(1) Background.

(a) As members of the EvCC community, we acknowledge our collective intention to create and maintain an environment in which everyone can flourish. This statement on civility and community serves as a reflection on shared values that inform our daily interactions as a college. It provides a structure for responding to others with respect and without judgment and at the same time gives us all a context for teaching and learning. Students, faculty, administrators, and staff members may differ widely in their specific interests, in the degrees and kinds of experiences they bring to EvCC, and in the functions which they have agreed to perform. The statement is relevant to all EvCC community members, regardless of their professional functions or the setting in which they work, teach, or learn.

(b) The statement on civility and community is not a set of rules that prescribe how we should act in all situations. Conflict and differences of opinion exist within all communities, and values find expression in individual ways. The statement provides community members with a tool to address these differences with respect while informing and enhancing dialogue.

(c) This statement on civility and community is not intended to limit freedom of speech, intellectual or academic freedom.

(d) We honor the right of expression as a hallmark of learning, and we treasure intellectual freedom even when individual or group points of view are controversial or out of favor with prevailing perspectives. Individuals should not feel intimidated, nor be subject to reprisal for, voicing their concerns or for participating in governance or policy making.

(2) Values.

(a)(i) Respect, civility, integrity, honesty.

(ii) Respect, civility, integrity and honesty are not just words; they are intentions that must be present in our interactions with one another. Each member of the EvCC community must feel free and safe to exercise the rights accorded them to voice their opinions in a civil way, as well as to respectfully challenge the uncivil acts of others.

(b)(i) Accountability.

(ii) We value our accountability to one another within our civic, communal and environmental context. Each member of the community shall respect the fundamental rights of others, the rights and obligations of Everett Community College as an institution established by the state of Washington, and individual rights to fair and equitable procedures when the institution acts to protect the safety of its members.

(c) Inclusion. We value diversity in all its forms by engaging in inclusive assessment of, and action in, our workforce selection, in our policies and practices, in our curricular offerings, and in the scope of our services and programs. We actively seek and serve a diverse population of students. As a community, we are made richer by the variety of experiences and influences that individuals and groups contribute to our institution.

(3) Collaboration. We value the struggle to find and create meaningful human connection in our communication by embracing collaboration, respectful disagreement, free and open exchange of diverse ideas, perspectives, opinions and attitudes, and the resolving of differences through due process and a shared commitment to collaboration.