|
Thursday, May 02, 2013 08:19 PM |
|
The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals commends Jason Collins for his bravery in coming out as gay in the NBA.
 Not only did Collins come out, he acknowledged the multiple identities that he holds. The Sports Illustrated article, declaring his sexual orientation started off saying, “I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay.” The impact that this statement makes for our student athletes cannot be underestimated.
Collins expressed what many of us hear in our offices on a regular basis, “No one wants to live in fear. I've always been scared of saying the wrong thing. I don't sleep well. I never have. But each time I tell another person, I feel stronger and sleep a little more soundly. It takes an enormous amount of energy to guard such a big secret. I've endured years of misery and gone to enormous lengths to live a lie. I was certain that my world would fall apart if anyone knew. And yet when I acknowledged my sexuality I felt whole for the first time. I still had the same sense of humor, I still had the same mannerisms and my friends still had my back.” For young people to read this in Sports Illustrated is a monumental moment.
Just as Ellen Degeneres was not the first actor/actress to publicly come out, Collins is not the first pro athlete to come out. Athletes like Martina Navratilova and Bille Jean King have helped lead the way and Britney Griner’s recent coming out has just gone under the radar, altogether. However, his role, as an NBA player, changes the climate for gay athletes everywhere. As LGBT resource professionals we know that climate change in male team sports is a challenge. Many of us have encountered coaches and colleagues who say that there are no gay men on their team. For years, people like Jeff Sheng, and his 'Fearless Project’ documenting out high school and college athletes, have helped us reach a population that many have called the last frontier for gay inclusion on campus. Our students now have a very high-profile role model to look up to.
###
Shared Vision and Mission Statement
To critically transform higher education environments so that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students, faculty, administrators, staff, and alumni have equity in every respect. |
|
Thursday, February 07, 2013 09:55 AM |
Dr. Sue Rankin for Story Corps
Michael Shutt had the privilege to interview Dr. Sue Rankin for Story Corps at the 2013 Creating Change Conference. Here is the recording of the discussion:
http://soundcloud.com/emorylgbt/rankin-and-shutt-storycorps |
|
|
Monday, January 28, 2013 01:59 PM |
2012 Annual Report
The consortium is proud to update our friends and members on our work over the past year with our 2012 Annual Report. Inside you will find updates from board members, pictures, a statement from our co-chairs and, much much more. |
|
Wednesday, January 09, 2013 12:29 PM |
Distinguished Achievement in the Profession Award
The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals is honored to recognize one of its founders, Dr. Sue Rankin, with The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals Distinguished Achievement in the Profession Award. The Distinguished Achievement in the Profession Award will be presented at the Task Force’s 25th National Conference on Equality: Creating Change on January 24th, 2013 at the opening plenary session.
The award for distinguished achievement in the profession recognizes and honors individuals whose work has attained preeminence in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender services and programs in higher education. This work includes areas related to practice and policy, research and theory, as well as programs and service. The work exemplifies the profession, and is represented by a broad scope of activities and accomplishments.
Dr. Rankin’s research on campus climate and trans-inclusion provides relevant data and promising practices for colleges and universities throughout the world. Her leadership and advocacy for LGBT access, inclusion, and equity are unparalleled and helped establish the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals.
In 1994, Dr. Rankin became the Coordinator of LGBT Equity at The Pennsylvania State University. Prior to that, Sue was an out role model and mentor for all of her student athletes as head softball coach at The Pennsylvania State University. Thanks to the film ‘Training Rules’ her Samson and Goliath story of taking on Penn State administration around the issue of homophobia in sports is not longer a secret. She was recently was given support from the NCAA to do a national research project on student athletes and her research includes the experiences of LGBT athletes. Although she had to leave her coaching position, she created a new history for herself that changed higher education forever.
As a campus administrator, Dr. Rankin works on making Penn State an equitable, accessible, and inclusive campus. Not only does this work focus on sexuality and gender, but also on other historically oppressed and marginalized identities. This intersectional work is beginning to occur more on campuses today, but was very rare in the late 1990s.
Dr. Rankin is also a prolific researcher. In 2003, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force published her groundbreaking campus climate report, Campus climate for sexual minorities: A national perspective. This document was used across the country by students, faculty, staff and alumni who were working to improve campus climate. For the first time, they had national data to share with campus administrators. This was only the beginning of Dr. Rankin’s research. Since that time, she has filled major voids in research related to sexuality, gender, athletics, and Greek letter organizations in higher education. Dr. Rankin literally wrote the book on LGBT support services in higher education. In 2002, she co-authored the book, Our place on campus: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender services and programs in higher education. Anyone doing research on sexuality and gender in higher education today is sure to have a bibliography full of Rankin citations.
It is not only Dr. Rankin’s commitment to research that makes her distinguished in this profession, but it is also her willingness to share the process and findings. Dr. Rankin collaborates with many individuals across the country and quickly shares the information to ensure the profession has the most up-to-date data. This engages emerging researchers to ensure there is a researcher pipeline for the future. It also enables LGBT professionals to speak with data to campus administrators and decision makers.
She is in essence, an accomplished campus professional who has made a difference not only in the lives of those who personally know her, but for millions of others on a national and international level with her research and advocacy.
For additional inquiries, please contact justin adkins at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
About the The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals
The combined vision and mission of the Consortium is to achieve higher education environments in which lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni have equity in every respect. Our goals are to support colleagues and develop curriculum to professionally enhance this work; to seek climate improvement on campuses; and to advocate for policy change, program development, and establishment of LGBT Office/Centers. |
|
