With the official grand opening of a new Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer inclusive (+) Center, West Virginia University open the doors of a spacious and welcoming physical space on campus and also send a clear and positive message of inclusivity to the entire community.
The grand opening, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21, 2016 in G06 Hodges Hall, is open to the entire campus and local community.
In fact, the center has already launched many of its inaugural programs, hosting meetings of the Commission for LGBTQ Equity and town hall meetings for LGBT students, trans students, and faculty and staff. “We are also working on partnering with other aspects of diversity on campus,” said Director Cris Mayo, who stepped into her role this summer.
The center houses individual staff offices for Mayo, program coordinator Jorge Castillo and a receptionist, as well as work space for several graduate student assistants. There is also a conference room, a lounge area that doubles as a casual meeting space and a computer lab for student use.
“As we envisioned the layout of the center, we wanted to make sure to build a place where students could think and talk about their experiences as members of the LGBTQ+ community,” Mayo said, “but we also wanted them to come here as students.” Video nights, study nights and informal meetings with faculty will help emphasize WVU’s welcoming environment.
Many of WVU’s peer institutions in the Big 12 and in the national ranks of land-grant universities also have LGBTQ+ Centers or offices on campus. The center at WVU, however, is poised to be a unique model for other centers to emulate. Mayo’s vision is that the center will “support learning about LGBTQ+ issues and people but also learning of our LGBTQ+ students.”
Click below to hear the WVUToday radio spot about the LGBTQ+ Center.
The emphasis on academics that will be a hallmark of the center is made possible because Mayo herself is a nationally-renowned scholar of gender and sexuality. Provost Joyce McConnell explained, “When we brought Cris into the role, we knew she had the potential to make our center something special and to put it into conversation with units all across the university, including the colleges and academic departments. Under her leadership, the center will be a dynamic piece of our LGBTQ+ students’ success at WVU.”
Anyone visiting the center will clearly see the academic emphasis, whether in the quite study space of the computer lab or in the shelves of books, both fiction and reference, that greet a visitor to the lounge area. McConnell, who said she is looking forward to attending the grand opening this week along with President E. Gordon Gee, is confident that the center will more than fulfill its promise to the communities it serves at WVU.
“We’re going to see some amazing new conversations develop as students, faculty and staff find their way to the center,” McConnell said. “I hope everyone on campus joins in.”
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CONTACT: Cris Mayo, Director, LGBTQ+ Center
West Virginia University, cris.mayo@mail.wvu.edu
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