CCA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Committee

The College of Creative Arts (CCA) Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity (DEI) Committee was formed in  November 2020 with its members nominated by the Dean.

The CCA DEI Committee is charged with undertaking the following set of actions on behalf of the entire College:

• To identify needs within the College related to the experiences of underrepresented faculty, staff, and students.
• To develop a plan-of-action to address the identified needs.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of agreed-upon interventions & share successes with the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
• To promote awareness of and engagement with issues related to identity within the College.
• To serve as a resource for faculty, staff, and students.

Since first convening, the CCA DEI Committee drafted a mission statement and developed a climate survey for students, faculty, and staff that will be conducted in August 2021 with the goal of gathering actionable information that can be used to develop a strategic plan. 

CCA DEI Mission Statement

As part of a land-grant institution in the heart of Appalachia, the WVU College of Creative Arts Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity is dedicated to addressing historic and persistent practices of exclusion and inequality toward those who are actively marginalized based on race/ethnicity, age, dis/ability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status, or religion.

By recognizing that the arts shape and are shaped by culture, we take it as our responsibility to use our artistic platforms to work toward an equitable environment for our students, staff, and the larger communities that we serve. Whether through visual art, theatre, dance, or music, we commit to recognizing our own implicit biases, fostering open and candid dialogues in the classroom and beyond, and dismantling persistent and harmful regional stereotypes in our concerted effort to create an equal and inclusive space for learning and growth.

The CCA DEI Committee is supported in its efforts by the WVU DEI Council and works in concert with unit-level committees within the College:

The CCA DEI Committee chair attends regular meetings of WVU’s DEI Council comprised of DEI committee representatives across all university campuses.

Figure 1: A graphic displaying the hierarchy of the WVU DEI Council being above the CCA DEI Committee, which is above the Schools' and Art Museum DEI Committees. 

CCA DEI Committee members for academic year 2022–24

Hakeem Bilal (Co-Chair, School of Music)
Jennifer Walker (Co-Chair, School of Music)
Eftihia Arkoudis (Community Music Program)
Patrick Jones (School of Art and Design)
Charlie Meeks (Graduate Student, School of Theatre and Dance)
Aubrey Sirtutas (School of Theatre and Dance)

CCA Anti-Racism Statements