ACM convenings work because everyone in the room has agreed, in advance, to uphold a few shared commitments. These four commitments apply to all ACM meetings, workshops, programs, and institutes, whether they happen online or in-person.
- Come prepared to share and to learn. Arrive ready to offer your campus’s experience, including what has and hasn’t worked, and just as ready to learn from others. Make room for colleagues who haven’t spoken yet. Give yourself the gift of being fully present and try not to be distracted by email and devices.
- Keep the conversation productive and respectful. Bring your best self. Disagreement about ideas is valuable and often productive. Treat one another with respect. Avoid generalizations that disparage a group, an office, or a role.
- Hold what you hear in confidence. ACM gatherings follow the Chatham House Rule, said plainly: what is said at an ACM meeting stays at an ACM meeting. Candor is only possible when people trust that a half-formed idea, or an honest account of a hard year, won’t follow them home. You are encouraged to apply the best insights and ideas, just repeat them without name attribution.
- Bring questions or concerns to ACM staff. Raise anything, at any time: a question about the agenda, a concern about how a conversation is going, or a need we haven’t anticipated. We’d rather hear it during the meeting than after.
A note on conduct. ACM does not tolerate harassment, discrimination, or intimidation at our events. Attendees are empowered to raise a concern with any ACM staff member so that issues can be addressed in the moment. A staff member may ask a participant to leave the session or the event. If something comes to mind later or you’d like to report something confidentially, you can reach out to Lisa Jasinski, ACM President, at [email protected].
