ROSKI DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
OUR MISSION
Positioned on the Pacific Rim and bordering Mexico, the Roski School of Art and Design provides an active learning environment that reflects the peoples and cultures of Los Angeles and beyond. We believe that diversity, inclusion, and equity are indispensable to higher education, and play a particularly important role in shaping the learning experience of cultural producers. Art and design education provides both methodologies and platforms for the investigation of complex ideas, and that inquiry must be founded on inclusive and open discourse that embraces difference.
We support meaningful encounters among differing experiences, perceptions, points of view, and cultural backgrounds that prepare our students for their work as creative instigators on a global stage. We do this through developing a school—student body, staff, and faculty—that is diverse in ethnic/racial, gender/sex, and class identity, as well as in age, geographic background, and (for faculty) pedagogical approach. Through a curriculum that engages critically with diverse perspectives in art and design production, encouraging openness and empathy across communities and among individuals, and an active set of public programs and partnerships, we place our students into contexts that encourage constructive social exchange.
The personal and professional foundations our education provides are only as relevant as they are sustainable. Our goal is to promote and increase diversity, inclusion, access and opportunity in art and design education, associated professions, and society at large. Thus, we seek to prepare students to continue their learning and carry their empathy and criticality throughout their careers and broader life experiences, in order to enrich their art and design practices and to give them the tools to work in diverse environments with attitudes of fairness and openness to other points of view.
USC ROSKI SCHOOL COMMITTMENT TO BLACK, INDIGENOUS AND PEOPLE OF COLOR
September 16, 2020
The events that have occurred around our country and our communities are evidence that there is still much that must be done - justice, equity and social change still need to be addressed. As the national conversation continues on Racial Justice in the US and with the upcoming contentious elections on the horizon, our community in discussion with students and faculty are resolute in adopting specific actions to address discrimination at the USC Roski School of Art and Design. As we move towards concerted steps to implement actions that will have lasting results, we also ask that every member of the Roski community reflects, listens and learns during these challenging times.
Read the full statement here.
A STATEMENT FROM THE ROSKI SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN
June 1, 2020
Art and design can change worlds for the better, but sometimes statements need to be made before the creativity begins.
We as a school stand in solidarity with Black communities in the struggle against the unjust and murderous treatment of Black people across the US.
We as a school stand in solidarity with the myriad immigrant communities that have long provided the life blood of this country, state, city, and university.
We as a school stand against the racialized scapegoating of China and of any Asian people being held responsible for the global pandemic.
We as a school stand together against police violence of all kinds, whether overt and materially harmful or covert, persistent, and insidious. We stand against all forms of inequity that position some communities against others. We stand for the goal of working towards a less divided, more unified society where all voices are equally heard, including at the voting booths.
We as a school believe in promoting community empowerment, including the complete overhaul of police departments so that they act according to the needs of the people, instead of the imperatives of capital or state power.
We as a school stand together working towards a safer world, city, and school environment where everyone is equally supported in terms of their health, finances, and rights.
We as a school stand together in the fight to counter a culture and society lead by fear, where financial or ideological concerns are often put before the well being of all citizens.
We as a school believe that all people living in the US, California, and Los Angeles should be treated with respect and dignity, equally supported under the law and through rhetoric and action.
We as a school believe in using our voices to create positive change. We hope that all citizens of the US have registered to vote and that you complete the 2020 Census.
The USC Roski Leadership Team
USC Roski School stands against all forms of racism, misogyny, and hate.
March 25, 2021
The USC Roski School of Art and Design stands against all forms of racism, misogyny, and hate. We condemn the recent murder of eight people, including six Asian women, in Atlanta, Georgia, as an act of domestic terrorism that follows a legacy of white supremacism including historical instances of anti-Asian violence, exclusionary laws, and racist and sexist policies. We condemn the increase in anti-Asian assaults across the United States since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as heinous hate crimes. We repudiate any racist language connecting the coronavirus to China or its people. We collectively grieve the losses Asian Americans and other communities of color have disproportionately suffered in the United States since the start of COVID-19. Asian Americans are not a monolithic group, and our community stands in support of marginalized people of all national and ethnic backgrounds, immigration statuses, genders, sexualities, and socioeconomic circumstances. Aligned with the tenets of Stop AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Hate, a reporting center dedicated to responding to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, we believe that “in order to effectively address anti-Asian racism we must work to end all forms of structural racism leveled at Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color.”
USC Roski School Undergraduate Ambassadors
Roski School Ambassadors are currently enrolled undergraduates who are well versed in what the Gayle Garner Roski School has to offer. They are excited to speak with prospective, transfer, international, and current undergraduate students.
Ambassadors are available to meet with you (virtually or socially distanced) to discuss their experiences at the Roski School, show you around our campus, and answer any questions you have about your program of interest or point you to the right person to speak with.
For individual bios and contact information, click here.
