A Letter to Our Membership regarding Charlottesville

August 23, 2017

Dear membership, friends, and partners:

We see you and have been holding you during these past weeks in light of the White Supremacist terrorism and tragedy that occurred in Charlottesville, and as we continue to recognize the racist, anti-Black, anti-Semitic, xenophobic terrorism and tragedies that preceded these events and continue across the country. We write to communicate our solidarity with you in these times and to hold all of us accountable to getting and staying engaged, as we are able, in protecting our communities from immediate and systemic violence.

The presence of American Nazis, the Klan, and white supremacists is not new, and this is not a resurgence. To state otherwise is to negate the real violence that has been perpetuated over the centuries since this landmass was colonized. Actors, enablers, and silent majorities of white supremacy have always been here; these latest events, in which white supremacists have made their presence known and enacted violence with emboldened force, while perhaps surprising to some, are not a deviation from the course of our country’s long history of violence against people of color.

In the landscape of higher education, the events in Charlottesville have also reignited tensions around the use of free speech to marginalize communities of color, Muslim, queer and trans communities, Jewish communities, and others.  As professionals working within institutions of higher education, we are often faced with the challenging balance between supporting some of our most marginalized campus communities and upholding an institutional commitment to the free speech of all people, including those voices that further marginalize historically oppressed communities.  We must employ strategies to protect and empower our most marginalized communities and educate our constituencies, to find better solutions to these tensions. We recognize that many of our members are trying to balance the complexity of this work and hope to engage each other in future webinars and Consortium-sponsored events on this topic.

As an organization committed to queer and trans justice, we are intrinsically connected to racial justice. We are not doing our work as LGBTQIA+ resource professionals if we are not doing racial justice work. This work starts with each of us, and we, as the executive board, take responsibility and ownership of our privileges and actions of compliance with white violence and supremacy.  We all must recognize our power and influence through our work and in our positionalities, as we push our institutions to do better and empower our communities. As colleagues and partners in this work we are here for any guidance you need to push forward in this effort- at all of our institutions, with all of our students, colleagues, friends, and family.

In Community,

The Consortium Executive Board

--

The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals envisions higher education environments where LGBTQ people, inclusive of all of our intersecting identities, are fully liberated. We are a member-based organization working towards the liberation of LGBTQ people in higher education. We support individuals who work on campuses to educate and support people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as advocate for more inclusive policies and practices through an intersectional and racial justice framework. Learn more about the Consortium at lgbtcampus.org.

Board Retreat Update 2017

Happy August from the Board!

Typically, our first communication to membership for the academic year is a recap of our Summer Institute and Executive Board retreat. While we were working on that plan an incident came up that required our attention. The firing of our colleague Dr. Jonathan Higgins was a reminder of the importance of our work and the need for solidarity at the individual and organizational level. Last summer we decided to overhaul the Consortium’s mission and vision, centering our work on racial justice, and supporting our members in our collective work of liberating all LGBTQ people on college campuses. We hope that our letter of support is a signal to our members, and to other organizations, that the Consortium is committed to this mission and vision.
The message that follows will provide three things:

1. Highlights from the Summer 2017 Institute at North Carolina Central University and our partnership with the National Black Justice Coalition
2. Updates on initiatives that the board is taking on to support our mission and vision.
3. Reminders about all things Creating Change. This includes how members can get involved in the Education Committee and Institute Planning, as well as a reminder on the awards the Consortium gives out each year.
   1. Centering our commitment to Racial Justice
   2. Strategic Organizational Planning
   3. Fiscal Transparency

2017 Summer Institute

Strategies for Resistance, Resilience, and Hope: Supporting QTPOC on College Campuses

Saturday July 17th, 2017 at North Carolina Central University

The 2017 Consortium Summer Institute was amazing!  In alignment with our new mission to center the work in an intersectional and racial justice framework, the Summer Institute was hosted for the first time at an HBCU and proved to be groundbreaking. In collaboration with practitioners from North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), Consortium board members planned the day-long institute consisting of 10 workshop sessions, two keynotes, and a riveting student lunch panel.  The institute was attended by more than 80 professionals representing over 13 organizations. The Consortium extends immense gratitude to our partners from NCCU, NBJC, and the many presenters that were integral in making the day a healing and learning space for so many.

Based on the success of this Institute, along the Consortium’s desire to continue to engage in meaningful collaboration that centers and serves queer and trans students of Color, the Consortium board has decided that future Summer Institutes will be held at a Minority Serving Institution (MSI), and work in collaboration with partnerships both within and outside of higher education. We are already looking forward to planning the 2018 Consortium Summer Institute. For more information on the event and pictures check out our website, Facebook and Twitter pages!

- 2017 Consortium Summer Institute Planning Committee

Board Initiatives

This year’s Board Retreat took place directly following the 2017 Summer Institute in Raleigh, North Carolina. The focus of this year’s work was to continue to apply the organization’s new mission and vision to the needs and goals of the Consortium. The following initiatives were identified as priorities and will guide the work of the board over the next year:

Centering the commitment to Racial Justice

• The Consortium will be working with a consultant to develop a curriculum and process for restorative practices as an organization with opportunities for membership to engage in this work

• A quarterly Racial Justice webinar series featuring scholars and practitioners discussing the intersections of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity starting in September.

• Holding whiteness accountable: In an effort to provide White members with more opportunities to engage in the work of Racial Justice the board has formed a working group to identify and create resources for our organization, with potential outcomes being the creation of a living syllabus, webinars, and social media engagement opportunities

Strategic Organizational Planning

After celebrating the Consortium’s 20th birthday and revising our mission and vision, the Board decided it would be helpful to seek outside assistance to imagine the future of the Consortium. We are reaching out to potential organizational consultants to help with this process in order to assist in identifying ways to enable the Consortium to actualize our new mission and vision, while enhancing our service to the membership.

Fiscal Transparency

Please check out our new Fiscal Transparency page under the About Us when you log in to the website. This page is a resource for members to follow the financial policies and practices of the Consortium. We want to be accountable to you as members and make our financial processes as transparent as possible.

Please reach out to the Co-Chairs, Van & Adriana, or any board members for questions on board initiatives!

Creating Change 2018

Join this year’s Education Committee!

Join us in organizing or providing thoughts to inform the Consortium's presence and professional development offerings at next year's Creating Change conference in Washington, D.C. (January 24-28, 2018)! While it would be great to have folks involved who plan to attend, we recognize that it may be too early for some folks to plan on attending—so even if you're not sure, let us know how you'd like to be involved! Some responsibilities include regularly scheduled conference calls with the Education Committee, identifying areas of focus and key topics or/and facilitators, and shaping what the Consortium's educational opportunities might look like. Whether you've attended in the past or are looking forward to being there in January, we'd love to have you on involved. Contact Julio Oyola, Education Chair, at [email protected] by August 20th.

2018 Consortium Awards

The community of LGBTQ Higher Education Resource Professionals is comprised of a vast array of dedicated individuals committed to enriching the lives and campus climates for LGBTQ people and their allies in higher education. It is only appropriate that we are able to recognize the durable and sustainable impact that we and our colleagues have at our institutions. This year the Consortium will present the following awards:

• Promising New Professional

• Outstanding Social Justice Practice

• Research & Assessment

Stay tuned for an email with more information from Support Services Chair, Meg Evans, on the awards and how to nominate your colleagues! Details on past recipients can be found on our website at: http://www.lgbtcampus.org/awards

Thank You

We are grateful to be able to spend part of the summer focusing on this work. One of the major advantages of the summer retreat is that it allows our board to be together in person. For most of the year, we are physically far apart, connecting only by phone and email. Being together for the retreat means that we can set expectations, make plans, and get to know each other better.

To find your new board members, please go to:

http://www.lgbtcampus.org/executive-board

To find your regional representatives, please go to:

http://www.lgbtcampus.org/regions

Thank you for your continued support of the Consortium and our board!

In Community,

Dr. Adriana di Bartolo & Dr. Van Bailey
Co-Chairs ([email protected])

White Supremacy and White Fragility: The Firing of Dr. Jonathan P. Higgins

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

July 12, 2017

The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals denounces the recent dismissal of Dr. Jonathan Higgins from the Claremont Colleges.
The firing of Dr. Higgins shines a bright light on entrenched white supremacy and white fragility in higher education as well as the hypocrisy at play in the free speech debate across higher education. Media outlets like The College Fix claim to ardently support free speech yet condemn and call for the termination of those who do not conform to their worldview. 

We are particularly concerned about the impact that Dr. Higgins’ dismissal has on QTPOC (queer and trans people of color) students, faculty, and staff at the Claremont Colleges, as well as the message this sends to our QTPOC colleagues and students across institutions.  This is not an isolated incident, but yet another example of faculty and staff of color speaking truth to their experiences of anti-Blackness and racism to be met with devastating and violent consequences. College and university leadership should stand by their employees when they are targeted for harassment, and this most recent incident demonstrates how faculty and staff members, particularly those holding marginalized identities and sharing their experiences, have been singled out by right wing media outlets and their supporters. The Consortium echoes the call by Julia Golden-Battle for student affairs professional organizations, including NASPA and ACPA, to support the dedicated professionals who serve students on a daily basis. These professional organizations must also interrogate and address how white supremacy and white fragility adversely impact the lives of our QTPOC colleagues.

We also wish to affirm our support for the Queer Resource Center of The Claremont Colleges (QRC) and the staff members currently serving in the Center. This decision to terminate Dr. Higgins was made by the Pomona College administration, and the actions taken by the administration make the QRC’s work of “actively challenging all forms of oppression, including but not limited to racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, xenophobia, classism, and ableism, and actively working toward justice, and prioritizing lived experiences and centering voices of those who have multiple marginalized identities” even more challenging.

Campuses can support Dr. Higgins’ work by employing him as a speaker and facilitator. Dr Higgins has been named a “Top 100 LGBTQ Emerging Leader” by the National Black Justice Coalition and he has “over 10 years of experience in education, social justice and grassroots movements, Dr. Higgins is focused on public speaking and working with the media on issues centered on people of color, LGBTQ storytelling and marginalized communities.” Campus administrators can also sign onto an open letter in defense of Dr. Higgins, which includes a list of demands to Dr. Miriam Feldblum,Vice President and Dean of Students and Dr. Jan Collins-Eaglin, Associate Dean of Students for Personal Success and Wellness at Pomona College.

The Consortium’s 2014 self study report indicated that 22.1% of members identified as POC while only 7% identified as Black across all levels of experience collectively. Our own field is gravely lacking in QTPOC leadership on college and university campuses.  This is an important moment to center our QTPOC colleagues and students, as the violence that consistently oppresses these identities is made public and more tangible through this type of action and limits opportunities for advancement and growth within our profession. In the spring of 2016, the Consortium released our Recommendations for Supporting Trans and Queer Students of Color, which may be a helpful resource at this time. We also invite our membership to speak with members of our board at any time, including our Racial Justice Chair and People of Color Co-Chairs.

--

The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals envisions higher education environments where LGBTQ people, inclusive of all of our intersecting identities, are fully liberated. We are a member-based organization working towards the liberation of LGBTQ people in higher education. We support individuals who work on campuses to educate and support people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as advocate for more inclusive policies and practices through an intersectional and racial justice framework. Learn more about the Consortium atlgbtcampus.org.

Summer Institute

For the past eight years, the Consortium board has hosted a summer planning retreat at different campuses across the U.S. As a benefit to the retreat site, we have also hosted a day-long summer institute for higher education professionals. Read on for more information about the institute and retreat.

Summer 2017 Institute at North Carolina Central University 

Strategies for Resistance, Resilience, and Hope: Supporting QTPOC on College Campuses

Saturday, June 17, 2017
Register Online: http://bit.ly/ConsortiumSummer2017