Dear Colleagues:
On October 22, 2018, the National Science Foundation implemented a new policy to ensure the research and learning environments it supports are free from harassment by publishing a term and condition that requires awardee organizations to report findings and determinations of sexual harassment. After October 22nd, all new NSF awards and funding amendments to existing awards will be subject to the new term and condition.
When incorporated into an NSF award, awardee organizations will be required to notify NSF of any findings/determinations of sexual harassment, other forms of harassment, or sexual assault regarding an NSF funded Principal Investigator (PI) or co-PI, or of the placement of the PI or co-PI on administrative leave, or the imposition of any administrative action relating to harassment or sexual assault finding or investigation.
The full term and condition can be found here.
To implement this new reporting requirement, a task force was established to create procedures for the University to meet the NSF requirements. Attached you will find the newly created UMD NSF Harassment Reporting Procedures, which connects the Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct (OCRSM) and the Office of Research Administration (ORA) together to effectively report findings.
If you have any questions regarding this email, please contact Wendy Montgomery, Director of ORA at wmont@umd.edu or 5-6279.
Sincerely,
Laurie E. Locascio, Ph.D.
Vice President for Research
University of Maryland
College Park, MD