A painting at the National Academy of Sciences depicts Abraham Lincoln signing the organization’s charter.FLICKR, EP_JHUAn online petition calling on the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to revoke memberships bestowed on people sanctioned for sexual harassment has garnered more than 250 signatures since it was posted on Wednesday (May 1). Published in the wake of the organization’s national meeting, which ended on Tuesday, the petition states: “By removing these individuals from the NAS community, we can begin to repair [any] damage done by these individuals, restore the NAS community to a place of prestige and acknowledge we can and will move forward with a commitment to providing environments that foster scientific discovery.”
In a statement to The Scientist in response to the petition, NAS spokesperson William Kearney writes, “The National Academy of Sciences is extremely sensitive to the seriousness of the issue of gender and sexual harassment. . . . While we never condone sexual harassment, there are no provisions in the NAS bylaws to rescind membership for any reason; election is for life.”
The NAS is a nonprofit charged with advising the US government on scientific matters; it also publishes the journal PNAS. Membership in the organization is considered a high honor for researchers, with no more than 84 new members elected each year.
According to a blog post by an author who goes by the screen name “Flighty Squirrel,” and whose biographical details match those ...
