Code of Conduct

SESE Code of Conduct

Contacts
Resources for Students
Resources for Employees

Community Guidelines

The Arizona State University (ASU) Charter provides a blueprint for a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed. At the School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE), we are committed to supporting this goal and maintaining a culture of inclusion and equity, where all community members feel welcome, engaged, respected, and supported. This document is intended to provide a common set of guidelines and expectations to uphold that culture, so that everyone may benefit from working and learning in a safe, positive environment. In addition, this document is meant to provide accountability for members who violate those guidelines and include resolution pathways for those cases.

The members of SESE commit to the following:

Fostering a respectful community by:

Honoring physical and personal boundaries.
Using professional and inclusive language, free of unwelcome comments and disparaging remarks.
Allowing others the opportunity to voice their thoughts.

Fostering a supportive community by:

Being receptive to ways to improve our work environments and work relationships.
Challenging our assumptions about people and the sources of those assumptions.
Maintaining clear, direct, and regular communication between supervisors and supervisees.
Trusting each other to carry out the work for which we are responsible.

Fostering an inclusive community by:

Recognizing and respecting the cultural backgrounds of all individuals.
Recognizing and respecting diverse gender identities and sexual orientations.
Recognizing and respecting the diverse physical and mental abilities of all individuals.
Respecting the pronouns that individuals use to identify themselves.
Supporting those who report violations of departmental or university policy.
Developing an environment that is accessible to all.

Fostering an equitable community by:

Ensuring that all members have equitable access to opportunities.
Staying aware of power differentials and acting to protect and empower one another.
Seeking opportunities for education/training on diversity, inclusivity, and bystander intervention techniques, and encouraging others to do so.
Taking the initiative to eliminate the particular challenges or barriers that may be faced by members of underrepresented groups.

Fostering an ethical community by:

Empowering our community members to intervene when we witness inappropriate behavior.
Maintaining high ethical standards in all aspects of research and collaboration.
Leveraging our position to promote this Code of Conduct.
Remaining informed of and following the university-wide work regulations for faculty and academic professionals, staff, and students.

These guidelines provide the fundamental framework for the culture that is maintained in SESE, and all community members are expected to abide by them. In accordance, there are behaviors that the community will not tolerate, including but not limited to, harassment, bullying, and retaliation for reporting. If these guidelines have been violated, and/or you would like to connect with resources or contacts, please visit the Resolution Pathways described in the next part of this document.

These guidelines honor and echo the standards that ASU holds its communities to, as described in the ASU Academic Affairs Manual and the ASU Student Code of Conduct. They also incorporate principles from NASA, the Ohio State University Department of Astronomy, and the Department of Physics at Princeton University. The guidelines and the resources below will be revisited annually to reflect departmental and university changes. They were last updated on 7/7/2022.

Resolution Pathways

We encourage, empower, and support our community members to take action when the guidelines in this code of conduct are not followed. Taking action can be in different forms. In addition to talking with the other party or parties to resolve issues following the community guidelines, community members can use the resources below to address cases in which: they are not comfortable initiating a direct discussion, a direct discussion has failed to resolve the issue, a direct discussion is not a viable option for resolving the issue, and/or a violation is too serious to be dealt with in this way.

Instances of non-compliance will have consequences appropriate to the scale of the situation. Incidents that are elevated to the College or higher levels will proceed through the processes specified by the University and ABOR regulations. At the School level, the response will depend upon the nature of the incident and be determined by the Director and leadership.

In all cases, note that, unless they are restricted by law from doing so, any employee who is informed of or has a reasonable basis to believe that sexual harassment, including Title IX sexual harassment, has occurred, must report all information regarding the occurrence(s) to the Office of University Rights and Responsibilities, the Title IX Coordinator, or the Dean of Students Office. This mandatory reporting includes cases in which students are employed/appointed by ASU and learn information as a result of their employment/appointment, but students who are not ASU employees are not required to report such information.

Below we describe resolution pathways according to roles in the SESE community.

Section 1: Undergraduate Students
Section 2: Graduate students
Section 3: Staff, postdoctoral researchers, teaching professionals, faculty associates, teaching professionals (lecturer), research staff
Section 4: Faculty (Tenure/Tenure track, Research)
Section 5: Visitors, guests, and people unsure of which category

Section 1: Undergraduate Students

As a default, undergraduate students can always reach out to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, and they can also do any of the following:

If a fellow student is not following the SESE community guidelines in a class or lab, then reach out to the instructor leading the class or lab.
If the instructor in a class or lab is not following the SESE community guidelines, then reach out to the SESE Associate Director of Undergraduate Initiatives or the Associate Director of Inclusive Community.
If the issue is related to harassment and discrimination or anything outside of the SESE community guidelines, then contact the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
ASU Counseling is available to discuss any concerns confidentially and privately.

Section 2: Graduate Students

As a default, graduate students can always reach out to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, or the Graduate College, and they can also do any of the following:

If a fellow student is not following the SESE community guidelines in a class or lab, then reach out to the instructor leading the class or lab.
If the instructor leading the class/lab is not following the SESE community guidelines in a class or lab, then reach out to the DEI Grad Student Advocate, the SESE Associate Director of Graduate Initiatives, and/or the Associate Director of Inclusive Community.
If things are not working well with a faculty member/advisor, then reach out to the SESE Associate Director of Graduate Initiatives and/or the Associate Director of Inclusive Community.
If the issue is related to harassment and discrimination or anything outside of the SESE community guidelines, then contact the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
The SESE Grad Council maintains an Anonymous help box moderated by the Grad Council DEI Graduate Student Advocate.
The SESE graduate student community maintains a private slack workspace where students can support each other.
ASU Counseling is available to discuss any concerns confidentially and privately.

Section 3: Staff, postdoctoral researchers, faculty associates, research staff

If a coworker is not following the SESE community guidelines, go to their supervisor.
If a supervisor is not following the SESE community guidelines, go to SESE HR.
If the issue is related to harassment or discrimination, or anything outside of the SESE community guidelines, reach out to the Office of University Rights and Responsibilities.
The Employee Assistance Office provides free voluntary, confidential behavioral health and organizational consultation for personal and work-related issues.

Section 4: Faculty (Tenure/Tenure track, Research, Teaching Professionals)

If a student or staff member is not following the SESE community guidelines, go to the Associate Director of Inclusive Community or the SESE Director.
If another faculty member is not following the SESE community guidelines, go to the SESE Director.
If the issue is related to harassment and discrimination or anything outside of the SESE community guidelines, reach out to the Office of University Rights and Responsibilities.
The Employee Assistance Office provides free voluntary, confidential behavioral health and organizational consultation for personal and work-related issues.

Section 5: Visitors, guests, and people unsure of which category

As a default, this category of persons should initially contact their sponsor in SESE who will work with SESE HR to assist in determining additional steps needed.

Resources and Contacts

Contacts

SESE Director: Meenakshi Wadhwa (email directed to: elizabeth.mchugh@asu.edu)
SESE Deputy Director: Hilairy Hartnett (h.hartnett@asu.edu)
SESE Associate Director for Inclusive Community: Evan Scannapieco (evan.scannapieco@asu.edu)
SESE Associate Director of Undergraduate Initiatives: Kelin Whipple (kxw@asu.edu)
SESE Associate Director of Graduate Research Initiatives: Chris Groppi (cgroppi@asu.edu)

Resources for Students

Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities

The Office of Students Rights and Responsibilities reviews and investigates students’ concerns and allegations regarding discrimination or harassment. It also reviews and investigates allegations of retaliation for raising a concern of perceived discrimination or harassment or for participating in a discrimination or harassment investigation.

eoss.asu.edu/dos/srr | 480-965-9170

ASU Counseling Services

ASU Counseling is available to students to discuss any concerns confidentially and privately. Their phone line is available 24 hours a day, every day of the week. ASU Counseling Services is a Confidential Resource, and thus seeking counseling through this office does not necessitate a formal, mandatory report to the Title IX office.

eoss.asu.edu/counseling | 877-258-7429

Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services

ASU Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services provide support and access to students with disabilities for programs and services, consultation and guidance for faculty and staff, and training and engagement opportunities to increase awareness and ensure accessibility.

eoss.asu.edu/accessibility | 480-965-1234 | Student.Accessibility@asu.edu

Resources for Employees

The Office of University Rights and Responsibilities

The Office of University Rights and Responsibilities works to proactively prevent and address discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in violation of University policy. Its reviews and investigates concerns and allegations regarding discrimination or harassment based on: age, ancestry, citizenship, color, disability, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual harassment sexual orientation, military status, veteran status, or any other characteristic or personal status protected by law.

urr.asu.edu | 480-965-5057 | urr@asu.edu

Employee Assistance Office

The Employee Assistance Office offers faculty and staff free, voluntary, confidential behavioral health and organizational consultation for personal and work-related issues. EAO counseling services may include assessment, interventions, or referral.

cfo.asu.edu/counseling-consultations | 480-965-2271

Workplace Accommodations

ASU's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion assists with resources for qualified employees, students, and members of the general public to facilitate reasonable accommodations and support.

cfo.asu.edu/workplace-accommodations | 480-727-1770 | equityandinclusion@asu.edu