At Berkeley Physics our culture is strengthened when we each take responsibility for the part we play in supporting the success of every member of our community, when we engage in bettering ourselves alongside one another, and when we pursue dialogue and transparency. The We are Berkeley Campaign was started in 2020 to pursue these goals. The campaign has encompassed a year-long process to develop Community Principles for our department, and has supported a series of workshops where our community can come together to think deeply about ways to diversify STEM, and physics especially.
The Physics Department Community Principles:
UC Berkeley has a set of Community Principles that were developed by students, faculty, staff and alumni to affirm and guide personal and collective behavior for the campus community. A process was started during the Physics First Friday workshop in November 2020 to create a set of unique principles for the Physics Department, a set of agreements rooted in our own community values, beliefs and interests. A set of draft principles were drawn up and were evaluated and edited by community members through retreats, town halls, focus groups and surveys during the 2020-2021 academic year. The principles changed as feedback was collected and changes were integrated.
These principles are not a reflection on scientific ethics, reproducibility, honesty, objectivity, impartiality and freedom of thought. They are a series of aspirational statements reflecting the type of culture and work/study environment we wish to build and sustain. They describe the cultural norms to which we wish to subscribe, and describe the behaviors that contribute to Berkeley Physics remaining a respectful and welcoming space.
See a detailed list of our Community Principles here.
The Physics Department Community Principles Handbook
This Handbook was compiled by a group of Physics Staff, a subgroup of Physics Staff for Action on Racial Justice. The Handbook is offered in five chapters, one chapter for each of the five principles. You are invited to browse it or to refer to it as needed when you encounter challenges in implementing the Physics Department Community Principles. This Handbook is a work in progress and we invite you to let us hear your suggestions, questions, concerns, and ideas for improving it and making it more useful.
Download the Handbook.
Download a Community Principles poster by clicking on the thumbnail below.
