Proposed Changes to the SCS Statement on Professional Ethics
The Committee on Professional Ethics proposes updating and emending the Society’s Statement on Professional Ethics in several respects.
First, the opening paragraph of the Statement is simply outdated. SCS has had an official statement and a Committee on Professional Ethics for almost fifty years, and the language there refers to events in the 1980s. The Committee accordingly proposes updated and streamlined language. Also, while the Committee has not received any complaints in recent years that it believes were maliciously fabricated, it has seen false accusations of misconduct at institutions and on social media, and decided that the Society’s Statement should include this issue.
Second, the Committee has long realized that antisemitism was not adequately covered in the Society’s Statement on Professional Ethics, because it does not quite fit the categories of religion or race. Since there was never any question that the Committee would regard antisemitic behavior as an ethical violation, it did not seem necessary to change the statement. With the alarming rise in antisemitism in the United States, however, the Committee decided that it should be addressed explicitly, and that Islamophobia, which similarly does not always fit the existing categories, should also be included. Since the Committee is proposing changes for a vote by the membership, it has also taken this opportunity to include ethnicity, and to rewrite the sentence supporting affirmative action. Since the Supreme Court has recently ruled against affirmative action in the context of college admissions, we want to have a clear statement of commitment to diversity that does not depend on a legal situation that is in flux in the US. In any case, our commitment to increasing diversity in our field should extend beyond affirmative action, to how we not only recruit students and faculty, but how we teach, administer, and represent the field.
There are two sets of proposed changes.
(1) First Three Paragraphs:
Existing:
The Society for Classical Studies has in recent years received a number of requests to intervene on behalf of individual members in situations involving violations and alleged violations of professional ethics. There has been and will continue to be considerable debate as to how the SCS should respond to such requests. At the very least, however, these appeals for support suggest the need for a clear statement of those ethical principles which should regulate the conduct of all those who participate in the profession. Accordingly, the Board of Directors at its meeting of October 1986 appointed an ad hoc Committee on Professional Ethics and charged this Committee to draft such a code. The present document represents the results of the Committee's deliberations with updates (as listed at the end of the document). It is intended as a description of the responsibilities that we all share to provide a humane, safe and just working environment for the welfare of the discipline. The document offers an expression of consensus on professional conduct in the face of increasing recognition of the consequences of abuses. The statements made here, however, are only guidelines for desirable behavior and have no legal force except where stated. It is hoped that classicists will use the document as a frame of reference for acceptable and appropriate professional conduct.
The Society for Classical Studies must make every effort to see that its own activities live up to the high standards set forth in this document. Questions or complaints about the conduct of any of the Society's programs should be addressed to the relevant committee chairperson or person in charge, or to any officer or member of the Board of Directors. Issues that do not find a routine resolution through these channels may be considered by the Board of Directors at their regular meetings or in cases of special urgency by the Executive Committee of the Board. The SCS urges all members and classicists to maintain the highest professional standards and to follow the guidelines set out in this document. In pursuing this goal, the Directors are prepared to consider questions, suggestions and well-reasoned and documented complaints from members or other concerned parties.
The Society's primary role in the area of Professional Ethics is to collect and disseminate information, to suggest possible improvements, and to encourage constructive change. This does not preclude the possibility that the Directors from time to time may wish to make a statement of concern or even censure, as recommended by the Professional Ethics Committee, and to that end the Society maintains a set of Grievance Policies and Procedures in its Regulations.
Proposed Amendments to the existing first three paragraphs:
Because the SCS receives frequent requests from members to intervene in situations involving violations or alleged violations of professional ethics, it has developed an official statement of the ethical principles that should guide all who participate in the field. This statement was first published in 1986 and it has since been updated (updates are listed at the end of the document). It is intended as a description of the responsibilities that we all share to provide a humane, safe and just working environment for the welfare of the discipline. The document offers an expression of consensus on professional conduct in the face of increasing recognition of the consequences of abuses. The statements made here, however, are only guidelines for desirable behavior and have no legal force except where stated. It is hoped that classicists will use the document as a frame of reference for acceptable and appropriate professional conduct.
The Society for Classical Studies must make every effort to see that its own activities live up to the high standards set forth in this document. Questions or complaints about the conduct of any of the Society's programs should be addressed to the relevant committee chairperson or person in charge, or to any officer or member of the Board of Directors. Issues that do not find a routine resolution through these channels may be considered by the Board of Directors at their regular meetings or in cases of special urgency by the Executive Committee of the Board. The SCS urges all members and classicists to maintain the highest professional standards and to follow the guidelines set out in this document. In pursuing this goal, the Directors are prepared to consider questions, suggestions and well-reasoned and documented complaints from members or other concerned parties.
The Society’s primary role in the area of Professional Ethics is to collect and disseminate information, to suggest possible improvements, and to encourage constructive change. This does not preclude the possibility that the Directors from time to time may wish to make a statement of concern or even censure, as recommended by the Professional Ethics Committee, and to that end the Society maintains a set of Grievance Policies and Procedures in its Regulations. Knowingly false accusations of harassment, discrimination, or other misconduct to the Committee are themselves violations of professional ethics.
(2) First paragraph under the “Employment and Professional Service” heading
Existing:
In all matters relating to employment, the Society for Classical Studies strongly endorses the 1976 AAUP Statement on Discrimination with its 1994 and 1995 revisions. It is a foundation of our professional values that classicists should be protected against discrimination based on race, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and actual or perceived medical conditions. The Society for Classical Studies supports the principles of affirmative action and urges Classics departments to pursue affirmative action programs and policies aggressively.
Proposed amendments to existing:
In all matters relating to employment, the Society for Classical Studies strongly endorses the 1976 AAUP Statement on Discrimination with its 1994 and 1995 revisions. It is a foundation of our professional values that classicists should be protected against discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and actual or perceived medical conditions, as well as discrimination arising from antisemitism or Islamophobia. The Society, furthermore, encourages substantive and meaningful efforts by individuals, departments, and institutions towards diversifying our field both demographically and intellectually.