School of Visual Arts (SVA) Provost, Dr. Christopher J. Cyphers, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jarvis Watson as the College’s first Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The DEI Director will lead SVA toward a more inclusive campus and community. An accomplished veteran of higher-education administration, Dr. Watson comes to SVA after 14 years at Stony Brook University where he most recently served as Assistant Dean for Student Support Services. He brings nearly 20 years of experience to the role with a distinguished career in advocacy for students from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Among his other responsibilities, Dr. Watson will lead SVA’s DEI Task Force, formed in 2018 and comprising members of the College’s academic and administrative leadership and staff. The Task Force prioritizes addressing long-standing inequities in the experiences of SVA’s BIPOC community members and fosters antiracist progress on campus. 

With Dr. Watson at the helm, the DEI Task Force will also continue the long-term goals laid out in the College’s current Strategic Plan, which include expanding representation in and training opportunities for the College’s faculty; a curriculum that includes historically underrepresented communities and global perspectives and initiatives to encourage a range of pedagogical approaches that accommodate diverse learning abilities. SVA has also committed to several near-term actions, including expanded mental health resources for BIPOC students, and an investment of resources necessary to support BIPOC students’ academic and social needs. One such investment is Fund the Change, a recently announced scholarship and mentorship in partnership with Deutsch NY, which will be awarded to two incoming students in the BFA Design or Advertising programs for fall 2021. For more information on SVA’s continued efforts, visit https://sva.edu/about/diversity-equity-and-inclusion.

"I'm excited to begin a new chapter in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with the School of Visual Arts,” said Dr. Watson. “Provost Christopher Cyphers and members of the Diversity Task Force have been amazing in welcoming me to the campus and sharing their vision with me. In order for SVA to be successful, I believe we need to have a shared and collective commitment toward creating an inclusive campus climate that involves students, faculty, staff and administrators as key stakeholders. In my first 100 days, I look forward to meeting campus community members individually and collectively. Together I know that we can meet each other where we are, and as a community, reimagine what Diversity, Equity and Inclusion means for us." 

“I believe we have in Jarvis Watson a change agent, whose approach to his work can be characterized, as he would say, by ‘meeting us where we are,’” said Cyphers. “Dr. Watson has an accomplished record of success in bringing together in common cause a diverse range of constituencies to identify and work through challenges and difficult topics in a collegial and non-judgemental manner. He has also found innovative ways to use technology to broaden the discussion on race and racism in America and on American college campuses. I am eager for members of the SVA community to meet Dr. Watson, and for the hard and rewarding work of defining and carrying out our DEI goals.”

Dr. Watson has a long history of creating progressive higher education initiatives with a holistic approach toward engagement, academic success, retention and graduation of diverse student populations. Dr. Watson began his extensive experience at Kean University in Union, NJ, where he helped provide access and awareness for college enrollment to historically marginalized populations, and worked with the local community to build sustainable pathways to college. Recently, in his work with Stony Brook University, Dr. Watson focused on student crisis issues specifically related to diversity, equity and inclusion. He had previously served the University as its Interim Chief Diversity Officer and was integral in unifying the campus through centralized diversity funded initiatives, statewide faculty recruitment initiatives, student equity initiatives and developing DEI Task Forces.

Dr. Watson is a member of the American Counseling Association, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the American College Personnel Association, the National Association of School Personnel Administrators, among others. He is also a Board Member with Association for Mental Health and Wellness of Suffolk County. A frequent public speaker and presenter, Dr. Watson has given keynote addresses, received numerous leadership awards, and provided presentations on diversity, equity and inclusion at more than 15 regional and national academic conferences and events. He co-hosts two podcasts: The Rejected Stone Podcast and Trusted Voices of the Community.

School of Visual Arts has been a leader in the education of artists, designers and creative professionals for more than seven decades. With a faculty of distinguished working professionals, a dynamic curriculum and an emphasis on critical thinking, SVA is a catalyst for innovation and social responsibility. Comprising 7,000 students at its Manhattan campus and 39,000 alumni in 128 countries, SVA also represents one of the most influential artistic communities in the world. For information about the College’s 31 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, visit sva.edu.