As a department composed of diverse individuals both culturally and professionally, encounters with a wide variety of cultures and people are at the core of our mission and essential to our growth and that of all our students. We put our departmental mission “to represent the diversity of human cultural achievements and experiences through the development of international language skills” into action on a daily basis.

The Department of Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures embodies the values outlined in OP 32.01A, the Texas Tech University Statement of Ethical Principles, which stress the importance of cooperation, communication, and community service. We affirm the university's commitment “to the inherent dignity of all individuals and the celebration of diversity” and pledge to “foster an environment of mutual respect, appreciation, and tolerance for differing values, beliefs, and backgrounds.”

Along with the Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, “we are inspired by the opportunities to explore our differences,” and believe that Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures' focus on global languages, cultural expression, and communication positions us uniquely to “foster, affirm, celebrate, engage and strengthen inclusive communities.”

We understand that the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion is never complete, and pledge to continue to learn and grow as educators, researchers, and colleagues. We work to address our own biases and to continually create a more inclusive, just, and diverse department. We value intergenerational respect and communication and affirm the contributions of community members of all ages. We embrace differences of belief, and welcome respectful disagreement from people of all political affiliations. Recognizing the departmental contributions of people of all abilities, we work to comprehensively accommodate disabilities and to integrate nuanced representations of people with disabilities into our course content, research, and programming. We strive for gender equity in the distribution of service and mentoring work, and commit to establishing structures that support all caregivers. We listen to our LGBTQIA+ community members' experiences, and work to implement language, structures, and practices that are inclusive of all sexual orientations and gender identities. We commit to fostering an actively anti-racist departmental culture, and pledge to listen to, affirm, value the experiences, and expand the representation of people of color in Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures. Recognizing the socioeconomic inequality across our community, we address disparities by supporting and advocating for students, and connecting them with the resources they need to be successful in higher education. We value the crucial contributions of departmental members of all nationalities and citizenship statuses. We take our role in serving Texas Tech's mission as a Hispanic-Serving Institution seriously, and work to support Hispanic students' success and to foster appreciation and understanding of Hispanic cultures throughout the world. We commit to turning these words into concrete actions that make a difference in affirming and expanding the diversity of our department.

Beyond the classroom, we promote diverse viewpoints through interactive events such as The Language and Culture Day, the Language Olympics, and the Passport Party, which showcase the meeting of cultures and languages. Participants in our thriving student organizations function as cultural ambassadors across campus. These include the Arabic Club, ASL Silent Raiders, Céfiro Graduate Student Organization, Chinese Club, French Club, Graduate Students of Applied Linguistics, Spanish Club, and our weekly Culture Conversation Groups. In addition, our study abroad programs provide students with rich immersive intercultural and linguistic experiences globally.