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Mission, Values and Diversity

Mission

The mission of the Department of Dramatic Art is to educate students to think critically and write cogently about the creative and artistic processes of theatre, its literature, and its history.   

The Department of Dramatic Art is committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive environment for the community that it serves, including students, staff, faculty, and guest artists. An academic and artistic community such as ours must embrace divergent backgrounds in its pursuit of higher learning and its vision of the arts as a human endeavor in which mutual respect and collaboration are integral. 

Values

We in the theatre are in a position to think deeply about, and respond creatively to, a broad spectrum of societal issues. It is our obligation to inhabit empathetically states of being and perspectives other than our own. The Department of Dramatic Art is committed to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students, faculty, staff, and guest artists. 

As a department we will not tolerate racist, sexist or any other discriminatory actions. Theatre is a communal endeavor, and we will continue to support our community of students, faculty, staff, and guest artists and their irrefutable right to study, live, work, and create free of any form of fear, aggression, or intimidation. In doing so we emphatically and unequivocally endorse the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s policy statement on non-discrimination. 

Diversity

Acknowledging that each of us has a role in creating and sustaining a departmental culture that supports academic and artistic excellence, the Department of Dramatic Art established the Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee to remain intentional in our practice and commit ourselves: 

  • To promote an academically and artistically enriching and supportive environment that allows all members of its community to thrive and succeed; 
  • To foster a sense of belonging by uplifting diverse identities, cultures, experiences, and perspectives. 
  • To abide by federal laws and university policies of non-discrimination 

In doing so, the Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee emphatically and unequivocally endorses the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill policy statement on non-discrimination. 

Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee

The Department of Dramatic Art is committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive environment for the community that it serves, including students, staff, faculty, and guest artists. An academic and artistic community such as ours must embrace divergent backgrounds in its pursuit of higher learning and its vision of the arts as a human endeavor in which mutual respect and collaboration are integral.

Acknowledging that each of us has a role in creating and sustaining a departmental culture that supports academic and artistic excellence, the Department of Dramatic Art established the Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee to remain intentional in our practice and commit ourselves:

  • To advance ideals of diversity and inclusion;
  • To promote an academically and artistically enriching and supportive environment that allows all members of its community to thrive and succeed;
  • To foster a safe environment for all students, staff, and faculty, irrespective of differences of age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status;
  • To abide by federal laws and university policies of non-discrimination

In doing so, the Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee emphatically and unequivocally endorses the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill policy statement on non-discrimination.

AEDI Committee Members

  • David Navalinsky
  • Jacqueline Lawton
  • Vivienne Benesch
  • Mark Perry
  • Kathy Williams
  • Gwendolyn Schwinke
  • Adam Versenyi
  • Adam Maxfield