Adding respect to our core value of diversity and inclusion

Abstract

At the fall 2018 American Chemical Society national meeting in Boston, councilors participated in a powerful discussion about harassment and its damaging effects on our members, on chemistry education, and on the overall discipline of chemistry. Suggestions and conversations during and after that meeting led to further discussions among the ACS Board of Directors and to the decision at the board’s November 2018 meeting to add the term respect to the ACS core value of diversity and inclusion. The core values of any organization are the primary guiding principles that dictate the behaviors of those in the organization. The core values reflect what is important to the organization, its worldview, and its fundamental beliefs. In addition to the core value of diversity, inclusion, and respect, ACS’s other core values are passion for chemistry and the global chemical enterprise; focus on members; and professionalism, safety, and ethics. ACS has long valued