to upload their own story of where and how they have felt belonging on this campus. These submitted stories will be used to update content on the belonging web site and hopefully show the breadth and depth of how people feel they belong on campus.

On this website there is also a place for people to request a Dialogue Circle for their group. Dialogue Circles engage participants in conversation about finding belonging, barriers to belonging and what our individual responsibility is in creating a sense of belonging on our campus.

“These Dialogue Circles are an excellent way to have open discussions about belonging with trained facilitators,” Lander said.

In addition to the Dialogue Circles that anyone in the campus community can request, the belonging committee has some specific days and times set up for Dialogue Circles that any student can join.

“These are open times for any student to attend,” said Anthony DiNicola, coordinator of cultural communities in the Multicultural Center and co-chair of the committee. “We thought having some open sessions would allow those who are not comfortable talking within a specified group to speak freely, which is exactly what we want.”

Refreshments will be served during the open sessions, and students who attend will receive a $10 Chartwells gift card. The session dates, times and locations are below. Follow each link for an RSVP to that specific session.

• March 28, 1-2 p.m., Arkansas Union 512 – 513
• March 29, 3-4 p.m., Arkansas Union 512 – 513
• March 30, 7-8 p.m., via Zoom
• March 31, 9-10 a.m., Arkansas Union 512 – 513
• April 1, noon to 1 p.m., Arkansas Union 507

The website also has a link to the 15-minute belonging survey created this fall for the campus community to gauge how current students, faculty and staff perceive their own belonging on our campus.

In addition to the interactive portions of the site, there is a list of ways that members of the campus community have demonstrated and found belonging at the U of A, with individuals, groups and even in the context of the larger Northwest Arkansas community.

The belonging committee invites you to get on the website to explore and tell us your story. To find out more information about the belonging efforts on campus, please send an email to UABelong@uark.edu, or contact Lander at llander@uark.edu or DiNicola at anthonyd@uark.edu.