College of Arts and Sciences announces diversity committee, seeks to advance equity and inclusion

College of Arts and Sciences announces diversity committee, seeks to advance equity and inclusion

     STARKVILLE, Miss.— Mississippi State’s College of Arts and Sciences announces the appointment of a diversity committee created to develop strategies and actions to increase equity and inclusion in the college.

     Led by Nicole Rader, head of the Department of Sociology, the committee is composed of faculty, staff, students and administrators throughout the college who are “interested in diversity, equity and inclusion issues.”

     “Our goal is to identify DEI areas of concern or expansion and come up with possible solutions,” said Rader, noting the committee plans to meet monthly.

     “Arts and Sciences houses programs, departments and faculty who are already on the cutting edge of DEI work, and staff and students who care deeply about these issues,” said Rader. “The College of Arts and Sciences is uniquely situated, then, to assess what works in the arena of diversity, equity and inclusion at MSU and also to determine new strategies and innovative improvements. I know I speak for the committee when I say that we are excited to get to work on this important committee.”

     In addition to Rader, other administrators on the committee include Kimberly Kelly, director of MSU’s gender studies program; Melanie Loehwing, an interim assistant dean foracademic affairs; Dan Punday, head of the English department; and Donald Shaffer, director of MSU’s African American studies program.

     Faculty members include Snehalatha Ballamoole, Department of Mathematics and Statistics; LaToya Bogard, Department of English; Angela Savage, MSU Meridian campus; Vasabjit Banerjee, Department of Political Science and Public Administration; Deb Eakin, Department of Psychology; Melody Fisher, Department of Communication; Maggie Hagerman, Department of Sociology; Colleen Scott, Department of Chemistry; and Karina Zelaya, Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures.

     Staff members include Marlo Anderson, Department of Psychology; Kasondra Harris, Arts and Sciences Deans Office; and Michelle Martin, Department of Geosciences.

     Student representatives on the committee include Yuliya Guihova, a senior in the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures, and Karl Mukeba, a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry.

     Part of MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, information about the Department of Sociology is available at www.sociology.msstate.edu. MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.