You Belong At CIA
Diversity and Anti-Racism Statement
The Cleveland Institute of Art recognizes and embraces diversity and believes that an outstanding education in art and design should be accessible to all individuals regardless of ethnicity, race, religion, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, socio-economic status or disability. It is essential for the College to advance diversity by encouraging our community to share a responsibility in creating, maintaining and developing an environment in which difference is valued, equity is sought, and inclusiveness is practiced.
Land Acknowledgment Statement
The Cleveland Institute of Art believes it’s important to understand the history that brought Northeast Ohioans to reside on this land and to understand our collective place within that history.
CIA occupies land officially—if not willingly—ceded by 1,100 chiefs and warriors who signed the Treaty of Greenville in 1795.
That land and our buildings are in the city of Cleveland, the county of Cuyahoga, and the state of Ohio. The terms “Cuyahoga” and “Ohio” are both derived from languages of various Indigenous tribes that lived here for thousands of years. We recognize those people for their careful stewardship of this land and acknowledge the thousands of Native Americans who today call Northeast Ohio home.
Finally, we also recognize that colonialism is not limited to our past but continues today in many forms. We encourage you to join us in working to understand and actively address the factors that fuel bigotry and colonialism so that past wrongs are not repeated and so that we can work together for a more just and equitable world.
Updated September 16, 2022. Looking for more information? Please visit native-land.ca
What CIA is doing
- Members of CIA’s IDEA Council are working to connect with local organizations to better learn the history of the land on which the College was built.
- IDEA Council members are seeking a speaker(s) to take part in Reinberger Gallery’s Lunch on Fridays lecture series. We are hoping these speakers can provide the CIA community—and all Northeast Ohioans—greater context.
- IDEA Council members are exploring professional networks to identify partnerships that might lead to scholarship(s) for Native students.
Equal Access
Our campus embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion and upholds a Non-Discrimination and Anti-Bias, Harassment, and Intimidation Policy as part of our Student Handbook and Non-Discrimination, Anti-Harassment and Non-Retaliation Agreement as part of our employee handbook. Additionally, we understand that civic engagement and civil discourse play an important role in our community and share our expectations around the conduct of demonstrations and protests.
CIA community members and guests who believe their equal access rights have been violated are encouraged to share their concerns via our Equal Access Concerns Form. Alleged violations of these policies will be processed through the appropriate reporting area.