Geosciences Code of Conduct¹

Preamble:  Geoscientists play a critical role in ethical stewardship of the Earth and in the interactions between society and the Earth System. Geoscientists must earn the public’s trust and maintain their confidence in our work by engaging with diverse populations and perspectives with patience, humility, and respect. To this end, our goal is to foster a departmental environment of inclusivity, mutual respect, and safety for students and employees.

Associates of the Department of Geosciences adhere to the following Code of Conduct:

We foster an environment of mutual respect and safety. We actively sustain a departmental climate that is intellectually open-minded and free of harassment.

We understand and appreciate people’s similarities and differences in race, nationality, religion, culture, age, disability, gender identity and expression, and appearance. We acknowledge power imbalances within our department and in our community, especially involving underrepresented groups. Our interactions with others must be respectful, responsible, and inclusive.

We recognize our responsibility to report instances of harassment, intimidation and bullying, discrimination, or safety violations in the workplace, classroom, or field to our supervisor. We raise complaints and concerns through appropriate channels and in good faith.

We communicate with honesty and transparency and present work without falsification or fabrication of data, misleading statements, or omission of facts. We accurately cite authorship, acknowledge the scientific and material contributions of others, and do not plagiarize.

¹Consistent with articles V, VI, and VII of the USU Student Code:  studentconduct.usu.edu/studentcode and drawn partly from examples of USU Biology Dept, AGI, GSA, AGU codes, The University of Arizona Geosciences Department, and the Forum on Education Abroad.