Hendricks RA. Examining Dimensions of the Organizational Culture at Colleges of Veterinary Medicine in the United States. Education Doctoral,Paper 413


Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the organizational culture present in veterinary medicine academia from the perspective of the female faculty. According to the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), during the 2016-2017 academic year 80.5% of students enrolled at a college of veterinary medicine (CVM) in the United States were women while 35.4% of tenure or tenure-track veterinary professors were female (AAVMC, 2017). There is no empirical, published literature that has examined the organizational culture at the colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States. In this quantitative study, a survey entitled, Culture Conducive to Women’s Academic Success (CCWAS) was distributed to approximately 1,100 female veterinarians who were employed at a CVM accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)in the United States. The survey examined three aspects of organizational culture, namely freedom from gender bias, support for work-life balance, and equal access to opportunities. The results found that all three dimensions of culture affected female veterinary faculty with both gender bias and work-life balance being experienced more significantly. There were no statistically significant findings between the demographic categories of marital status, dependent child status, or job title and any of the dimensions of organizational culture.