AAPOR Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Dear AAPOR Community,
 
Events of the past weeks have highlighted the challenges and dangers posed by institutional and systemic barriers to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The coronavirus has underscored racial and social disparities in employment security and access to health care. Communities of color have been struck disproportionately by COVID-19. In addition to the pandemic, Black Americans continue to die by the hands of others, their deaths sparking protests and violence across the country.
 
These tragic developments have triggered uncertainty, fear, and suffering that continue to grip us as individuals and as a community. They also are deeply unnerving, particularly for individuals of color and marginalized groups.
 
These events remind us of what we as an organization can do. Through high-quality public opinion research, AAPOR and its members are uniquely positioned to shed light on the will of the people through a data-driven lens. Our social scientists provide leaders, policy makers, and the public alike with a clear description of the state of the world. 
 
Against this backdrop, AAPOR Executive Council reaffirms its organizational commitment to diversity and inclusion. Diversity in our membership has been a longstanding principle within AAPOR: It appears in our bylaws, as a goal of the AAPOR2025 strategic vision, and as an explicit focus in our 2016 Diversity Statement and Diversity Plan.
 
AAPOR has been taking concrete steps to implement this plan, to support diversity within AAPOR, and nurture diversity in the field.  Our work in this area is ongoing. This is why we need your help.
 
We encourage all members to share their ideas of how to best translate into action AAPOR's commitment to diversity and inclusion. We welcome your thoughts and ideas at AAPOR’s annual business meeting at the virtual conference and by emailing the Executive Council at [email protected]. It is only through the collective efforts of AAPOR members – having different lived experiences, hailing from myriad backgrounds, and holding different perspectives – that we can advance our Diversity Plan and promote equity in meaningful ways.
 
Thank you for helping us maintain diversity and inclusion as institutional imperatives.
 
AAPOR Executive Council
 
Daniel Merkle
President
 
Patricia Moy
Vice President
 
Nora Cate Schaeffer
Past President
 
Gretchen McHenry
Secretary-Treasurer
 
Ginger Blazier
Associate Secretary-Treasurer
 
Kristen Olson
Conference Chair
 
Darby Steiger
Associate Conference Chair
 
Ipek Bilgen
Membership/Chapter Relations Chair
 
Angelique Uglow
Associate Membership/Chapter Relations Chair
 
Jessica Holzberg
Communications Chair
 
Marco Morales
Associate Communications Chair
 
Rachel A. Caspar
Education Chair
 
Emilia Peytcheva
Associate Education Chair
 
Mary Losch
Councilor-at-Large
 
Ricki Jarmon
Councilor-at-Large
 
Timothy Triplett
Standards Chair
 
Ashley Kirzinger
Associate Standards Chair