Code of Conduct

This Code of Conduct is a community agreement between participants in the KNZ LTER program. It applies to all individuals participating in physical and virtual environments associated with the KNZ LTER program. The goal of the Code of Conduct is to expand our consideration of scientific misconduct (e.g. data fabrication, plagiarism) to include the mistreatment of people. The intent of this community agreement, and associated community-enforced warning system, is to protect all individuals by correcting unintentionally harmful behavior. If harmful behavior persists after the offender is conscious of its effect, then the violation is more severe, and more likely to require reporting to higher authorities.

Expected Behavior

  • Treat all people with respect and consideration
  • Foster a collaborative, equitable research environment
  • Value the diversity of views and opinions in our research program
  • No harassing or discriminatory remarks or actions

Unacceptable Behavior

  • Harassment, abuse, stalking, or threats in-person or virtually
  • Unwelcome physical contact
  • Discriminatory behavior related to race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or physical appearance
  • Abuse of power dynamics
  • Conduct that prevents another person from exercising their freedom of expression, as long as this expression does not violate this Code of Conduct
  • This is not a comprehensive list of unacceptable behaviors

If you experienced an incident of Discrimination, Harassment, or Sexual Harassment that occurred on site (KPBS), this needs to be reported to Kansas State University (here). Additionally, if you are affiliated with another institution, please follow their reporting guidelines.

Assault or any criminal acts should also be reported to the Riley County Policy Department at 785-537-2112 or 911.

Also, consider reporting internally. You can contact a person you feel most comfortable with from this list below:

The ombudspeople's responsibility is to hear and respect any individual's concerns about code of conduct violations, take action to remind the offender of their social contract with the Konza LTER community, and follow up with the targeted individual to be sure the concern has been resolved.