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This interactive session is designed to explore strategies for your institution to utilize assessment as a tool for policy development, institutional change, and student learning in relation to LGBTQ issues. In order to strengthen ties across student and academic affairs, connections with the assessment expectations from accreditation agencies, and standards for learning and development outcomes, such as those developed by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), will be examined.

By setting learning and action goals and measures to ascertain progress, an institution can create assessment policies and procedures that are supportive of LGBTQ students.

Luke Jensen, Director, Office of LGBT Equity, University of Maryland, College Park
Judie Wexler, Academic Vice President and Dean of Faculty, California Institute of Integral Studies

2. Autobiography as the Liminal Space of Self-Creation

How can we utilize others’ autobiographies, and potentially our own, to bring the kind of understanding that instills a sense of empathy in our students? Aiming to include a more salient actualization of justice in teaching through the creation and consumption of autobiographies in the classroom, this panel directly links to the interdisciplinary frameworks of LGBTQ Studies, highlighting the ways our multiple selves are understood or reflected via race/class/gender/sexuality/nation/etc.

Our various theoretical approaches to autobiography draw on Postcolonial, Queer, Feminist, African American and Border and Latino/a Studies to encourage students to find their authentic voices and enhance students’ connection with their cultural communities.

John C. Hawley, Professor of English, Santa Clara University, and editor of LGBTQ America Today
Aparajita Nanda, Visiting Faculty, African American Studies Department, University of California, Berkeley and editor of “Black California: A Literary Anthology”
Juan Velasco, Associate Professor of English and Spanish Studies, Santa Clara University and editor of “Under the Fifth Sun: Latino Literature from California”

3. Fostering Multivariate Inclusion: Multiple Marginalized Identities and the Interplay of Sexuality

Many LGBT students are also members of other marginalized and disenfranchised communities marked by race, disability, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Students have a fair expectation that support service providers and faculty infuse their programs and curricula with sensitivity to their experiences.It is also an imperative for student and academic services to engage in continued dialogue about the simultaneous effects of homophobia, transphobia, ablism, racism, etc., on various portions of the LGBT community.

We are also challenged with the changing experiences of LGBT youth coming to our campus and must foster an awareness of what it means to engage intergenerational dialogue. Join us and share your questions, challenges and successes for creating inclusive curricula and programs for LGBT students who often feel they must choose between being within the LGBT community or their other identity communities.

Billy Curtis, Assistant Dean of Students, and Director, Gender Equity Resource Center, University of California, Berkeley

4. Inside the Athletic Closet: Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning Student-Athletes

The purpose of this session is to review the results of an NCAA-funded research project that examined the climate for student-athletes in intercollegiate athletics and to highlight similarities and differences in the experiences of student-athletes based on sexual identity.Recent research indicates that students experience campus climates differently based upon their social group membership (Chang, 2003; Miller, Anderson, Cannon, Perez, and Moore, 1998).

How students experience their campus environment influences both their learning and their development (Pascarella and Terenzini, 1991, 2005), but studies on the experiences of intercollegiate athletes are noticeably absent in the campus climate literature. Further, the experiences of LGBTQQ student-athletes are also under-studied.

Susan Rankin, Research Associate, Center for the Study of Higher Education, and Associate Professor of Education, College Student Affairs, Pennsylvania State University

5. Including Theory: Pedagogical Approaches to Queering Curriculum

Since its beginnings, the field known as queer theory has investigated the dynamics of exclusion and inclusion in society, language, and culture. As it has developed, however, queer theoretical scholarship has frequently been charged with exclusivity because of its difficulty, specialized language, and counterintuitive methods.

What impact does this tension have on our students? Offered by scholar-teachers who incorporate theory into their teaching, this session will address how the use of theory in the classroom might relate to student life, campus climates, and activism.

Matt Bell, Assistant Professor of English, Bridgewater State College
Nick Davis, Assistant Professor of English and Gender Studies, Northwestern University
David A. Gerstner, Professor of Cinema Studies at The City University of New York’s Graduate Center, Department of Theater and at the College of Staten Island, Department of Media Culture

6. University Chaplains and LGBTQ Students

What is the distinctive role that campus religious leaders can and do provide in supporting and advocating for LGBTQ students? We will address how various deans for religious life and university chaplains are including LGBTQ students in their religious traditions, commitments, and practices. We will discuss practical ideas and resources from a range of campus settings; including programs, rituals, and pastoral opportunities that welcome and address the distinctive needs of LGBTQ students.

Also on the agenda will be consideration of how religious professionals advocate for the religious and spiritual needs of LGBTQ students within the university at large, as well as foster communication and understanding among student groups when their religious understandings of sexuality differ or conflict.

Patricia Karlin-Neumann, Senior Associate Dean for Religious Life, Stanford University
Scotty McLennan, Dean for Religious Life, Stanford University
Joanne Sanders, Associate Dean for Religious Life, Stanford University

7. Allies: An LGBT Support Model for College Campuses

Allies Safe Zone Programs have been implements on college campuses nationwide to provide a support network for LGBT students. Allies are students, staff, and faculty of any sexual orientation or gender identity who pledge to support LGBT people, educate themselves about LGBT issues and resources, and publicly declare their ally status by displaying a placard. Learn tools and resources for creating an Allies Safe Zone program on any campus.

M. David Kessler, Associate Dean of the College of Education and Human Development, University of Texas at San Antonio
Nancy Jean Tubbs, Director, LGBT Resource Center, University of California, Riverside

8. A Student Services Primer on LGBT Concerns

The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) Standards and Guidelines for LGBT Programs and Services outline considerations for campuses to meet the needs of LGBT students. Professionals in academic advising, admissions, career services,financial aid, health and counseling, housing, study abroad, etc., often collaborate with LGBT Resource Centers to meet these standards.

This session will feature dialogue with members of the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals on how your campus can assist students with LGBT-friendly resources, policies, and best practices.

Deryl B. Johnson, Director of GLBTQ Resource Center, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

9. A Campus Transitions: The Institutional Change Process Behind the University of Vermont’s LGBTQ Inclusive Successes

The mention of the University of Vermont’s (UVM) preferred name option in the June 27, 2010 Chronicle of Higher Education article “New Policies Accommodate Transgender Students,” comes in at the end—not the beginning—of an institutional-change story that started at UVM more than a decade ago.

In this session, UVM faculty, staff, and students involved in bringing about institutional progress at UVM share their perspectives about changes that made noticeable differences in day-to-day life at UVM, opportunities that allowed changes to occur, strategies that helped overcome obstacles, resources necessary to the change process, and barriers that prevented progress.

Dot Brauer, Director, LGBTQA Center, University of Vermont
Christopher Purcell, Peer Advising Coordinator, Berklee College of Music, Student Affairs MA, University of Vermont ’07
Kelly Riel, Assistant to UVM Presidential Commissions, University of Vermont class of ’08, and founder of VETO (Vermonters Ending Transgender Oppression)
Jacqueline Weinstock, Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, University of Vermont

10. Does G-d Really Hate Me: Reconstructing and Reinterpreting Challenging Religious Texts

This session will examine specific religious texts that have been used to alienate and silence LGBTQI students, staff, and faculty on campus. We will present an in-progress curriculum responding to this concern. Particular attention will be paid to issues that affect students who come from strong text-based traditions.

Mychal Copeland, Rabbi, Hillel at Stanford, Stanford University
D’Vorah Rose, Rabbi and Chaplain, the Jewish Chaplaincy at Stanford University Medical Center

11. Approaching Queer Cinema: Persistent Problems and New Directions

Although queer people and queer representations have always been present in cinema—shaping understandings of gender and sexuality for better or worse—the 1980s saw a new explosion of explicitly queer filmmaking projects.Fueled by the AIDS crisis, the prominence of identity politics, and the increased accessibility of video technologies, a new generation of filmmakers explicitly sought to document, celebrate, and educate about diverse queer lives.

Moving from the work of pioneering Black gay filmmaker Marlon Riggs to present-day educational filmmaking projects, this session will offer an opportunity for discussion on the changing nature and uses of queer cinema:How can film be used to create a dialogue, to provoke controversy, or as a call to action?

In what ways does film engage with changing and stagnant understandings of race, religion, and gender?How can it be used to encourage self-acceptance and to bridge personal stories with political projects?How do changes in distribution and exhibition—from movie theaters to classrooms, laptops, and cell phones—affect the way we teach or consume media?

Vivian Kleiman, Independent Filmmaker and President, Signifyin’ Works
Harris Kornstein, Community Engagement and Communications Coordinator, Frameline
Jennifer Morris, Festival Director of Frameline International LGBT Film Festival

12. That’s SO Gay: Queering the Curriculum in High Schools Through Community Collaboration

If you think talking about gender and sexual orientation is challenging in a college classroom, try “queering the curriculum” in high school! With young people questioning their identities and coming out at younger ages, it’s vital that as educators we’re able to support them before they reach university campuses. This session will focus on service learning projects as a model that can address LGBTQ issues in both K-12 and higher education settings.How can the obstacles to incorporating queer content in college courses become opportunities for students to gain experience in dealing with tough issues as they prepare to become educators themselves?

The session will focus on collaboration between Mills College and Frameline, in which graduate-level students developed standards-based, high school curriculum to accompany LGBTQ-themed films.Such a project not only helps create safer and richer learning environments for high school students, but also trains a new generation of teachers (and leaders) to be comfortable tackling controversial issues in their own lives.

David Donahue, Associate Professor of Education, Mills College
T. Aaron Haans, Advocacy Program Manager, Gay Straight Alliance Network
Harris Kornstein, Community Engagement and Communications Coordinator, Frameline

13. (Re)vamping the Queericulum: Issues in the Teaching of Language and Sexuality

Courses at the intersection of language and sexuality are increasingly popular on campuses around the country, offering a critical nexus for efforts to “queer the curriculum.” Students in such courses often find themselves encouraged to reflect on and problematize instances of sexual categorization and identification in their own lives and critically examine the various ideological pressures to add or subtract letters/communities to the LGBTQQI taxonomy (such taxonomies themselves being highly problematic).

What constitutes appropriate pedagogy and respectful discourse around differences in gender and sexuality at a time of intense social change and experimentation? Two linguists will share the lessons they have learned from teaching in this highly mercurial area and frame some questions for open dialogue.

Matthew C. Bronson, Associate Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies
Gregory Ward, Professor of Linguistics, Northwestern University

14. Safe Space at Bucknell University: Peers Educating Peers

Safe Space is an LGBT peer education program at Bucknell University designed to create safe and inclusive environments for LGBTQ students and allies in areas such as housing, Greek letter organizations, and athletic teams. We will explore distinctive elements of the program and present the results of both quantitative and qualitative analyses of program evaluation data. Also, we will discuss implications of these results for best practices in the design and implementation of peer education programs to facilitate LGBTQ inclusiveness on college campuses.

Frances McDaniel, Director of the Office of LGBT Awareness, Bucknell University
Robert Midkiff, Associate Provost and Dean of Summer Session, Bucknell University
Kristin Vallis, Student, Office of LGBT Awareness, Bucknell University

15. “Stop the Hate!”: Developing a Bias Incident Response Team on Your Campus

Hate and bias have an impact on every college and university. Effective hate crime and bias prevention efforts include a way for campuses to report, monitor, and respond to bias incidents when they happen. One way for institutions to take responsibility for creating a safe learning environment is to have a Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT) for students, faculty, and staff to report bias and ultimately to support victims. This session will help put your campus on track to develop a BIRT by providing an understanding of the impact of a BIRT, guiding principles to developing a BIRT, and proposed BIRT models for your campus.

Greg Miraglia, National Program Coordinator, Stop the Hate!, Campus Pride, and Dean of Career Technical Information, Napa Valley College

16. Out & Greek: LGBTQ Issues on Fraternity and Sorority Row

In an ideal world, all organizations would be accepting and inclusive of differences in individuals however, most fraternity and sorority nondiscrimination policies and educational efforts neglect to discuss or mention sexual orientation or gender identity. Building a climate of acceptance in fraternities and sororities requires a commitment at all levels, ranging from individual members to the inter/national headquarters and the university administration. Drawing from the work of the “Lambda 10 Project – National Clearinghouse for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Fraternity & Sorority Issues,” this session will offer a guide for creating a climate of acceptance in fraternities and sororities — a climate where a brother/sister who is LGBTQ may feel a sense of safety and support.

Shane Windmeyer, Executive Director and Founder, Campus Pride

17. Is Your Campus LGBT-Friendly?

Finding a LGBT-friendly college campus is no easy task. This session will explore the questions students ask while searching for a gay friendly college, share available resources and discuss how educators can support a student throughout the search process. Participants will also learn how to access the LGBT-friendliness of their institutional policies, programs and practices using the Campus Pride LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index (www.CampusClimateIndex.org).

Shane L. Windmeyer, Executive Director and Founder, Campus Pride

18. Reimagining Sexual Desire and Spiritual Longing in Sacred Texts

Sacred texts have traditionally been re-imagined mystically to explore alternative views of gender, identity, and sexuality. Often gender identity dissolves in the divine union, and at the same time bodily ecstasy becomes evidence of this direct sacred contact. During this interactive and participative session, we will explore together how we ourselves can re-imagine sacred texts, mystical writings, and personal experiences. How might reimagining the connection between sexual desire and spiritual longing be brought into our teaching and research in the humanities and social sciences?

Brendan Collins, Core Faculty, East West Psychology and Integral Counseling Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies
Elizabeth Ursic, Professor of Religious Studies, Mesa Community College

19. Meeting the Needs of Transgender Students: Best Practices and Lessons Learned

What are the diverse experiences of transgender and other gender nonconforming students? How are college campuses creating trans-friendly policies to meet the needs of transgender students? Join members of the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals as we explore best practices and lessons learned regarding gender identity and expression and the student experience.

Genny Beemyn, Director, Stonewall Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Nancy Jean Tubbs, Director, LGBT Resource Center, University of California, Riverside

20. Education and Human Development: A Visionary Partnership for Academic Diversity and the Inclusion of LGBTQ Studies

In contrast to the predominant approach of locating ethnic and other cultural studies programs within humanities and social sciences divisions, the University of Texas at San Antonio will expand its academic diversity programs such as African American, Mexican American, and Women’s Studies by incubating a new program in Sexual and Gender Diversity (LGBTQ) Studies within the College of Education and Human Development. In this interactive session, we will draw on a case study detailing the impetus and process of this unique partnership of program and division to facilitate a conversation among participants on ways to address challenges to institutionalize successful programs in LGBTQ Studies.

M. David Kessler, Director of the Sexual and Gender Diversity Studies Program, University of Texas at San Antonio

21. Get Psychological! LGBT Affirmative Theory and Practice as the Next Stage of the LGBT Movement

The emerging field of LGBT affirmative theory and practice offers a life saving, ethical, and cultural practice for working relationally and systemically with clients about the way heterosexism has an impact on psychological functioning from early age onward. In this interactive session, we will assert that affirmative theory and practice represents the next stage of a progressive LGBT movement. We will also discuss incorporating into our psychology courses and practice the concept of psychological mindfulness as the cutting edge of political activism, as well as including a non-heteronormative working condition across the academic department and in the curriculum. In addition, we will discuss how the LGBT Specialization at Antioch University is developing the first comprehensive center for LGBTQ Youth in Los Angeles.

Douglas Sadownick, Founder and Director, LGBT Specialization in Psychology, Antioch University, and Founding Member, Institute for Contemporary Uranian Psychoanalysis

22. Ripe for the Picking: Queer-Themed FIGs (First Year Interest Groups)

For the past six years, University of Wisconsin-Madison has offered a First Year Interest Group (FIG) entitled “Sexuality and Gender in 20th-Century French Literature” for incoming students. The FIG program assembles twenty first-year students who take three of their four classes together. These three courses are chosen by the professor who is teaching the capstone course, which identifies the theme of the FIG. The purpose of the FIG program is to foster the supportive atmosphere of a smaller liberal-arts college at a large university, like UW-Madison, which has more than 40,000 students.

In this interactive session, we will discuss the FIG program as a whole, and why it is ideal for teaching queer topics and useful for building a vibrant community of LGBTQ students and allies. Lastly, this session will briefly present the results of the FIG program and share some of the stories of the students who have passed through my class, as students who’ve taken queer themed FIGs have not only become informed activists and scholars, but they have also frequently enrolled in the LGBTQ Certificate Program offered at UW Madison.

Thomas Armbrecht, Associate Professor of French, University of Wisconsin, Madison

23. Challenging the Status Quo in Small-Town America

This purpose of this session is to focus on infusing LGBTQ studies/issues throughout the university wide curriculum with particular focus on selected departments. The presenters will facilitate discussion/dialogue on the challenges/obstacles facing LGBTQ faculty and students in smaller, rural colleges/universities. In many cases LGBTQ activists work in geographic isolation and have time constraints inherent to their job duties which, most often, are not directly related to the support the LGBTQ community on their campuses. While public institutions may tend to be more liberal in their approach to LGBTQ concerns, the location of an institution may affect the response of the university and community. The realities of these social facts provide the platform for the discussion of a practical solution to the problem. One of the intended outcomes of this session is the creation of regional networks, designed to aid the participants in the expansion of awareness, knowledge and support that may be lacking in their own university communities.

Jerra Jenrette, Professor of History, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.
Rhonda Matthews, Associate Professor of Sociology, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

24. Is Faith Straight?: An Ethical and Practical Approach toward Exploring the Intersections of Sexuality, Spirituality, and Religion in Higher Education.

Tricia Seifert states that educators need to help students develop the ability and willingness to question educational practices and programs that privilege the spiritual identity development of one group over others. Drawing on intentional collaborations between the Center for Ethics and Religious Affairs and the LGBTA Student Resource Center at The Pennsylvania State University, this session is designed to provide insight and ideas on how to ethically and practically initiate conversations with students on sexual, spiritual, and religious identity development. We invite you to explore, examine, and critique our collaborative approaches to bridge the intersecting multiple dimensions of identity encompassed by LGBTQ students. By challenging the conventional notions of affirming and non-affirming religious groups with the integration of non-western based spiritualities, we hope to expand our approaches as practitioner-scholars working on a college campus through a directed dialogue and discussion on ethical and practical considerations for program implementation.

Beth Bradley, Assistant Director, Center for Ethics and Religious Affairs, The Pennsylvania State University

Brian Patchcoski, Assistant Director, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Ally Student Resource Center, The Pennsylvania State University

25. Visioning Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Centers for the Future: Working at the Intersections

Since 1971, over 165 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Resource Centers have developed on college campuses across the country. Although building connections with cultural and women’s centers has been a crucial aspect of creating inclusive campus communities, it has often been limited to co-sponsoring programs financially. How can we take our collaborative work deeper? How are LGBT Resource Centers affected by changes in the ways that cultural and women’s centers function? How do we work for social justice and across intersecting identities within and among separate spaces? How do we envision successful LGBT Resource Centers for the future? Join this interactive discussion and brainstorm to bring out the best of our work.

Sheri Atkinson, Director of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center, University of California, Davis.
Shaun Travers, Campus Diversity Officer and Director of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center, University of California, San Diego

26. Ways of Proceeding: Deepening the Conversation between Campus Ministries & LBGTQ Communities

The panelists will share their work at Catholic and Jesuit colleges in creating spaces for LGBTQ communities to work creatively and collaboratively with those in Campus Ministry. Panelists will explore how those working in Ministry can provide frameworks of legitimacy, care, and support for the creation of safe learning environments, and create support for students, faculty and staff. We will share our experiences and ask participants to come with their own in order to have an open conversation about the positive role that Campus Ministry can play in creating an inclusive campus.

Donal Godfrey, SJ, University Ministry, University of San Francisco
Jim Schexnayder, SJ, Resource Director, Catholic Association for Lesbian and Gay Ministry
Sivagami Subbaraman, Director, LGBTQ Resource Center, Georgetown University

27. Forming Coalitions: Creating an Inclusive Climate on a Catholic Campus

At Stonehill College, a four-year Catholic liberal arts institution, students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members are collaborating to reduce LGBTQ bias and increase responsibility towards a more socially just community. Our collaborative but decentralized approach has encouraged greater involvement from across the campus and has contributed to a greater sense of community and support among those involved. In our presentation we will discuss the successes and challenges we’ve faced in building these partnerships and invite conversation about strategies for working across institutional differences to create inclusivity at Catholic colleges.

Stacy Grooters, Director of the Center for Teaching & Learning, Stonehill College
Anne F. Mattina, Associate Professor, Dept. of Communication, member Bias Response Team, Stonehill College
George Piggford, C.S.C., Associate Professor, Dept. of English & Director of Stonehill College Honors Program
Liza Talusan, Director of Intercultural Affairs, Stonehill College

28. Building a Successful LGBTQ Program at Catholic Institutions

In this session, we will explore strategies to establish an LGBTQ program (networking, preliminary organization, contacts with university officials), to ensure its maintenance (articulation of goals, recruitment of faculty, course offerings) and to continue its enhancement (cross-disciplinary enrichment, multiple program alliances, student outreach). It will be an open exchange about the emergence and growth of LGBTQ programs in Catholic higher education.

Miho Matsugu, Assistant Professor, Modern Languages, DePaul University
William A. Mirola, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, Marian University
Andrew Suozzo, Professor, Modern Languages & LGBTQ Studies Program, DePaul University
Jason Zingsheim, Assistant Professor of Communications, Governors State University

29. Where the Rubber Meets the Road: LGBT Development for Students, Staff and Institutions

Participants roll up their sleeves in this high-energy session to assess their individual, group & institution’s health and maturity level, and build a unique roadmap designed to cultivate allies, leverage power sources, and drive engagement. This session will utilize the Maturity Model for maximum benefit to both LGBT employees and institutional performance and include both discussion and strategic planning. The result is a set of practical steps that participants can quickly implement to take themselves, staff, students and faculty as well as their institution to the next level of value, where the rubber meets the road.

Lyne Desormeaux, Senior Vice President, Consulting Services & Business Development, Corporate Counseling Associates
Patrick Vitale, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement Executive, American Automobile Association Northern California, Nevada & Utah

30. Building a Research Infrastructure to Examine LGBTQ Issues in Education

In this session, the facilitators discuss the essential tools and resources needed to study LGBTQ issues in education. By analyzing large-scale datasets, conducting case studies on campuses, as well as interviewing students, parents, teachers, and school administrators, researchers can address topics such as: child learning and development, factors affecting sexual minority youth, the impact of harassment and victimization on educational achievement, and the role of school policies or programs in fostering a safe school environment and promoting success. This session focuses on gaining access to research sites and subjects; implementing quantitative and qualitative research methods; building capacity among researchers to examine LGBTQ topics; and disseminating research findings across academic disciplines, applied fields, and to policymakers.

Stephen T. Russell, Professor, Family Studies and Human Development, University of Arizona
George L. Wimberly, Director of Social Justice and Professional Development, American Educational Research Association

31. Imagining Queer Selves: LGBTQ Literature, Libraries, and the Coming Out Process

While queer folk can be seen today in movies, television, on the web, all too often we don’t get to tell our own stories in mainstream media. We need the work of LGBTQ authors and artists to present us with possibilities, and need their biographies, memoirs and nonfiction to tell us how dreams can become real lives. But for the most part our works are still banned, censored, and inaccessible to young people. If queer-produced voices and images are segregated into adult-only venues, ghetto-ized in specialized gay bookstores, not available on library shelves, what’s the impact on young adults struggling to create their own sexual identities? How can an “It Gets Better” campaign succeed, if its audience has to take that message on faith alone? This session will look at what’s missing; and, moving towards action, at how we can form alliances and advocate that these works are just as available on our campuses as manifestos of queer critical theory.

Lise Dyckman, Library Director, California Institute of Integral Studies

32. Organizing on Campus for LGBTQ-supportive Policies: Activating Faculty and Staff for Change

This session will present findings from “Harvesting the Grapevine: Collecting LGBTQ Success Stories to Change Campus Policies”. This project of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)’s Committee on Sexual Diversity and Gender Identity is a nationwide study of colleges and universities who have added domestic partner health benefits or other LGBT-supportive policies. The discussion will focus on the role of faculty and staff in advocacy around policy issues, highlighting useful strategies that improve quality of life for LGBT faculty, staff, and students. Factors that hinder as well as promote change will be explored as well as recommendations for policy implementation.

Lori Messinger, Associate Professor, School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas

33. Mixed Gender Bathrooms: What Must Happen When the Difference You Invite Shows Up and Demands More?

Gender specific bathrooms are a powerful and visible manifestation of binary gender norms that function to not only exclude and devalue genderqueer and transgender experience, but also put these communities at risk of verbal and physical assault. In partnership with the Dean of Students, Human Resources, and Operations Departments, Queer@CIIS, a student-led organization, conducted a mixed gender bathroom campaign at California Institute of Integral Studies in Spring 2010. This session will explore the underlying ethical concerns, practical approaches and implications of the campaign, as well as present an opportunity to reflect on the role of the campus community in the decision making process.

Hollis Dale, Member, Queer@CIIS, and Masters Candidate, Social and Cultural Anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies
Erin McElroy, Member, Queer@CIIS and Masters Candidate, Social and Cultural Anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies
Shirley Strong, Dean of Students and Director of Diversity, California Institute of Integral Studies

34. It Doesn’t Always Get Better: Bullying, Suicide and What Higher Education Should Know About Its LGBTQ Students

This session traces the journeys that many LGBTQ youth make through hostile K-12 school environments and what they need from their colleges and universities in order to shift from surviving to thriving. If higher education fails in its promise to be bully-free and inclusive of all students, it can often be the last in a series of let-downs that can lead to student disenchantment with education; alienation from their peers; and in some cases, suicide.

Cristin Brew, Program Director, Spectrum LGBT Center
Nicholas Carlisle, Executive Director, No Bully
James Guay, Adjunct Faculty; John F. Kennedy University

PLEASE CHECK BACK SOON FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PROGRAM & REGISTRATION

Questions? Email us at ExpandingTheCircle@ciis.edu & “Like” us on Facebook

Please visit our Accommodations page for more details.

We’ve created a list San Francisco travel resources with help from SFGate.com, the online home of the San Francisco Chronicle, and their San Francisco Guide. If there’s something you think we should include, send it to us.

View our San Francisco photo gallery

Getting there

The San Francisco Airport (SFO) is the most convenient to fly into and is a 20-minute cab ride (~$40) from the conference hotel, the Hotel Nikko, San Francisco. The hotel is conveniently located near the Powell Street Station on the BART train system. Use BART’s QuickPlanner to find a schedule of trains.

What to do

In San Francisco, the dilemma is what NOT to do. SFGate.com provides the latest updates on the city’s nightlife, visual arts, family activities and more in a special section, 96 hours: Your Four-Day Guide to the Bay Area

The Official Guide to the City: The San Francisco Visitors Planning Guide

Enjoy Frameline 35: San Francisco’s International LGBT Film Festival, June 14-24, 2012

Stay for the San Francisco Pride Celebration, June 23-24, 2012

Where to eat

Looking for a place to eat? Look no further than the Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants, as compiled by San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer. And don’t miss the popular Bargain Bites, places where the vast majority of entrees are $12 or less.

The neighborhoods

Like any big city, San Francisco is a collection of enclaves, each with its own personality and culture. From Fisherman’s Wharf to The Haight and back, SFGate.com’s neighborhood guide discovers the nooks and crannies of the city.

Parking

The Hotel Nikko offers valet parking for $10/hour and $45/night plus taxes (with in and out privileges) for overnight guests. If your car is oversized, the rate is $55/night plus taxes.

The entrance to the parking lot is located on Ellis at Mason. Directions can be found here: http://www.hotelnikkosf.com/FindUs.html

The Mason O’Farrell Garage is a large garage that offers plenty of parking. They charge $31/24 hours (maximum) and $7.50/hour ($2.50/20 minutes). They also have an evening special from 5.30pm to 9.30am for $15 flat. This garage is located at 325 Mason St. (between Elwood St. & Ofarrell St.) and their phone number is 415- 673-6757.

More parking information, with detailed costs and location can be found through the following website: http://sanfrancisco.bestparking.com

When using this just choose the following ‘address option’:222 Mason Street San Francisco, California 94102 and you will find plenty of affordable alternatives.

• 2010 Conference Program (PDF)
• 2011 Conference Schedule
• 2011 Conference Program (PDF)