We are honored to announce the Antonio Viva Fund for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice
Walnut Hill School for the Arts was led by a visionary Head of School, Antonio Viva, from 2010 to 2022. In that time, we were inspired by his purposeful, creative, and unwavering commitment to our students, alumni, families, supporters, faculty, and staff. When asked to reflect on his tenure here, Antonio spoke of our institution’s importance in modeling the changes we want to see in the world, of being bold, of embracing and being a catalyst for change.
This endowed fund will assist Walnut Hill in enhancing its existing efforts to create a just, equitable, and inclusive culture and to attract and support a diverse range of students, faculty, and staff. We invite the entire community to honor Antonio’s time as our leader, and to help advance his goal of increasing access to the arts, creating awareness, and promoting discussions.
Program Goals
Increasing diversity and attaining equity, inclusion, and justice is both a process and an outcome, and therefore we are compelled to relentlessly dismantle barriers that impede equitable opportunity within our own organization and cultivate a spirit of multiculturalism and inclusivity in our community.
This fund was created to support the many aspects that go into creating such an environment. This includes, and is not limited to:
- Recruiting and retaining diverse students, faculty, and staff
- Providing student programming
- Hosting guest speakers
- Offering faculty and staff professional development
- Supporting student affinity groups
- Adding additional resources to the office of diversity and inclusion
"We still have a lot of work to do to achieve our goals. We realize that we are not alone on this journey, and we welcome lessons learned by others who are alongside us.
Knowing that this fund is in place before I leave gives me confidence that we are moving in the right direction."
— ANTONIO VIVA
