Community Building and Cohesion

SUBMIT A COMMENT ONLINE

This form provides a way to submit comments, questions, or suggestions regarding departmental climate, with the option of doing so anonymously. Submissions will be read bi-weekly when school is in session by a member of the Community, Belonging and Cohesion Committee (CBC), who decide whether to direct submissions to the full committee or to other appropriate departmental or university authorities. For 2024-2025, the committee membership is: Carter Bower, Kai Santiago, Gul Dolen, Mark D’Esposito, Allison Harvey (Chair), Lance Kriegsfeld (Spring only), Amitai Shenhav & Qing Zhou.

The committee is required to send reports of any Title IX offenses to the Office for Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (see OPHD website); these offenses include, but are not limited to, sex discrimination and sexual violence.

The comments are solicited to fulfill three primary purposes: monitoring, education, and facilitation (see more below). We encourage members of the department to reserve use of this survey for comments or questions that fit these three aims. Positive and negative suggestions are both welcome.

The department diversity, equity, and inclusion committee, led by Celeste Kidd & Aaron Fisher, also welcomes you to write them directly regarding equity goals in the department.

Monitoring. Comments may help the committee to plan actions to improve the climate for all members of the community.

Education. Submitted questions and anecdotes could be used to raise awareness about issues that affect departmental climate. For example, a staff member might submit an example of an exchange with a faculty member that could have been handled more thoughtfully. Or a faculty member might submit a question about how to handle an awkward situation in which a student was disrespectful in lab meeting.

Facilitation. Upon request, the CBC will use contact information provided to arrange a meeting with the submitter to discuss the situation and consider further action.

Alternative Resources. The university offers several mechanisms for reporting inappropriate behavior and resolving conflicts. For a list of other resources, please see https://psychology.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/resources_1.pdf.