Mission and Diversity Statement

The Creative Media Institute is dedicated to developing and nurturing the artistic endeavors of student filmmakers through industry-standard education, research, and collaboration in the art, craft, and production of the moving image through storytelling, resulting in a Bachelor’s of Creative Media degree.

The Creative Media Institute at New Mexico State University is an ally to students from diverse backgrounds; we do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, retaliation, serious medical condition, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, spousal affiliation, or protected veteran status. Rather, CMI strives to practice self-reflexivity to continually adapt to the needs of our students in order to uphold their goals and see them through to graduation. Our core mission to educate the next generation of storytellers aims to allow for all of our students to discover their agency and share their own stories and perspectives. At CMI we endeavor to achieve these aims in a variety of ways: 

OUR CURRICULUM

We teach from source material (texts/films) that is ever expanding to represent diverse perspectives and life experiences. In addition, we design our courses with the flexibility to allow for focus on topics pertaining to diversity and inclusion as the stories surrounding us change.

OUR FACULTY

We represent a broad spectrum of backgrounds that bring different storytelling approaches from our lives, industry experience, and educational histories.

OUR OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

We host and participate in events that connect our students with our local and global filmmaking community such as the Las Cruces International Film Festival and the Feminist Border Arts Film Festival. We also present a variety of screenings that highlight the LGBT+ community as well as other underrepresented communities.

OUR RESOURCES

We strive to keep CMI affordable so that our students are able to access the necessary tools to thrive at CMI.

OUR TRANSPARENCY

CMI provides updates to student help through email, relevant social media platforms, syllabi, and by providing hallway bulletin boards that include information for diversity office representatives across campus, as well as projects and organizations students can take advantage of to build camaraderie and industry experience with peers and faculty.

Like the production of any successful film, CMI understands it is essential to include and foster partnerships with artists from all backgrounds to achieve the same goal – to tell a great story well. This is the heart of our philosophy at CMI and as educators we are committed to training the next generation of storytellers to become content creators and change makers who will work for diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry and beyond.