Leshner Fellows call on AAAS to implement harassment policy for fellows and honorees
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), as the world’s largest general scientific society, should refuse to honor individuals who have harassed others. Fellows of AAAS’ Leshner Leadership Institute for Public Engagement with Science have today released a public letter calling on AAAS to develop a strong, meaningful policy to ensure that scientists who have harassed others do not receive AAAS awards or fellowships. No clear mechanism exists at present for preventing those who have damaged science by engaging in harassment from receiving and retaining AAAS awards, titles, and honors.
The effects of harassment -- behavior that harms, degrades, and discriminates -- are pervasive in science. In particular, for sexual and gender harassment, its systemic impacts are a daily reality for women in academia, whose professional interactions, choices, and career paths are shaped by its presence.
"The pervasiveness of sexual and gender harassment in science influences who women choose as mentors and collaborators, what topics we research, and what career paths are realistic options. This can prevent us from contributing to science with our full potential. AAAS should recognize the importance of this issue by refusing to honor those who perpetuate a discriminatory system," said Noelle E. Selin, an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a 2016-2017 Leshner Fellow.
In their letter, Leshner fellows call on AAAS to both prevent future awards to and, where appropriate, revoke previous honors, from those who have engaged in harassment. Honoring harassers sends a message to the entire scientific community that a harasser’s individual achievements are judged to be more valuable than the lives and livelihoods of their victims, and also more important than the severe, widespread effects of a culture of harassment on the careers and scientific potential of a much broader population.
"It is imperative that our institutions recognize the harms caused by harassment. Harassment must be viewed as a form of scientific misconduct, and individuals found to have engaged in misconduct should not receive or retain honors from AAAS," noted Meghan Duffy, an associate professor at the University of Michigan and a 2017-2018 Leshner Fellow.
Taking action to address the pervasive nature of harassment in science is the responsibility of all scientists, and scientific societies such as AAAS can and should set an example. As Melissa Kenney, associate research professor at University of Maryland and a 2016-2017 Leshner Fellow stated, “By developing a policy that identifies harassment as scientific misconduct, AAAS can lead the way for other scientific societies to act.”
In their letter, the Leshner Fellows propose criteria for an effective, transparent policy, and urge AAAS to apply such a policy to all fellows and honorees, including past, present and future Leshner cohorts.
"We are asking AAAS to make it clear that harassment is incompatible with being an honored member of the scientific community, because harassment denies science and society the potential contributions of those who are its victims," said Anne Jefferson, associate professor at Kent State University and a 2016-2017 Leshner Fellow. Jeffrey Dukes, professor at Purdue University and a 2016-2017 Leshner Fellow added, "Many researchers have made impressive contributions to science. When a society selects some to honor, it makes sense that they should be good citizens."
The Leshner fellows are asking AAAS elected fellows, other honorees, and society members to indicate their support for the effort by signing onto the letter online at https://sites.google.com/view/timesupaaas.
Leshner Fellows are charged by AAAS to develop and implement public engagement activities, train and mentor other scientists in their communities, and promote public engagement within their institutions. Addressing harassment is a critical part of fulfilling this mission, as harassment prevents the scientific community from drawing upon the expertise and perspectives necessary to engage with and inform solutions to society’s biggest challenges.
About the Leshner Leadership Institute: (from https://leshnerfellows.aaas.org) The AAAS Leshner Leadership Institute is an initiative of the AAAS Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology, started in 2015 in honor of CEO Emeritus Alan I. Leshner, who founded the Center. Each year, a cohort of 15 AAAS Leshner Fellows from an area of research at the nexus of science and society will convene for a week of intensive public engagement and science communication training and public engagement plan development.
For further information: TimesUpAAAS@gmail.com