AERA Executive Director Chairs Session on Sexual Harassment in Science and the Academy

May 2018 

COSSA held its 2018 Science Policy Conference and Social Science Advocacy Day on April 30–May 1 in Washington, D.C. The conference brought together social scientists and advocates to learn about and discuss federal policies impacting social science, followed by a day of Capitol Hill visits in support of the social and behavioral sciences.

AERA Executive Director and COSSA Chair Felice J. Levine joined COSSA Executive Director Wendy Naus to welcome participants. During the first morning of the conference, Levine also moderated a panel titled “Me Too, Sexual Harassment in Science and the Academy.”

AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine moderates a panel on sexual harassment

The session featured Elizabeth Armstrong (University of Michigan), Rhonda Davis (National Science Foundation), and Shirley Malcom (American Association for the Advancement of Science). Speakers discussed how harassment in the academy is detrimental to science, the appropriate role of federal agencies to disqualify offenders from receiving federal grants, and what is known about the existence and effectiveness of sexual harassment trainings and policies across nearly 400 schools.

Left to Right: Shirley Malcom (AAAS); Rhonda Davis (NSF); Elizabeth Armstrong (University of Michigan); Felice J.Levine (AERA)

“This plenary session was an important one to hold,” said Levine. “COSSA and the science community take very seriously this issue; it is one that AERA featured in a town hall meeting at the 2018 Annual Meeting in April.” AERA also submitted public comments in early May in response to the NSFs “Reporting Requirements Regarding Findings of Sexual Harassment, Other Forms of Harassment, or Sexual Assault.”

Other plenary panels included “Post Truth: Communicating Facts, Not Fiction,” featuring William K. Hallman (Rutgers University), Cary Funk (Pew Research Center), and Melanie Green (University at Buffalo), and moderated by Trevor Parry-Giles (National Communication Association); and “Reestablishing Trust in Social Science & Data,” featuring Rush Holt (American Association for the Advancement of Science), Arthur Lupia (University of Michigan), and Brian Nosek (Center for Open Science), and moderated by Nancy Kidd (American Sociological Association).

Left to Right: William Hallman (Rutgers University); Melanie Green (University at Buffalo, SUNY); Cary Funk (Pew Research Center); Trevor Parry-Giles (National Communication Association)

On May 1, AERA Director of Government Relations Juliane Baron joined 70 social and behavioral science researchers, stakeholders, and advocates who met with their members of Congress and staff to advocate in support of funding for federal agencies and programs that support social and behavioral science research.