Culture, Access and Belonging

Community Norms

Vision:

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) strives to create a welcoming environment where everyone feels valued and respected, fostering a culture of mutual understanding and kindness.

This vision requires an ongoing and dedicated effort from each member of the BAE community. The following are our community norms:

Environment:

The BAE environment is one of respect, support, and positive engagement. We will keep an open mind and encourage students and professionals to learn and grow personally and professionally.
We will actively reach out, make introductions, and help new members of our community (faculty, staff, students) feel welcome, recognized, and valued.
We will respect the multiple identities everyone brings to the department.
We will recognize power imbalance and privilege one brings into spaces and conversations.
We will keep our spaces open and welcoming by prioritizing the maintenance and cleanliness of shared spaces. Community members will respect others' personal and shared spaces.
We will seek out opportunities for professional development and trainings in the pursuit of lifelong learning.
We will encourage and support our community members as they advance within the department, college, university, and in their own careers.

Behavior:

Our department will lead by example through our actions and words in our endeavor to create a more inclusive community.
We acknowledge the power imbalances within academia and strive to make all individuals feel equally valued and heard. Respect is expected in interactions across all professional roles in our community.
Disagreements will be approached with civility and professionalism. Resolutions will be sought in a manner befit a professional institution, with the involvement of relevant supervisors, our human resources professional or the Offices of Institutional Equity as needed.

Communication:

We will create an environment of open, respectful discourse that makes all people comfortable to share opinions, ideas, thoughts, or concerns.
Professional communications will be constructive in intent and use clear and respectful language.
In all cases, we will strive for clarity in communication within our community, and we will avoid assumptions of prior knowledge or expectations.
We will ask for feedback and input to continue developing strong connections and best practices.
We will strive to use words that are inclusive.

This is a live document that can be continually modified and improved. Review will take place each Fall Semester during a faculty/staff meeting.