Climate and Inclusion Committee

The primary goal of this committee is to identify areas of potential improvement in our department culture and develop plans to address these issues. The committee will work with the department as a whole to institute reforms. We encourage you to reach out to any member of that committee with concerns or ideas regarding inclusion or climate within the Department of Economics.

How we will handle concerns and/or ideas:

1. Identify the immediacy of the concern or idea: Some concerns may need to be addressed immediately, thus whomever receives the concern will work with the committee chair and/or committee members to assess urgency, resources, and next steps.
2. Uphold confidentiality: Our committee members strive to uphold confidentiality of concerns as much as possible. Exceptions to this are situations that align with reporting obligations as representatives of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
3. Maintain communication with and/or include the individual in the process of resolving, responding to, or exploring the concern and/or idea. This could include (but is not limited to) listening to the concern/idea, connecting the individual to campus or community resources, reporting to necessary authorities or campus units, and inviting the individual to share information at a committee meeting.
4. For substantial grievances, please note that the department has formal processes for serious concerns. Undergraduate students should contact the Economics Undergraduate Academic Advising office, master’s students should consult and follow the grievance procedure outlined in the Program Progress and Expectations section of the Guidelines, and doctoral students should consult and follow the procedure in section 7 of the Doctoral program guidelines. Faculty and staff should bring concerns to their immediate supervisor.

We know there is not a one size fits all approach to addressing concerns and ideas and thus aspire to partner with the individual reaching out to us to identify what an inclusive and participatory process will look like.