Message from the Salk President

June 3, 2020

Message from the Salk President

June 3, 2020

Each of us has a responsibility to maintain a work environment that is professional, civil and enables people and creativity to thrive. It is important that all of us approach this ongoing dialogue with respect and consideration for how our words and actions may impact one another.

Following the distribution of an email message by a Salk employee containing content that was inflammatory and viewed by many members of our community as racist, additional use of the email system for posts was stopped. All authors of subsequent emails were notified to post their messages in Slack as a way to encourage the dialogue and allow individuals to respond. This forum was chosen by SRF as it provides a much more robust platform for an ongoing dialogue and in no way was it done to silence any dialogue or allow the email to be the last message received on the topic.

I want to be very clear that the remarks included in the email in question do not reflect the values or position of the Salk Institute. I strongly believe that only through a respectful exchange of ideas can we advance our values of embracing diversity, championing inclusion and advancing equity at the Institute.

In our research institution, informed/spirited debate and scientific criticism is valued, disagreement is expected, and assertions may merit challenges. However, this must all be done in a humanistic manner with consideration and respect for others. It is important that all of us approach this ongoing dialogue with respect and understanding for how our words and actions may impact one another.

If individuals feel that any interaction they have had or experienced violates our code of conduct policy I strongly urge them to report it either to HR directly (hr@salk.edu) or your direct supervisor. If after review it is determined that the incident violated Salk policy, appropriate action will be taken.

Respectfully,

Rusty