LGBT Concerns Committee Minutes

Meeting Held: March 31, 2006, 11 am - 1 pm, Room 301, Peabody Hall

Next Meeting: April 28, 2006, 11 am - 1 pm in Peabody 301

Committee Web site: http://www.aa.ufl.edu/committees/lgbtcc.htm

In Attendance: Linda Lamme, chair
Greg Allen
Charles Brown
Joyce Dewsbury
Geoffrey Giles
Ashley Goforth
Carlos Hernandez
Shari Lupton
Melissa Neider
Christine Regan
Jennifer Sager

We skipped the regular business of reports except for three times.

1. Lamme reminded everyone that year-end reports are due before the next meeting on April 28.

2. Giles reported that the Rainbow Alliance Award for this year had been given to Dana Berkowitz on Wednesday evening at the 2006 Multicultural and Diversity Student Awards Ceremony.

3. Lamme presented the advertisement for the LGBTQ director's position.

We then proceeded to tto agenda items: the Campus Climate Survey and prioritizing needs in anticipation of our meeting with the Provost on April 28.

Campus Climate Survey

Christine Regan is developing this project. She provided some background and raised some questions with the committee. Primarily, we discussed whether it would be better to fram the survey as an LGBT survey or as a general diversity survey. The concensus seemed to be that the survey would be more effective framed as a general diversity survey. This survey is directed toward students, so there was also discussion of developing a survey for faculty and staff (which might be two separate tasks). It was suggested that the survey might get more response if it was Web-based. We also discussed if the survey should be administered an a biannual basis and whether support for this might come from the Provost's office.

Regan brought two handouts: a copy of the previous campus climate survey and a page describing her work to date, issues to be discussed, and tasks needed to develop and implement the survey. The latter is appended to these minutes.

LGBT Priorities

Our main topic of discussion was to develop a list of priority itemsfrom a lengthy wish list prepared by Lamme from items collected at last month's meeting, from Tamara , and from Kendal Broad. Major headings from this list were (the complete list is appended to these minutes):

1. New (updated) climate study for LGBTTQQIA students, staff and faculty
2. Gender identiy added to the UF anti-discrimination policy
3. Establishment of an LGBTQ Research and Resource Center
4. Benefits
5. Mandatory LGBT training (awareness)
6. Academic conisderations
7. Administrator actions
8. Housing
9. Linkages
10. Rainbow Alliance Alumni Support
11. Friends
12. Future Planning

The point was to develop a list of practical and achievable goals that could be presented to the Provost at our next meeting. Several items were discussed in detail, and five emerged as highest priority:

1. Assess needs of LGBTQ students of color
2. Housing issues
3. Work with financial aid to create a plan to serve emancipated students
4. Appoint a development subcommittee
5. Relocation issues

Other issues of importance were:

-- Additional staff for LGBTQ director's office; most achievable -- hiring a graduate assistant
-- LGBT training/awareness
-- Fraternity issues
-- Expand FRIENDS training; more dates for FRIENDS training

----------

Minutes prepared by Charles Brown.

----------

Appendices

CLIMATE SURVEYS

We need to decide/brainstorm on many things before moving forward with these surveys. I have met with several faculty members regarding the old surveys that were done to get intial feedback and ideas regarding new survey development. Dr. Ken Wald, Dr. Bonnie Moradi, and Dr. Phyllis Meek have been very helpful so far and said they were available for help in the future.

Here are some initial questions to brainstorm about:

1) Overall diversity -- Will the surveys be part of an overall diversity survey of both students and faculty/staff? It may be better received if this is the case and allow for a bigger, more representative sample.

2) Funding -- Will the Provost office help us with funding? We should develop a budget first.

3) Ad hoc Committee -- Will we develop an Ad hoc Committee (as was done previously) and a Faculty PI (principal invesitvator) to look over the process of developing these new surveys? If so, I may have idetified Dr. Bonnie Moradi in Psychology to be this PI.

Pre-development:

• Determine overal scope of surveys
• Nominate someone to PI position
• Form Ad hoc Committee
• Budget planning: research, development and implementation of instrument (on-line survey will cost more), printing
• Dr. Moradi has reliable and valid instrumentation already as her research examines links of perceived experiences of prejudice, stigamtization, and collective identity to mental health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual persons and other minority groups

Development of instrument:

• Perform focus groups first, but what are issues for faculty, staff, and students?
• Look to other Universities, but just for ideas, not for instrument
• Plan for long-tem use of this instrument (maybe bi-annually?)

Implementation:

• In early Fall 2006
• On-line surveys- better reliability and validity now, but costs more $$$
• Of not on-line, Florida Survey Research Center can adminsiter surveys on campus for a low cost, as they administered the student survey in 2001
• Prefer to sample ALL of campus, not just LGBT faculty/staff/studetns because snowball sampling is not representative

----------------------

1. New (updated) climate study for LGBTTQQIA students, staff and faculty

2. Gender identity added to the UF anti-discrimination policy

3. Establishment of an LGBTQ Research and Resource Center

• Develop a plan for a center with a timeline
• Funding
• Provide a safe space
• Meeting space for all LGBT student groups
• Expand resources library
• Additional professional staff
• Communicate with LGBTQ student groups
• Assess need of LGBTQ students of color
• Sort out LGBT organization roles
• Create a forum where research may be conducted
• Advocate for campus issues fo students including housing, health care, gender expressionin non-discrimination clause, safety
• Continually assess climate for LGBTQ on campus
• Assess services provided for LGBTQ community and adjust as needed
• Multicultural action committee for student leaders
• Continue collaboration with UPD
• Anonymous reporting
• Work with financial aid to create a plan to serve emancipated students
• Address long-term campus issues: space, services, programs, research
• Establish an LGBT library collection
• Hear more about resources on campus and people who support LGBT issues
• Examine intersection of issues including SES, religious, race/ethnicity
• Resources to combat prejudice and discrimination
• Ways to better unite the LGBT community
• Figure out how to best serve students who come to UF after having been out for years as well as those students who are still questioning their sexuality
• Practical strategies including funding to change climate
• Clear vision of LGBT issues/affairs on campus
• Understand role in process and working together
• Individual goals/vision for involvement
• Collaboration and coalition
• Build more member invovlement
• Recruit and retain LGBTQ students
• Fundraising plan
• Cross-cultural collaboration
• Visible distinct identity
• Show LGBTQ films on a regular basis
• Serve as a depository for local and UF LGBTQ history
• Celebrate LGBTQ news and provide information for alumni and incoming studetns
• Trouble shoot for LGBT issues on campus and provide insight for progressive planning
• Resources for community and political activism
• Direction for the future of Pride and other student groups

4. Benefits

• Partner benefits to be identical to spousal benefits
• Complete benefits including "soft" benefits
• Spousal hires

5. Mandatory LGBT training (awareness)

• Faculty & staff, administrators, student groups
• Student leaders
• Retreat to build community

6. Academic conisderations

• Range of educational programs including LGBT history, activism, transgender, bisexuality
• Collaboration with academic departments including women and gender studies, English, history, etc.
• Student-faculty network on LGBTQ research
• Support to faculty and teaching assistants who would like to integrate LGBTQ content into their courses
• LGBTQ Library Resources for research and teaching in LGBT Areas
• Major in LGBTQ studies
• Faculty in LGBTQ Studies
• Scholarships and Fellowships for LGBTQ studies
• An endowed professorship for LGBTQ studies
• Support and research on LGBTQ Issues
• Provide Institutes and Community Education on LGBTQ Topics
• Discuss how to serve LGBT students in the classroom
• Address "academic freedom"

7. Administrator actions

• Selection committees to hire administrator snad professors who are not homophobic
• Mandatory LGBTQ training for faculty and staff

8. Housing

• Gender neutral housing and bathrooms
• Immediate relocation

9. Linkages

• Tackle the "T"
• Talk about LGBT communities of color and how best to serve them

10. Rainbow Alliance Alumni Support

• LGBT annual alumni event
• Collaborate and communicate with alumni and the surrounding Alachua County community

11. Friends

• Publicity for the Friends program all across campus
• Expand Friends network and foster ally programs

12. Future Planning

• Have clear steps and vision to move LGBT affairs forward
• Have a structure for keeping various elements of campus/community