LGBT student center

LGBT student centers and services are administrative offices of a

In 1971, the University of Michigan became the first university in the U.S. to create a campus LGBT center.^[1]

The 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard sparked an increase in the number of university LGBT student centers in the late 1990s and early 2000s.^[1] For institutions like Syracuse University, a continued presence of hostile actions and climate spreading to campus has led to the creation of these centers.^[2] The movement has been slower outside of predominantly white institutions (PWIs); the first historically black college/university (HBCU) to open a center was Bowie State University in 2012.^[3]

Despite the increasing support for these centers, it has been repeatedly noted that university administrators need to be made more aware of the issues facing LGBTQ+ students and the need for these centers on their campuses.^[4]

Most LGBT student centers are concentrated where there is more support for LGBTQ+ students.^[1][5] As of March 2019, there are still eight states that have no institutions with an LGBT student center and nine that only have one institution with a center statewide.^[6]

As of March 2015, more than half of post-secondary institutions in Canada have active LGBT student centers, with the oldest centre's establishment dating to before 1970.^[7]

Several variables have been shown to impact the probability of an LGBT student center opening on a campus, including financial resources and the political environment.^[7]

In March of 2023 the University of Pennsylvania LGBT Center, the second oldest in the country establishing in 1982, named the first in the United States, scholar in residence, after a $2 million donation.^[8]

Function

According to Sokolowski and the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals, "LGBT resource centers must also be staffed by at least one halftime (50% or 20 hours per week) professional staff person or graduate assistant whose job description is solely dedicated to serving the LGBT resource center and its services."

• A questioning student seeks help understanding their sexual identity
• A transgender student has just experienced a bias-motivated attack
• A cisgender student is struggling to understand how to support their transgender roommate

Some LGBT Campus Centers lack secure financial support that is sufficient enough to sustain their services, resulting in closures.^[7]

Criticism

Positives of LGBT student centers

Since the more rapid rise of centers beginning in the late 1990s/early 2000s, there has additionally been an increasing need for these centers—particularly as the proportion of openly LGBTQ+ in the United States has steadily increased.^[9][14] Awareness of centers and their resources on campus may be one of the most significant issues in regards to justification and expansion of existing centers.^[9] Additionally to further awareness, there have been calls to furthering numbers of resource centers across the United States due to roughly 10-15% of U.S. institutions of higher education having a center for LGBTQ+ students.^[9][10] On an international level, the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals lists only three universities in Canada and one outside of North America that currently have resource centers for LGBTQ+ students.^[10] Centers are still frequently seen as a key way to foster relationships and networking among LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff, and are often marketed as such to bring a positive awareness.^[15]

Post-secondary institutions who dedicate physical space in the form of

Centers have been criticized for often being established, given full-time staff, or otherwise expanded in reactive (i.e., responding to an event or events on or off-campus).[2] Additionally, many students may feel that even after the creation of a campus LGBT+ center, there may be an existing culture of hostility and homophobia and transphobia within the student body and university staff, faculty, and administration.^[2] Aside from combatting prejudices toward the LGBTQ+ community, there may need to be additional work done to combat other prejudices perpetuated by members of a campus LGBTQ+ community and their center's space, staff, and programming.^[21] A key critique of current outreach has been that existing centers may be unintentionally serving and targeting more privileged and "dominant" identity-holding members of a campus's LGBTQ+ community.^[9][21][22] For LGBTQ+ students of color, this may negatively impact them.^[9][23] The support needed to bolster higher administration to allocate the funds, staffing, and resources is often very hard to attain or takes years of momentum among predominantly undergraduate students.^[24] Due to centers primarily focusing on student outreach and assistance, some have criticized the undue burden put on students, particularly undergraduates, to bring action and successful programs and acclaim from both university administrators and outside organizations like Campus Pride.^[25][26] In regards to non-students, there has been additional criticism of existing centers and other university administrators for poor outreach to LGBTQ+ alumni and potential LGBTQ+ alumni donors.^[5][27]

Naming centers

Many universities such as Bowling Green State University have expanded upon 'LGBT' to be more inclusive in their titles like 'LGBTQ+ Resource Center.'^[28] Students have been gradually preferring less binary labels for their personal identities as well as campus-affiliated resource centers.^[29] While some universities like the University of Vermont and their Prism Center have expanded for the sake of inclusivity, other institutions like the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and their Pride Center may additionally have intentions to manage a lower profile, especially when it comes to state and federal funding.^[30][31][32]

Some LGBT labels have historically been more associated with either white or non-white cultures and have certain political connotations.^[33]

See also

• Student affairs
• List of LGBT-related organizations and conferences, includes campus and non-campus organizations

References