As part of a project funded by a grant from Syracuse University's Vision Fund, The Syracuse University Senate Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Concerns has announced a speaker series, a number of community meetings designed to assess needs and interests, and a faculty and graduate student study group. The first round of community meetings and first speaker of the speaker series will take place this spring semester, and programming will continue next year.
The Senate Committee on LGBT Concerns was formed in Fall 2002 with the purpose of improving the campus climate for LGBT faculty members, staff members, and students. According to Senate bylaws, the committee also concerns itself with the education of campus leaders about LGBT issues and the facilitation of public dialogue on LGBT issues. The committee is comprised of eight faculty members, two staff members, and one graduate and one undergraduate student. Margaret Himley of The College of Arts and Sciences and Paula Johnson of the College of Law serve as co-chairs of this committee.
To initiate its work, the LGBT Senate Committee proposed and received a Vision Fund grant in the amount of $5,000 to begin a process of self-study and faculty and curricular development. Short-term goals of the project are to assess and enhance faculty awareness, knowledge and comfort of LGBT issues and to gather information about and hear from experts on LGBT pedagogy. Long-range goals are to infuse LGBT knowledge and perspectives into the existing curriculum and expand existing curricular offerings relating to LGBT studies. An additional long-term goal is to explore the possibility of an interdisciplinary minor in LGBT studies.
Events funded by the grant include:
Currah is associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. She received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Government from Cornell University. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS) at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and has published numerous articles on culture, politics, and the law as they relate to the civil rights struggles of sexual minorities and transgendered people and sex and gender non-conformity. In addition, she has published two books: "Legislating Genders: Identity in the Civil Rights Claims of Sexual Minorities," forthcoming from Temple University Press and "Transgender Rights: Culture, Politics, and Law," eds. Currah, Shannon Minter, and Richard Juang. Her teaching and research experience includes sexuality, gender, queer and transgender studies; identity claims of sexual minorities in U.S. civil rights discourse; and contemporary feminist, liberal, and democratic political theory. She has been invited to speak at Berkeley, the City University of New York, Cornell University, Ithaca College, the University of California, University of Texas at Austin, Wells College and Yale University.
These community forums invite students to talk about their experiences in the classroom, on campus, and in the community. Special focus will be on how sexual orientation and gender identity issues come up in the curriculum and classroom (or fail to do so). The goal of the community forums is to gather the experiences, hopes, and expectations of students on LGBT issues, which is important for informing and advancing the work of the University Senate Committee. The forums are open to students, faculty, and staff. Individuals not able to attend a forum are invited to submit their thoughts by e-mail to mrhimley@syr.edu or pcjohnso@law.syr.edu.
These events are sponsored by the University Senate Committee on LGBT Concerns, the Vision Fund Grant, and various departments and programs on campus and in conjunction with the Division of Student Affairs and the LGBT Resource Center.
Questions about any of these events can be directed to the LGBT Resource Center at 443-3983.
