Values and Expectations

The Biology Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is dedicated to providing a diverse, accepting, and supportive environment. We pledge to hold all of our members to the highest standards of conduct, scholarship, integrity, inclusiveness, respect, and engagement. Through a commitment to these values, we strive to maintain an academic community as a place where all can learn, thrive, and grow. As faculty, staff, and students of the UMass Amherst Biology Department, we are committed to upholding these common values:

  • Accountability – we take responsibility for our actions.
  • Scholarship – we are intellectually ambitious and seek to make significant contributions to human understanding of the natural world.
  • Personal and Institutional Integrity – we are honorable in our academic and professional endeavors as well as our personal interactions.
  • Equity – we give members of our community equal opportunities to participate and to access resources necessary for success.
  • Respect and Civility – we treat every individual with dignity at all times, and we recognize the inherent value in all identities and abilities.
  • Engagement – we participate in the community through responsible leadership and service.

We constantly aspire to live these values and work to support our collective and individual successes and well-being.