ASEEES Privacy Policy

The Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (“ASEEES”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) respects your concerns about privacy. This Privacy Policy describes the types of personal information we collect, how we use the information, with whom we share it, and the choices you can make about our collection, use and disclosure of the information. We also describe the measures we take to protect the security of the information and how you can contact us about our privacy practices.

The phrase “personal information” refers to information by which you or the device you are using to connect to the Internet can be identified.

Information We Collect

We may obtain personal information about you from various sources, including this and other ASEEES websites, including www.aseees.org, the ASEEES membership site hosted at YourMembership.com, the ASEEES Convention site hosted at allacademic.com, grant application site hosted at submittable.com, and others.  We may obtain personal information when you call us, email us, communicate with us through social media, or when you participate in events.

Providing your information to ASEEES is entirely voluntary.  You are not obligated to provide all information requested (such as in online or paper forms).  However, failure to provide certain information may interfere with our ability to provide certain member services (for example, a mailing address is necessary to provide physical copies of ASEEES publications).  If you have specific questions about what data is necessary for what activities, contact ASEEES staff (see “How to Contact Us”).

The types of personal information we may obtain include:
  1. Your contact information (such as name, social media, postal and email address, or phone number)
  2. Contact information of colleagues or other people you would like us to contact
  3. Username and password for the account you may establish on the ASEEES Websites
  4. Events that you have registered to attend
  5. Messages submitted to listservs or other communications
  6. Information submitted to online forms and surveys
  7. Information submitted on file sharing platforms
  8. Payment details (including payment card number, security code, expiration date, cardholder name and billing address)
  9. Shipping information (including shipping address and phone number)
  10. Demographic information (such as age, date of birth, gender, and income level)
  11. Educational and professional history and interests
  12. Information you provide by interacting with us through social media, including photographs
  13. Location information, such as the real-time geographic location of the device on which you install or access our mobile applications
  14. A record of the purchases you make on the ASEEES Websites
  15. Other identifiable information that you may submit to us.

We collect the above information in accordance with the legitimate interest of ASEEES to provide services to our members, provide personalized communications to our members, understand how services are being used and improve our services to our users. Some other interest to collect this information is below.

We collect personal identification information such as name, organization, emails, social media, address and phone number to keep our members informed of information that may affect or interest them. Usernames and passwords are required to provide our members with personalized experiences within ASEEES applications; passwords are private and inaccessible by ASEEES staff.

We may process information relating to transactions, including purchases of goods and services, that you enter into with us and/or through our website (“transaction data”).  The transaction data may include your contact details, your credit card details and the transaction details.  The transaction data may be processed for the purpose of supplying the purchased goods and services and keeping proper records of those transactions.  The legal basis for this processing is the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract and our legitimate interests, namely our interest in the proper administration of our website and business.

Sensitive payment details (card number, security code, expiration date, cardholder name and billing address) are collected for the purpose of one-time processing only, and are not stored in ASEEES records.  Digital and physical copies of any communication containing these details is destroyed in the interest of member security.

You should not supply any other person’s personal data to us, unless it is required to fulfill a service obligation, and then only with the permission of the individual(s).

The personal data will not be kept for longer than is necessary to comply with our legal obligations and for the legitimate interests of the organization.

Data Tracked on the Website

We may process data about your use of our website and services (“usage data”). The usage data may  include your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral  source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths, as well as information about the timing,  frequency and pattern of your service use. The source of the usage data is our analytics tracking system.  This usage data may be processed for the purposes of analyzing the use of the website and membership  services. The legal basis for this processing is consent, namely monitoring and improving our website  and services to better serve our members. This consent is implied through your usage of our website(s). 

Information that we may process may include your:
  1. Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses used to connect your computer to the Internet
  2. Tracking codes such as cookies
  3. Comments, feedback, posts and other content you provide to us (including through our section and other websites);
  4. Communication preferences;
  5. Location‐aware services, the physical location of your device in order to provide you with more relevant content for your location; and
  6. Communications with other users of our services.

How We Use the Information We Collect

We may use the information collected through the ASEEES Websites, including your personal information and Usage Information, to:
  1. Process your registration for membership at the ASEEES Websites, including verifying that your e-mail address is active and valid, and to create, and to manage and maintain your account on the ASEEES Websites
  2. Control access to member-restricted content on ASEEES Websites
  3. Provide products, services or information you request
  4. Process, validate, confirm, verify, deliver and track your purchases (including by processing payment card transactions, arranging shipping and handling returns and refunds, and contacting you about your orders, including by telephone)
  5. Maintain a record of the purchases you make on the ASEEES Websites
  6. Respond to your questions and comments and provide customer support
  7. Communicate with you about your account, our products, services, offers, events and to offer you products and services we believe may be of interest to you or your use of the ASEEES Websites, and, in our discretion, changes to the ASEEES Websites’ policies or functionality
  8. Enable you to communicate with us directly or through blogs, social networks and other interactive media
  9. Manage your participation in our events
  10. Operate, evaluate and improve our business and the ASEEES Websites (including developing new products and services; managing our communications; determining the effectiveness of and optimizing our advertising; analyzing our products, services, websites and any other digital assets; facilitating the functionality of the ASEEES Websites and any other digital assets; and performing accounting, auditing, billing, reconciliation, and collection activities)
  11. Analyze trends and statistics regarding visitors’ use of the ASEEES Websites, mobile applications and social media assets, and the purchases visitors make on the ASEEES Websites
  12. Protect against and prevent fraud, unauthorized transactions, claims and other liabilities, and manage risk exposure, including by identifying potential hackers and other unauthorized users
  13. Comply with applicable legal requirements and industry standards and our policies

Cookies

This website uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some of these cookies are used for visitor analysis, others are essential to making our site function properly and improve the user experience. By using this site, you consent to the placement of these cookies.

Information We Share

We do not sell or otherwise disclose personal information about you, except as described in this Privacy Policy.

We may share the personal information we collect with third parties for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and to communicate with you about products, services, offers, and events. We also may share personal information with our service providers who perform services on our behalf. These service providers are not authorized by us to use or disclose the information except as necessary to perform services on our behalf or to comply with legal requirements.

In order to provide services that you have contracted for, we may disclose specific personal data  category or categories to our suppliers or subcontractors insofar as reasonably necessary to deliver  services and products, including our Publisher.

Financial transactions relating to our website and services are handled by our payment services  provider. We will share transaction data with our payment services provider only to the extent  necessary for the purposes of processing your payments, refunding such payments and dealing with  complaints and queries relating to such payments and refunds. In sharing any financial data, ASEEES  follows all PCI requirements to maintain compliance.

In addition to the specific disclosures of personal data set out in this Section, we may disclose your  personal data where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are  subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person. We  may also disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for the establishment, exercise  or defense of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out‐of court  procedure.

Individual Data Rights

Your Rights. You have the following rights in relation to your Personal Data:

Right of access: You may ask that we provide you with details of your personal information that we process, the purpose for which it is processed, the recipients of such information.  At your request, we will work with you to provide a copy of the personal data you request.

Right to rectification: If your Personal Data is inaccurate or incomplete, you are entitled to have it rectified or completed. If you ask us, where possible and lawful to do so, we will also tell you with whom we shared your Personal Data so that you can contact them directly.

Right to erasure: You may ask us to delete or remove your Personal Data and we will do so in some circumstances, such as where we no longer need it (we may not delete your data when other interests outweigh your right to deletion). If we have shared your data with others, we will tell them about the erasure where possible. If you ask us, where possible and lawful to do so, we will also tell you with whom we shared your Personal Data so that you can contact them directly.

Right to restrict processing: You may ask us to restrict or ‘block’ the processing of your Personal Data in certain circumstances, such as where you contest the accuracy of that Personal Data or object to us processing it. We will tell you before we lift any restriction on processing. If we have shared your Personal Data with others, we will tell them about the restriction where possible. If you ask us, where possible and lawful to do so, we will also tell you with whom we shared your Personal Data so that you can contact them directly.

Right to object: You may ask us at any time to stop processing your Personal Data, and we will do so: If we are relying on a legitimate interest to process your Personal Data — unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing; or if we are processing your Personal Data for direct marketing.

Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling: You have the right to be free from decisions based solely on automated processing of your Personal Data, including profiling, that affect you, unless such processing is necessary for entering into, or the performance of, a contract between you and us or you provide your explicit consent to such processing.

Right to withdraw consent: If we rely on your consent to process your Personal Data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on your prior consent.

Legitimate Interest

“Legitimate interests” means the interests of ASEEES in conducting and managing our organization and providing services to our members. For example, we have a legitimate interest in processing your Personal Data to analyze how the Websites, Apps and our products and services are being used by you, and to ensure network and information security, as described in this Privacy Policy. When we process your Personal Data for our legitimate interests, we make sure to consider and balance any potential impact on you, and your rights under data protection laws. Our legitimate interests do not automatically override your interests. We will not use your Personal Data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you, unless we have your consent or those activities are otherwise required or permitted to by law. You have the right to object to processing that is based on our legitimate interests. For more information on your rights, please see “Individual Data Rights” section above.

Data Transfers

Please note that, by using the ASEEES Websites, you are transferring your personal data to the United States.  When we obtain personal information about you, we may process the information outside of the country in which you are located, including in the United States. The countries in which we process the information may not have the same data protection laws as the country in which you are located.

By submitting your personal information, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing of your information.  We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your personal information is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and all applicable data protection laws.

How We Protect Personal Information

We maintain administrative, technical and physical safeguards designed to assist us in protecting the personal information we collect against accidental, unlawful or unauthorized destruction, loss, alteration, access, disclosure or use. For example, we use security firewalls for all direct and wireless connections to the Internet, maintain antivirus protections that are installed and configured to automatically search for and download updates and to perform virus scans daily, encrypt email and network file transfers, and web transactions containing Personally Identifiable Information through commercial grade, industry-standard protocols, and require that our vendors maintain the security of documents stored on their servers.

Please note that no electronic transmission of information can be entirely secure. We cannot guarantee that the security measures we have in place to safeguard personal information will never be defeated or fail, or that those measures will always be sufficient or effective. You should safeguard your ASEEES account user name and password and not share that information with anyone. You should take steps to protect against unauthorized access to your account by, among other things, signing off after using a shared computer and choosing a robust password that nobody else knows or can easily guess. We are not responsible for any lost, stolen, or compromised passwords or for any activity on your account via unauthorized password activity.

Please note that we will never ask for your ASEEES account user name or password via email.

For additional details about the security measures we have implemented to safeguard personal information, please contact us at aseees@pitt.edu.

Updates to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated periodically and without prior notice to you to reflect changes in our personal information practices. We will post a prominent notice on the ASEEES Websites to notify you of any significant changes to our Privacy Policy and indicate at the bottom of the notice when it was most recently updated.

How to Contact Us

If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, or if you would like us to update information we have about you or your preferences, please contact us by email at aseees@pitt.edu. You also may contact us at:

Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
203C Bellefield Hall
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260-6424
412-648-9911