Reporting Unprofessional Behavior – Meet the SPSA Ombud

The SPSA is committed to the highest standards of professional behavior. Our conduct policy can be found here:

https://spsa.net/resources/professional-conduct/

If you have been subject to harassment or other unprofessional behavior during the Annual Conference we urge you to contact the SPSA Ombud or the professional staff of the SPSA.

Ombud – Carol Mershon, University of Virginia

Carol Mershon, Ph.D., is the Hugh S. and Winifred Cumming Chair in Politics at the University of Virginia. She has served as Interim Co-PI / Program Director for UVA CHARGE, the NSF ADVANCE program at UVA, and continues to serve on the UVA CHARGE Internal Advisory Board. A member of the Steering Committee of the Directors of Diversity and Inclusion in UVA Arts & Sciences, Mershon helped spearhead the creation of the pilot UVA Arts & Sciences Faculty Guides program, designed to handle concerns about, e.g., harassment, conflicts of interest, and equity. In her most recent NSF-funded project, with Denise Walsh, Mershon has developed strategies for diversifying leadership and addressing bias in political science and academe more broadly.

Contacting the Ombud

Please contact the SPSA ombud via email – spsaombuds@gmail.com.

The SPSA Ombud will be available online and on-site during the 2020 SPSA Annual Meeting to speak with you on your concerns of violations of the SPSA Standards of Professional Conduct, and the methods for reporting such concerns.

Contacting the SPSA Professional Staff:

If you prefer to receive guidance for making your report, you can contact:

• SPSA Executive Director, Dr. Robert Howard, rhoward@gsu.edu
• Operations Manager, Patricia Brown, finance@spsa.net

These email accounts are secure. Your confidentiality will be maintained.