Department of Theatre and Dance

The Department of Theatre & Dance believes diversity, equity, inclusion and access are foundational values in both education and artmaking.  The faculty and staff collectively realize our need to develop new awarenesses and re-examine past practices in order to better manifest these values.  Therefore, we commit to embracing diverse perspectives, re-evaluating our assumptions and lenses, and making responsive change within our department.

Appalachian State University acknowledges the Indigenous peoples who are the original inhabitants of the lands on which our campus is located. The Cherokee, Catawba and other Indigenous peoples left their mark as hunters, healers, traders, travelers, farmers and villagers long before the university was established. Today, descendants of these communities, which include citizens of the eight tribal nations in North Carolina as well as others, live and work in this region — an area with settler-colonial policies including those that attempt to disenfranchise, remove and eradicate Indigenous people and their way of life.

This acknowledgment is aligned with our university’s core value of creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive community. We embrace our institutional responsibility to recognize the people, culture and history that compose our App State community. We acknowledge and honor the diverse Indigenous peoples connected to this land and share in their stewardship of these mountains and waters. We fully recognize, support and advocate for the sovereign rights of all of North Carolina’s eight tribal nations which include the Coharie, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Haliwa-Saponi, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, the Meherrin, the Sappony, the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation and the Waccamaw Siouan. We understand the historical connection our university has with these Indigenous communities and commit to creating spaces for collaboration and strengthening support structures to build a more equitable future together.