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Code of Conduct

[The following statement has been approved by the Executive Committee. Amended: November 12, 2019]

The community of participants at GLPA meetings and in the planetarium and astronomy education field is made up of members from around the globe with a diverse set of skills, personalities, and experiences. It is through these differences that our community experiences success and continued growth. We expect everyone in our community to follow these guidelines when interacting with others both inside and outside of our community. Our goal is to maintain a positive, inclusive, successful, and growing community.

As members of the community,

  • We pledge to treat all people with respect and provide a harassment and bullying-free environment, regardless of sex, sexual orientation and/or gender identity, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, nationality, ethnicity, age, and religion. In particular, sexual language and imagery, sexist, racist, or otherwise exclusionary jokes are not appropriate. We will treat those outside our community with the same respect as people within our community.
  • We pledge that all discussions between members of the community should be done with respect, and we pledge to take proactive measure to ensure that all participants are heard and feel confident that they can freely express their opinions.
  • We pledge to help the entire community follow the code of conduct and to act accordingly when we note violations.

This code of conduct applies to all community situations, including conferences, associated social events, on social media, and one-on-one interactions.

Concerns or complaints regarding this Code of Conduct should be expressed privately to one of the GLPA presidents (Past President, President, President-Elect). This information will be shared with the other presidents and dealt with in a timely manner.

This statement has been adapted from the Astropy Community Code of Conduct as further adapted by the Kepler K2 Science Conference, licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Code of Ethics

[This statement has been approved by the membership at an annual meeting.]

Preamble

Great Lakes Planetarium Association members recognize the Code of Ethics and strives to apply its components in their professional lives. The Great Lakes Planetarium Association recognizes that each person’s situation is unique and the degree of applicability may differ.

Employer-Employee Relations

While maintaining our position in order to serve patrons, we planetarians are rewarded with working conditions and compensations which allow us to devote our energies to our job. The ethics of dealing with one’s employer is a two-way street and corporate and institutional members of the society as well as individual members are enjoined to abide by the Code of Ethics.

In fulfillment of the employer-employee agreement, the planetarian:

  • shall adhere to the terms of a contract or appointment, unless these terms have been legally terminated, falsely represented or substantially altered by unilateral action of the employing agency:
  • shall apply for, accept, offer, or assign a position of responsibility on the basis of professional preparation and legal qualifications without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, creed, sex, or national origin:
  • shall not delegate assigned tasks to unqualified personnel, except when circumstances imposed by parent institution requires that such be done:
  • shall not knowingly withhold information regarding a position from an applicant or misrepresent an assignment or conditions or employment:
  • shall apply for a specific position only when it is known to be vacant and shall refrain from underbidding or commenting adversely about other candidates:
  • shall uphold the principle of appropriate and adequate compensation for those engaged in the profession:
  • shall use time granted for the purpose for which it is intended:
  • shall not accept outside employment to the detriment of his/her job:
  • shall not use equipment, supplies, laboratory, or office facilities of his employer to carry on outside private business activities without consent.

Commitment to Patrons

The professional planetarian knows that their position exists because people have a need to be served. In serving the needs of people to understand our universe, the planetarian understands that they are seen as an expert and responds by maintaining the highest standards of integrity.

In fulfillment of the commitment to patrons, the planetarian:

  • promotes and extends public knowledge of, and appreciation for astronomy, science, the scientific process, and the planetarium profession:
  • shall not on the ground of race, color, creed, sex or national origin, exclude any patron from participation in or deny them benefits under any program, nor grant them any discriminatory consideration or advantage:
  • shall not deliberately suppress or distort subject matter:
  • shall not promote subjects and opinions not grounded upon scientific principles:
  • shall make every reasonable effort to protect patrons from conditions harmful to learning or to health
  • shall respect the rights, beliefs, and sensitivities of the patrons:
  • shall not represent an institution or organization with which they are affiliated, and shall take adequate precautions to distinguish between his personal and institutional or organizational views:
  • shall seek opportunities to be of constructive service in civic affairs and work for the advancement of the safety, health and well being of the community.

Commitment to the Profession

No planetarian can perform his/her duties in a professional way without interacting with others in the profession. This interaction with other planetarians nurtures both the professional and the profession, providing new developments and techniques. The professional planetarian recognizes the value of working with the professional organizations and deals equitably with others in the profession.

In fulfillment of the commitment to the profession, the planetarian:

  • continues professional development throughout their career:
  • should strive to increase knowledge within the profession and share developments with colleagues, shall accord just and equitable treatment to all members of the profession:
  • shall admit and accept their own errors when proven wrong and refrain from distorting or altering the facts in an attempt to justify his/her position:
  • avoids any act tending to promote his/her own interest at the expense of the dignity and integrity of the profession:
  • shall not misrepresent his professional qualifications:
  • shall not knowingly distort evaluations of colleagues:
  • shall withhold and safeguard information acquired about colleagues in the course of employment, unless disclosure serves professional purposes:
  • shall not refuse to participate in a professional inquiry when requested by an appropriate professional association:
  • shall not use coercive means to promise special treatment in order to influence professional decisions of colleagues:
  • shall give credit due to others for work, contributions, discoveries, or creations:
  • respects the rights of other artisans and professionals to collect just compensation for the fruits of their labors:
  • should actively support and participate in activities and programs of professional organizations:
  • should establish harmonious relations with colleagues and members of other professions, and endeavor to inform members of related professions of services provided by the planetarium profession.