CIERA Community Values Statement
The CIERA community represents a diversity of academic disciplines, career stages, global perspectives, and personal identities. Our mission is to promote research and education in astrophysics with special emphasis on interdisciplinary connections. We recognize that this goal can only be achieved through the meaningful integration of all perspectives in our community and culture. We seek to celebrate our diversity and are committed to creating a welcoming, safe, and inclusive community for everyone. Every person connected to CIERA is expected to uphold our shared values by seeking varied perspectives and deliberately working to increase access and equity of people from marginalized groups. Here are some of the ways we do this:
We engage in DISCOVERY through exploration, seeking to grow both as scientists and as individuals by…
- Approaching our work with curiosity and eagerness to learn.
- Being open to and soliciting feedback, both on our science and on our work environment and relationships, while avoiding personal criticism.
- Asking questions in good faith and recognizing that all fields of research pursued at CIERA are worthy of respect.
We facilitate COLLABORATION across our interdisciplinary community, welcoming and exchanging new ideas and perspectives by…
- Seeking to foster a working environment where everyone is comfortable sharing their ideas and asking questions and intentionally creating space for underrepresented community members.
- Acknowledging that others may approach questions differently and that this diversity of perspectives contributes to the richness of our interdisciplinary community.
- Welcoming new community members and making an effort to get to know our colleagues.
- Being mindful of CIERA’s shared resources, such as computing, staff support, shared spaces, and networking opportunities and working to ensure fair and equitable access to these resources.
We SUPPORT one another through mentorship and engagement, building trust, showing concern, and respecting one another by…
- Celebrating one another’s successes and career milestones.
- Being present and engaged when attending seminars, workshops, and meetings.
- Being mindful of how power dynamics shape our working environment.
- Being compassionate, empowering mentors and proactive, receptive mentees.
- Being respectful of our colleagues’ time and scientific perspectives.
- Actively prioritizing physical and mental health and offering compassion and understanding to ourselves and to others when challenges arise.
- Looking out for one another and offering support when we notice a colleague struggling or when someone asks for help.
- Listening openly, speaking kindly, and being cognizant of available campus resources.
We embrace our DIVERSITY, affirming identity and actively fostering inclusion by…
- Avoiding comments, jokes, and discrimination based on stereotypes and challenging our own assumptions about others.
- Saying something when witnessing behavior that makes a community member uncomfortable and goes against these values (“ouch”) and supporting community members that speak up.
- Recognizing our own biases, both explicit and implicit, apologizing when we make mistakes that impact others (“oops”), and always striving to do better.
- Using thoughtful language when interacting with others, being mindful of the difference between our impact and our intent.
Useful resources:
Office of the Ombudsperson
Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance
Anonymous reporting via EthicsPoint
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) for Students
Additional resources and links are available for the CIERA community on the CIERA Guide.
Our Center’s efforts
CIERA has established dedicated action teams and a central committee, including representation from faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students, to tackle Diversity, Equity & Inclusion efforts.
Please see CIERA About Us page for current JEDI Committee Members.
Current action teams include:Mentoring, Code-of-Conduct, DEI Communication & Visibility, Affinity Groups
CIERA also participates with University-wide diversity & inclusion efforts.
Northwestern’s Leadership Commitment
Policies & Reporting Forms: Northwestern’s Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance