Diversity, Inclusion & Anti-Racism Committee

Mission Statement

We, the Missouri State University Music Department faculty and students, embrace a unifying commitment to social justice, diversity and inclusion, as well as equity and equality. We pledge to encourage an atmosphere of valuing the inclusion of diversity and respect, and creating collaboration in the classroom, on our stages, in campus life, and in our entire community.

We stand together to confront systemic racism and bigotry of all kinds and to condemn racist violence We celebrate the diverse perspectives of people identifying as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, people of different religious faiths, people with differing abilities, people of all gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with different economic and national backgrounds, all of whom have been historically excluded from American music programming and curricula.

Vision

We, the Missouri State University Music Department faculty and students, stand together to confront systemic racism and bigotry of all kinds and to condemn racist violence.

We condemn bigotry in all forms and seek to actively confront it in our own community and beyond, including questioning and addressing the ways in which our own practices and curricula perpetuate bigotry and systematic exclusion.

We embrace a unifying commitment to social justice, diversity and inclusion, equity and equality, and anti-racism.

We pledge to encourage an atmosphere of positivity, inclusion, respect, and creative collaboration in the classroom, on our stages, in campus life, and in our entire community.

As ethical leaders within our music department, our campus, and our community, we will maintain the highest standard of professional conduct and personal integrity in all our interactions with others.

We recognize the unifying and healing power of music making and music sharing, and therefore we will strive to affect lasting change in our community by incorporating our mission of Cultural Competence, Community Engagement, and Ethical Leadership throughout our curricula and in the varied musical programming we present.

Plan of Action

We will strive to uphold these concepts of the Diversity & Inclusion Implementation Strategy:

1. Increase enrollment and academic success of diverse and underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students.
2. Ensure diversity of faculty and staff.
3. Engage students, faculty and staff in learning varied perspectives of domestic and global diversity, inclusion, and social justice.
4. Incorporate diversity experiences for faculty, staff and students by aligning student outcomes in and out of the classroom with diversity and inclusion in ways specific to the university’s Public Affairs Mission (Cultural Competence, Ethical Leadership and Community Engagement).
5. Partner with students, faculty and staff to create and sustain a campus climate that welcomes, supports, respects and values differing perspectives, experiences, and social conditions that have created barriers for underrepresented groups.
6. Create an institutional infrastructure that effectively supports progress in achieving goals in the diversity strategic plan.
7. Implement regular review of policies and practices to determine impact on historically excluded groups (HEG’s)  / historically underrepresented groups (HUGs).
8. Intentionally program events to maximize institutional impact.

Future actions could include incorporating:

• Diverse guest speakers
• Diverse guest artists
• Concert series featuring diversity
• Diverse programming for concerts
• Book clubs
• Curricular assessment and adjustment
• Sharing anti-racism resources on Music department website
• Panel discussions
• Channel for reporting discrimination
• Recruit a diverse student body

Members