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Monday, August 14, 2017 03:18 PM

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])