Page 14 - University of South Florida 2024-2025 Student Planner

PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY
We the students, alumni, faculty, staff, and administrators of the University of South Florida unite as a community to propel the success of “One USF.” We celebrate our accomplishments and respect our complex differences. We commit ourselves to shaping the future in a community that cherishes justice, accessibility, and meaningful participation by all of its members. USF starts with US.
In this spirit, we state the following Principles of Community.*
EXCELLENCE WITH EQUITY
We affirm the value of excellence. Our essential pursuit of truth and wisdom depends upon fairness and equity. We recognize that individual and collective excellence entails a responsibility to ensure that every member of our community has the opportunity to succeed.
DIVERSITY WITH INCLUSION
We affirm the value of diversity, individual dignity, equity, and our common humanity. Diversity of lived experiences, thought, and values enriches our lives and our whole university community. We seek the intentional inclusion of the broadest possible range of these perspectives essential to a university with local, state, national, and global impact.
FREEDOM WITH RESPONSIBILITY
We affirm the value of academic freedom and the inherent value of people’s right to express themselves respectfully, freely, safely, and with civility. We reject the demeaning acts of bullying, violence, prejudice, and discrimination as they undermine the community we aspire to be.
DIALOGUE WITH RESPECT
We affirm the value of evidence and seek perspectives to foster productive communication, dialogue, and constructive disagreement. We listen respectfully and reject language that demeans any member of the community. We embrace differences by learning through open debate in a spirit of curiosity.
TRANSPARENCY WITH ACCOUNTABILITY
We affirm the value of a clear and transparent working and learning environment that promotes honesty, fairness, and trust. We commit our time, talents, and resources to building a culture of caring that promotes the integrity of our relationships and the sustainable well-being of the entire community. We are personally responsible, across every level, for treating each other with respect, candor, and accountability.
* The USF Principles of Community set forth aspirational ideals and expectations for campus interactions both in person and in virtual formats. Members of our community should treat each other with respect and dignity, refrain from displays of inappropriate anger or intimidating conduct, shun epithets or abusive language, and find effective means to disagree, to persuade and to inform through rational discussion. The Principles of Community are not official University of South Florida Regulation or Policy; nor do they alter the terms and conditions of existing collective bargaining agreements, the Student Code of Conduct, or departmental or professional codes of conduct.
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