These Standards of Practice inform the work of LGBTQIA+ directors and professionals and establish direction for the profession. Developed in conjunction with and approved by the Consortium of Higher Education Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Resource Professionals, these 12 competencies provide: (a) a resource for current and future…

This article encourages postsecondary educators to expand the scope of applications of universal design and universal instructional design by exploring how principles of UD and UID can be applied to other social identities, and specifically to gender identity and sexual orientation. There are many parallels that can be drawn between students who…

In this critical autoethnography, I discuss and critically reflect on some of my personal identities, specifically being a white, queer woman in the Deep South of the United States, that inform how I interact with the world and my students. I then discuss how the interplay of these identities has led me to particular pedagogical strategies for…

This chapter details the perspectives of LGBTQ collegians and faculty/staff allies at 2-year institutions.

Despite recent advances in LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) equality in the United States and in many countries around the globe, LGBTQ+ students on college campuses still experience bias, hostility and discrimination. Engineering departments on campus in particular have been slower than other departments to respond to…

While many instructors closet stigmatized identities, others "downplay" them--a tactic that sociologist Erving Goffman terms "covering." What are the personal, ethical, and pedagogical costs of covering? What are the gains? How can feminist university instructors cover stigmatized identities without fueling oppressive…

As the population of transgender and gender-nonconforming students at colleges and universities increases, it is important to examine how institutions have adjusted policies and student systems to create a universally welcoming environment. Transitioning is often a challenging and sensitive process, making each interaction in a new setting vital…

For some time, the word "diversity" has been used to convey to members of Western societies that they live in a social climate of openness and welcome. Diversity might refer to any number of social identities or categories, and often is twinned with the phrase social equity to signal its attachment to a progressive agenda. In this…

Higher education educators commonly understand social identities, including gender, to be fluid and dynamic. Lev's (2004) model of four components of sexual identity is commonly used to demonstrate the fluidity of sex, gender, and sexuality for individuals, but it does little to address the fixedness of those constructs. Through a multipronged…

This article addresses some of the common issues that arise when striving to develop multicultural competencies in the classroom using an experiential, intersectional, feminist, and anti-oppressive approach, in the hope of providing support to others doing similar work and contributing to the conversation around the personal impact of liberation…

As social justice-oriented teachers and teacher educators, it can seem as if we are fighting a losing battle against neoliberal education policies designed to disrupt and dismantle our field. In this article we draw upon traditions of critical race theory, counterstorying, and critical hope to examine the complex realities of contemporary teacher…

In 1976, at the age of 18, the author realized she was a lesbian but did not tell anyone. It was rather odd that she found coming out to be so difficult. She started dating boys when she was 15, married the first time at 18 and again at 26. Telling her secret--that she was attracted to women--would have complicated an already busy life. Being…

In this article, the authors Dunn, Dotson, Ford, and Roberts, discuss the ways they, as professors of multicultural education with different identities and experiences, attempt to understand and respond to students' implicit or explicit resistance in their classes. Though there has been a broad range of literature on student resistance, the…

LGBT community college employee organizations are still a rare phenomena. This article describes the history, purpose, and structure of the North Orange County Community College District Gay and Lesbian Association of District Employees (GLADE), and it was written collectively by the group. We offer this as one model that supports lesbian, gay,…

Much is written about the availability of healthcare services among elements of the U.S. population, with a large proportion of the literature focusing on access. Although physical access is an overarching issue for many, educators must remember that a key factor in providing complete and competent healthcare is to understand the patient and any…