NSF Announces New Sexual Harassment Policy

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a policy on September 19, 2018 that requires its 2,000 awardee institutions to report any sexual harassment findings starting October 21, 2018. Under the new policy, universities would be required to notify the agency if any NSF-funded principal investigators or co-principal investigators have committed harassment, including sexual harassment and sexual assault, or have been placed on administrative leave due to such actions. NSF will work with the awardee institution to determine the agency’s action, which could include “substituting or removing principal investigators or co-principal investigators, reducing award funding, and — where neither of those options is available or adequate — suspending or terminating awards.” NSF proposed the policy earlier this year in February and invited public comments in an attempt to address rising concerns over sexual harassment in science. Dr. France A. Córdova, Director of NSF, said: “The NSF is committed to ensuring the safety and security of the people our awards support. We are committed to a nurturing research environment. One that is encouraging and supportive of all researchers. We have heard the voices of the wider community and have responded. We will continue to listen and to take action as a federal granting agency. NSF has no tolerance for harassment.” More information on the new policy can be found here: https://www.nsf.gov/od/odi/har...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news