Press Release

Release Date: November 14, 2024

A Call to Action: Student Affairs Leadership’s Failure to Protect and Support QT Resource Practitioners

New York, NY – The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals calls upon college and university leaders and the field of student affairs to protect and support queer and trans (QT) resource practitioners and QT resource work across higher education. In the past two months, we were made aware that two prominent gender and sexuality center directors have been forced out of their positions. 

On September 23, Petey Peterson was terminated from their position as the director of the Office of Gender & Sexual Diversity at Tulane University, a prestigious private institution in New Orleans. Petey served faithfully in this role for five years and was fired under the guise of being terminated for a post on their personal social media page. This position is vacant as of today.

On Tuesday, October 15, Warren Scherer was reassigned by pers supervisor, the Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Warren was the director of the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center and is now in a term-limited, fully remote position focusing on “special projects.” Given the political landscape of Wisconsin and the state Board of Regents’ cap on DEI administrative positions, we fear this critical position will not be filled. Further, we anticipate that the administration will choose a future director based on that person’s willingness to prioritize the institution at the expense of queer and trans communities. We also fear the targeting, surveillance, and mistreatment of the remaining staff team members at the GSCC.

Press Release

Release Date: June 28, 2024

THE CONSORTIUM ISSUES NEW GUIDANCE DOCUMENT TO SUPPORT TRANS AND NONBINARY PEOPLE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 

New York, New York – The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals, a member-based organization dedicated to the liberation of 2SLGBTQIA+ people in higher education, today announced the release of “Promising Policies and Practices for Supporting Trans and Nonbinary People in Postsecondary Education.” This new guidance document for colleges and universities replaces the previous guidelines issued by the Consortium in 2014. This guidance document is designed to assist colleges and universities in providing services and support to this rapidly growing campus population.

Dr. Sarah Simi Cohen stated: “Amid an increasingly hostile political landscape that seeks to erase the identities of trans and nonbinary individuals, it is more crucial than ever for higher education institutions to implement policies that affirm and support our communities.” They expressed that this document “does not serve as just administrative suggestions and actions-- it both invites us to and provides guidelines for ways we can be imaginative, choose community-building, care, and love. Thus, this document is a call to action, urging us to envision and build a future where equity and belonging are at the forefront of our educational environments, pedagogy, and praxis.”

This guidance document was developed by a dedicated group of scholars and practitioners whose contributions reflect many decades of experience researching, advocating for, serving, and supporting trans and nonbinary communities in higher education. The Trans and Nonbinary Working Group includes: Dr. Debbie Bazarsky, Jesse Beal, Dr.Genny Beemyn, Roman Christiaens, Dr. Sarah Simi Cohen, Dr. D. A. Dirks, Clar Gobuyan, Dr. Chris Hinesley, Dr. Chicora Martin, and Des Velázquez.

Consortium Members,

The Consortium Executive Board is saddened to learn of the passing of Robert “Bob” Schoenberg, one of the founding members of the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals and founding Director of the University of Pennsylvania. 

Known as one of the three Pocono Parents, Bob worked with Sue Rankin and Ronni Sanlo to build what is now the Consortium. During his time with the Consortium and his local communities, he was known as someone who deeply cared about supporting others through outreach, education and advocacy. We will miss his caring words and presence in the Consortium community yet his legacy will continue in the work that we all do together. 

For members who did not have the opportunity to know Bob, our team wants to highlight a few select testimonials from fellow Consortium members that speak to how dearly he will be missed: 

Ronni Sanlo, Ed.D.

UCLA LGBT Center Director Emeritus/Retired

Professor, UCLA Masters of Education in Student Affairs/ Retired

“Many in Philadelphia know and remember Bob Schoenberg for his pioneering work in LGBT issues in town and at Penn, but his reach goes much further. Bob was one of the three Pocono Parents – with Sue Rankin and myself – who laid the foundation for what is now the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals. Bob hosted the first meeting of a small group of campus directors who in 1994 wanted to connect with others for support of this new lesbian and gay (as it was called then) campus work. We met more formally at Creating Change Conference in Dallas (1994) and Detroit (1995). 

At the 1997 NASPA/ACPA conference in Chicago, we met again to consider creating a professional organization for the still-few of us doing this work. Bob and Sue and I agreed to meet at Bob’s bungalow in the Poconos – hence Pocono Parents – in the summer of 1997 to create a structure, a vision, and an identity for LGBT campus directors, and the National Consortium of Directors of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Resources in Higher Education was born (the name has sense been changed). I was the first executive director; Bob was the second, but we did this work in tandem. In 2002, Bob and Sue and I again collaborated, this time on the book Our Place on Campus: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Services and Programs in Higher Education (2002, Greenwood Press). The book focused on the transformation of college and university campuses into places of welcome and respect, where social justice prevails…exactly as Bob desired. Bob Schoenberg was a pioneer, a national activist, and a powerful voice for LGBTQ people, for students, for us.

His work will live on in the Consortium and with those who do LGBTQ work on college and university campuses. Bob was more than a colleague; he was my friend and I miss him.”

Sue R. Rankin, Ph.D.

President/Owner

Rankin & Associates Consulting, LLC

“Bob was a dear friend and colleague whose legacy is his passion and dedication in creating safe, brave campus environments for LGBTQIA and non-binary students. His scholarly work laid the foundation for campus centers across the country. His contributions to the creation of the Consortium and mentorship of young scholars in our field are immeasurable.”

Erin Cross 

Director of the University of Pennsylvania’s LGBT Center 

“Bob truly was a pioneer,” said Erin Cross, director of Penn’s LGBT Center. “He helped create the LGBTQ+ student services field, laying the foundation for the over 200 LGBTQ+ campus centers across North America. His legacy will live on through all who use their services, but especially those who are part of the Penn LGBT Center’s family. Our touchstone for LGBTQ+ issues has passed, but we will carry Bob in our hearts as we continue his fight for equity and justice.” Read more of Erins’ words and others through this article. 

Debbie Bazarsky, Ph.D. 

Director of the Boston University LGBTQIA+ Center for Faculty & Staff 

“Bob was a living legend who contributed mightily to the profession, his campus at the University of Pennsylvania, his local community of Philadelphia, and to other colleges and universities. He was cofounder of the Consortium, founding director of the second center in the country—a role he was in for 35 years, a servant leader to his core, a tenacious advocate, a fundraiser extraordinaire, and hugely successful in his work at Penn and nationally. Bob was a trailblazer and the advocacy work and support services on his campus were models that set the stage for change nationwide. Bob was incredibly generous with his time and energy, thoughtful, and kind hearted. He mentored and provided support for countless colleagues, students, and alums. Bob always had time for you, whoever you were, and he was always quick to offer his support to others to help them personally and professionally. Bob’s legacy is tremendous. His work and love for those he supported and mentored lives on in the people, organizations, and campuses he influenced during his journey. Bob will be missed. May his memory as well as his fierce commitment to and tremendous love for the LGBTQIA+ community and profession be carried forward and live on in our work, our lives, and in our hearts.”

We send our deepest condolences to all who knew Bob including his family, friends, faculty, staff and alumni of the University of Pennsylvania. Those with the available financial resources can donate to the University of Pennsylvania’s LGBT Center in Bob’s honor. 

In solidarity and with love,

Consortium Executive Board

Dear Consortium Membership,

The Consortium Executive Board is saddened to learn of the passing of a long-time Consortium member and friend, Dr. Andrew Dowe.  Andrew served as the Associate Director of the Office of LGBTQ Resources and Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Yale University. 

Many of you may know Andrew from Creating Change where, like many of us, he brought Yale students and attended many Consortium functions.  Andrew was deeply committed to the support, empowerment, and advancement of QTPOC communities, specifically Black folks, in research, teaching, programs, and his personal and professional practice.  This can be seen throughout his entire life’s work, including but not limited to, his recently completed dissertation, “Cruising Homophobias: Race, Gender, Sexuality and the Triangulations of Empire;” programs and events he organized through Yale University’s Office of LGBTQ Resources; and through all the students, faculty, staff, and alumni that Andrew served during his time at Yale.  You can learn more about Andrew and his impact on the Yale community in this recent article from Yale Daily News.

For members who did not have the opportunity to know Andrew, we wanted to highlight some testimonials from fellow members that speak to how special Andrew was and how dearly he will be missed:

Maria Trumpler, Director of LGBTQ Resources and Senior Lecturer in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Yale University

“Andrew was cherished in so many ways—as a friend, a cousin, a first year roommate, a fellow grad student, a boss, a mentor and teacher—that the story of his work mentoring and supporting LGBTQ students, staff and faculty and working with me to create both the physical and community spaces of Yale's Office of LGBTQ Resources has not been told—and this group seems like the perfect audience for that.

Andrew came to Yale from a Catholic boy’s school in Florida.  He came out right away and took on leadership roles in PRISM (for queer POC) and the Coop (the umbrella LGBTQ group). He majored in African-American Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.  I met him in 2007 when I was teaching the WGSS junior seminar and he impressed me with his curiosity, willingness to question accepted practices, and his joy in living.

When he returned to Yale for graduate school in 2010, he worked with me in the newly founded Office of LGBTQ Resources which provided education, outreach and advocacy for students, faculty and staff (but had no space of its own).  Undaunted, he developed programming including Queer Yoga and brunches where he fried eggs to order on a two burner stove.  He created film series with directors in person afterwards. He developed a workshop “Creating Inclusive Events” and brought campus leaders together for the Queer Leadership Roundtable each semester.

In spring of 2017, he was the associate director of the Office (accompanying an appointment as lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in WGSS) and we were offered a beautiful new space—though it was dusty and unloved when we first saw it.  Andrew engaged deeply with all aspects of the design and finish process, able to imagine what would look both Yale and queer, and how our students might use the space.  I and many others treasure both the care and simple beauty of the interior design and the care and simple beauty of the community he nurtured. 

Some aspects of the way he stewarded the LGBTQ Community that were extraordinary: he knew everyone (and had patience for them all, too!), even though he faced many personal challenges at Yale, he loved the institution and wanted to work to make it better, his academic position and his student affairs position enhanced each other, his sense of color and visual style and graphic design.”

Angel Collie, Assistant Director at the Duke University Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity

“It’s hard to imagine Yale or the world without Andrew. He was one of the first people I met when I set out to connect with the Office of LGBTQ Resources. His humor, his kindness, his deep passion for love and justice drew me and so many others to him. Seeing him every year at Creating Change or anytime I made it up to New Haven was always a highlight. He was a beacon for queer and trans students, especially queer and trans students of color. My heart is with the Yale LGBTQ community, all who worked with him, and all who love him.”

 

Dr. Zaneta Rago-Craft, Advisor to the President for Diversity and Inclusion and Director of the Intercultural Center at Monmouth University

“Dr. Andrew Dowe always made those around him feel loved, listened to, and uplifted. He was an exemplary advocate, scholar, and student affairs practitioner who always made sure to center the voices and needs of those who too often navigate institutions at the margins. He was a colleague and friend.  His legacy and contributions to Yale, and in the field more broadly, will be felt for generations to come.”

 

Travis Becker, Director of the UC Santa Cruz Lionel Cantú Queer Resource Center

“The world is a better place because Andrew was here. Whenever we're all able to return to in-person conferences, I hope to find myself at Creating Change with friends and chosen family that I've come to look forward to spending precious time with; there may only be one or two nights a year where we can all actually get together like this... We'll be gathered around a bunch of tables near the bar at the hotel lobby, or dancing out at a local queer spot, and I know undoubtedly there will be a moment during that time that this loss will feel that much more profound for me, and for all of us who knew Andrew in these spaces. Andrew is sprinkled all over delightful memories like these for me over the past decade, and my life is better because of the conversations I had and memories I made with him annually. I will sincerely miss his radiant smile, warm hugs, joyous, amazing laughter, and most especially seeing those limbs waving about all over the place, dancing the night away, during our annual connections at CC. To a beautiful heart and a brilliant mind: may you rest in power, Andrew.”

 

Chris Woods, Director of the NYU LGBTQ+ Center and Outgoing Internal Coordinator

“Andrew’s bright smile, warm spirit, and joyous demeanor was infectious and drew in everyone around him.  In addition to the joy he brought to me personally, Andrew was also a deeply critical scholar and professional with a fierce commitment to centering queer and trans folks of color in all of what he was and did.  I wish we were together at Creating Change to have a drink and dance in your honor.  I will miss you, my friend, and it was an honor to know and learn from you.”

 

We send our deepest condolences to Andrew’s family and friends, as well as the students, faculty, staff, and alumni at Yale University who had the blessing to work with and know Andrew everyday.  Additionally, if you have the resources to give, there is a fundraiser by Yale community members to endow the LGBTQ Resource Center at Yale in Andrew’s name.

In Solidarity,

The Consortium Board