CHACHA Anti-Harassment Policy

The CHACHA PI team is committed to creating and maintaining a field research environment that is respectful to all who are connected to or involved with this study, and encourages, assists with, and celebrates every team member's success. We are committed to ensuring a field research experience and environment that is harassment-free, and one that is healthy, vital, dignified, and comfortable for all participants. Such an environment can only occur if all team members are safe, and free from harassment of any kind while participating in this project. We define harassment (consistent with NSF OPP policy) as any unwelcome verbal or physical conduct based on race, color, power differential, religion, sex (includes sexual harassment and discrimination based on pregnancy), disability, age, national origin, sexual orientation, and protected genetic information that impacts the ability of the affected individual to do her/his work. Sexual harassment can take on three forms: (1) gender harassment (sexist hostility and crude behavior), (2) unwanted sexual attention (unwelcome verbal or physical sexual advances), and (3) sexual coercion (when favorable professional or educational treatment is conditioned on sexual activity).

Harassment unreasonably and perniciously interferes with an employee's performance, and can create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Any retaliation against an individual who has brought forth a complaint alleging harassment is similarly unlawful. Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when the conduct creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. We will have a zero-tolerance position on any forms of harassment. We note that all CHACHA science team members have a responsibility to contribute to a healthy, safe and respectful field work environment, and that bystanders who become aware of a circumstance that constitutes harassment would be complicit if silent. We all have a responsibility as members of this team to intervene in instances where we witness harassment.

NSF requires grantee organizations to report findings of sexual harassment, or any other kind of harassment regarding a PI or co/PI or any other grant personnel. Inquiries and complaints about discrimination and/or harassment can be brought to your supervisor and/or Paul Shepson, as the lead PI for CHACHA. We realize, however, that there may be circumstances in which advice from some other appropriately trained person would be more appropriate, or comfortable in some circumstances. Thus, we have identified two Equity Ombudsmen (Sarah F. Woods and Jose D. Fuentes) to act as third-party safe intermediaries for any individual who has any concern about potential or actual harassment. If you have concerns about any form of harassment during this field study, you should discuss/report it to your supervisor, to Paul Shepson, or to the Equity Ombudsman, immediately.

• Purdue
• Stonybrook
• University of Michigan
• University at Albany
• Penn State University
• University of Alaska - Fairbanks