Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Department of History Code of Conduct and Statement of Shared Values 

The Department of History's Committee on Climate, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (CEDI) - with input from faculty, staff, graduate students and undergraduates - has developed a Code of Conduct and Statement of Shared Values, to serve as guiding principles for the community of learning we aspire to create. For more information, and to download a print-friendly copy of the Code of Conduct, please click here.

Other Codes of Conduct

All members of the Department of History—faculty, staff, graduate students and undergraduates—are expected to abide by the existing University codes of conduct that govern them.

Faculty Code of Conduct

Student Code of Conduct

Berkeley Honor Code

UC Statement of Ethical Values and Standards of Ethical Conduct

UC Berkeley Principles of Community

These principles of community for the University of California, Berkeley, are rooted in our mission of teaching, research and public service. They reflect our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation, and our deep commitment to contributing to a better world. Every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring and humane environment in which these values can thrive.

  • We place honesty and integrity in our teaching, learning, research and administration at the highest level.

  • We recognize the intrinsic relationship between diversity and excellence in all our endeavors.

  • We affirm the dignity of all individuals and strive to uphold a just community in which discrimination and hate are not tolerated.

  • We are committed to ensuring freedom of expression and dialogue that elicits the full spectrum of views held by our varied communities.

  • We respect the differences as well as the commonalities that bring us together and call for civility and respect in our personal interactions.

  • We believe that active participation and leadership in addressing the most pressing issues facing our local and global communities are central to our educational mission.

  • We embrace open and equitable access to opportunities for learning and development as our obligation and goal.

For more information, visit UC Berkeley's Division of Equity, Inclusion & Diversity page.

Gender Equity and Climate (GEC) Advisors

The mission of the History Department’s GEC Advisors is to help devise and implement solutions to climate problems not necessarily involving formal investigations, and to serve as pointers to campus resources for conflict resolution, emotional, and mental health. There are always two faculty GEC Advisors, who must belong to different sub-fields of the historical discipline in order to give students, staff, and faculty a choice about whom they wish to address with concerns.

Any member of the History Department can come to any GEC Advisor for help. Our goal is to foster and sustain a professional environment characterized by equity, respect, and inclusion, in which all members of the History community can do their best work. Information given to one GEC Advisor is shared with another GEC Advisor only on an as-need basis.

Although we will do our best to keep the information reported to us private, GEC Advisors are non-confidential: violations of the Title IX policy protecting University members against harassment, discrimination, and assault that are reported to us will necessarily be reported to the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD). The general rule is that if anyone wishes confidentiality, they should ask before confiding.

Gender Equity and Climate Advisors (For fuller description of this role, see here)

Committee on Climate, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

In spring 2018 the Department formed a new standing committee, known as CEDI. It is comprised of faculty, staff, and student representatives who are appointed by the Chair. CEDI was initially formed to draft our department’s Statement of Shared Values and Code of Conduct, but remains in place to foster an inclusive, respectful, and transparent departmental culture. It is also tasked with addressing issues that arise related to departmental climate and to challenges to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the broadest sense, and working toward solutions to these challenges.

Committee on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

*Gender Equity Advisor

Preventing and Responding to Sexual Harassment and Discrimination

The Department of History is committed to providing support to anyone who has experienced any form of harassment or discrimination that impedes one's right to a safe work environment. You may find a list of resources for responding to harassment and discrimination here.

Division of Equity and Inclusion

“At a time when access and inclusion are unequal, the division advocates for equity by providing programs and services that lead to academic access and success for students, pathways to leadership and advancement for staff, building equitable structures with faculty advisors, and closing opportunity gaps for our most marginalized groups.”

Office for Faculty Equity and Welfare

“The Office for Faculty Equity & Welfare (OFEW) is committed to the full participation in academic careers for all scholars, including individuals who are members of groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education such as women, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, individuals with disabilities, veterans, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender, and others. The office accomplishes this through:

  • Promoting inclusive hiring practices

  • Supporting faculty relocation

  • Developing or proposing academic personnel policies

  • Conducting cutting-edge research on faculty equity and welfare

  • Monitoring faculty advancement

  • Advising faculty about tenure and advancement

  • Promoting faculty retention by building a vibrant and diverse academic community

  • Supporting programs and services that contribute to the well-being and creativity of retired faculty and academic staff.”

Disabled Students Program (DSP)

The Disabled Students Program (DSP) is a campus resource dedicated to “promot[ing] an inclusive environment for students with disabilities.” This includes undergraduate and graduate students. The DSP offers support to students with any kind of disability, and works with students to secure “appropriate accommodations and services to achieve their individual goals.”

Mental Health

Berkeley provides a comprehensive Mental Health Handbook and a "Gold Folder" guide for helping people in distress. For more information, please refer to the Mental Health Handbook for Faculty, Staff, and GSIs

Submit A Feedback Form

Report Concerns & Feedback

The Department of History maintains an online form through which anyone with a berkeley.edu/CalNet account can submit concerns, suggestions, or feedback of any kind. The form is intended to be the digital equivalent of an old-fashioned suggestion box.

The submission will be anonymous unless authors choose to identify themselves. Submissions will be automatically sent to the Department Chair, Department Manager, Director of Graduate Studies, and the EDI Advisors. Each week, responses will be routed to the appropriate staff/faculty for resolution.

Acknowledgements

These resources were initially gathered by the Astronomy Chair and Astronomy Climate Advisors for the Department of Astronomy’s website, and are used here in adapted form with their permission. Content has been revised and edited for the Department of History.

Please email the Department Chair if you see errors in this webpage.