Strengthening Inclusion Through the APS Climate Site Visit Program

The APS Site Visit Program recruits, trains, coordinates, and supervises expert committees who visit departments, collaborations, and national laboratories to review their practices, policies, and procedures, and provide recommendations to improve the departmental climate for everyone. The program, which has been running since 1990, has been recently revamped to improve inclusion, effectiveness, and impact. It operates under the auspices of the APS Committee on Minorities and the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics. We will give an overview of the program, detailing how it achieves its dual aims of: (1) improving the climate for all, with special attention to women and marginalized groups, and (2) providing assistance to departments to institutionalize positive climate changes. We will share resources departments and collaborations can use to review and improve their local climate, and share opportunities to become involved in or support the program.