Texas A&M CVM Celebrates Diversity With New Video Campaign

A new campaign by the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) is celebrating diversity with short video testimonials by faculty, staff and students that highlight the uniqueness of each person and their connecting factor — that they are all CVM.

But what does it mean to “be CVM?”

According to Dr. Kenita Rogers, executive associate dean and director of the CVM’s Office for Diversity & Inclusion, every CVM employee and student “is” CVM because they contribute to the overall identity of the college. The CVM would not be the internationally recognized college it is without its people, including the factors that make each and every one of them unique, Rogers said.

The CVM’s Facebook and Twitter accounts will be featuring one student, faculty, or staff member every Monday, Wednesday and Friday throughout the summer. The videos are also featured on the Office for Diversity & Inclusion’s website.

“By broadly representing the college’s staff, faculty, and students at all levels, ‘I Am CVM’ aims to highlight and celebrate the unique narratives of our diverse identities and how these identities come together to form the human tapestry that defines the CVM,” she said.

She added that recent events have only further highlighted the importance of celebrating diversity.

“Because the COVID-19 pandemic has created change and uncertainty throughout the world, CVM leaders believe that it’s now more important than ever for members of the college to support one another,” Rogers said.

Hate and racism are not Aggie values, nor are they tolerated at the CVM. The “I Am CVM” video series seeks to demonstrate the CVM’s commitment to creating and maintaining a climate of inclusion, according to Rogers.

The videos, put together by the college’s Center for Educational Technologies (CET), each include a two- to three-sentence personal narrative, with topics ranging from birthplace, religion, family, hobbies and career.

The “I Am CVM” series is not only a story of who the CVM is now but is a promise of the college’s goal to remain inclusive to all, Rogers said.