Leadership, Diversity & Opportunity

CVMA Leadership, Diversity & Opportunity Committee Mission Statement

Diversity has intrinsic value and its inclusion strengthens our organization, our profession, and our society as a whole. Our mission is to work collaboratively to advocate for and support diversity and leadership within the veterinary community, to help facilitate and encourage growth in our understanding and awareness of diversity and inclusion within our organization, and to promote equality of opportunity for all. The Committee is dedicated to increasing the participation and fostering the leadership of under-represented groups.

AAVMC (Association of American Veterinary Colleges) Statement on Diversity and Inclusion

The CVMA has endorsed the AAVMC Statement on Diversity and Inclusion. Below is the CVMA’s official position statement.

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The CVMA embraces the AAVMC’s statement on diversity and inclusion.

The CVMA is committed to supporting all of the veterinary community regardless of race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation. We do not tolerate hatred and bigotry.  We support our community in all its diverse background.
 

AAVMC Statement on Diversity and Inclusion

Recent events remind us that bigotry and racism are present in our society. The AAVMC confronts and rejects all forms of prejudice and discrimination, including the hateful violence and speech exhibited by white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Va. As part of the academic community, we endorse the statement from the Association of Public Land-grant Universities (APLU), which states, “The First Amendment is not just a right. It’s also a responsibility. We must speak out against evil, hateful beliefs through free speech of our own that advances the shared American value of equality. The struggle against hate will only be won through education and public understanding.” The AAVMC is committed to advocating for policies and practices that serve to recruit and retain a diverse professional student and faculty community, which sustain inclusive institutional climates for students, faculty and staff, and curricula that produce culturally competent veterinarians. The AAVMC believes that through these actions, the health and wellbeing of animals and humans will be best served.

• We embrace the differences as well as the commonalities that bring us together and call for respect in our personal interactions.
• We affirm the right of freedom of expression of thought opinions and recognize that learning and teaching thrive in this type of environment.
• We promote open expression of our individuality and diversity within the bounds of courtesy, sensitivity and respect.
• We affirm the value of human diversity for the enrichment of the community and believe diversity fosters a climate conducive to success for all members of the veterinary medical education community.
• We confront and reject all forms of prejudice and discrimination, including those based on race, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious beliefs, political beliefs, geographic, socioeconomic, and educational background or any other differences that have led to misunderstanding, hostility and injustice.
• We encourage awareness of the differences in communication, learning, information processing, conceptualizing and the need for educational innovation to enable all to achieve academic success.
• We affirm education and professional growth for all members of the veterinary medical education community. We strive to build a community based on mutual respect and to graduate professionals who are prepared to work in an increasingly diverse world.
• We affirm that each member of the veterinary medical education community is expected to work in accordance with these principles and to make individual efforts to enhance the quality of campus life for all.

We also support the joint statement from the Broad Spectrum Veterinary Student Association (BSVSA), Veterinary students as One Community for Empowerment (VOICE), and the Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA), which states, “We reject hatred and bigotry in all their forms; it does not, and will never, have a place in our profession…. We will continue to advocate for an open, inclusive veterinary profession where students from all backgrounds come to learn, grow, and achieve their dreams uninhibited by hate.”

Questions and comments should be addressed to AAVMC Chief Executive Officer Dr. Andrew T. Maccabe (amaccabe@aavmc.org) or AAVMC Senior Director for Institutional Research and Diversity Dr. Lisa Greenhill (lgreenhill@aavmc.org).

Resources

AVMA Diversity and Inclusion Resource Page

Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association Facebook Page

Pride Veterinary Medical Community (Pride VMC)

Women's Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative

AAVMC Diversity Initiative