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Franklin D. Schurz Library at IUSB (photo by Kathy Borlik) |
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What a wonderful celebration weekend attended by faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends from across the nation!. A short summary of each of our four main events is contained in paragraph #1 below. Especially gratifying is the fact that many University officials attended the Lilly Library reception or the Grazie event, or both. We enjoy, and are grateful for, the strong public support from the administration. What a positive message this sends to our LGBT students and other young people! Please feel free to contact any Board member with your comments or suggestions. We welcome all input as we start to plan for next year's celebration.
Mike Shumate, GLBTAA President
[email protected]
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1. Fifth Celebration Weekend
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Tons of fun at the Grazie!
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The GLBTAA hosted its fifth annual Celebration Weekend February 1-3. Coinciding with the Bloomington PRIDE Film Festival, the weekend provided several diverse and fun-filled events. Especially for those who could not attend, below is a summary of our four main events:
Reception at the Lilly Library
The weekend was launched on Friday, February 1 with a reception at the Lilly Library. Admission was free with complimentary hors d' oeuvres, along with a cash bar. Mike Shumate, President of the IU GLBTAA, welcomed everyone in the Lincoln Room, and we were then entertained by the Quarryland's Men's Chorus. Mike next turned the program over to Doug Bauder, Coordinator of the GLBT Student Support Services Office, who presented the GLBTSSS Spirit Awards. Mike then introduced Provost Lauren Robel, who also made welcoming comments and presented the GLBTAA Distinguished Alumni Award to Jerry Burgdoerfer (BS, '80 and JD/MBA, '83). Mr. Burgdoerfer is a senior partner at Jenner & Block LLP in Chicago, where he is co-chair of the firm's securities practice. He is co-founder and current president of the Maurer LGBT Alumni Board and former member of the Lambda Legal National Leadership Council. For a more complete biographical profile of Mr. Burgdoerfer, please see our November Newsletter under "Newsletter Archive" in the left margin. Later that evening, Mike, Doug and Sara Julian, GLBTAA director, greeted everyone to the Friday shows at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, as part of the PRIDE Film Festival, and promoted our GLBTAA membership drive. Volunteers, Ryne Shadday and Andrew Johnson, signed up 51 new members. We have now surpassed 1,450 members - and we're growing!
GLBTAA Annual Board Meeting
The Board held its annual meeting at the GLBT Student Support Services Office on the following Saturday at 10:00 a.m. which was open to everyone. A slate of directors was presented, and three directors were re-elected to the Board for additional two-year terms. A full agenda was also addressed.
Grazie! Reception and Silent Auction
Our main event was the silent auction and reception at the Grazie that Saturday evening, February 2. We continued the weekend's celebration with a record crowd and record proceeds from the silent auction! We welcomed faculty, staff, alumni and students, as we joined old friends, made new ones, discussed the latest developments in the State and beyond, shared in the joy of the significant strides we've made in recent years.....and had a blast! Sara Julian, a former member of the "Marching 100" brought out her Big Red horn to lead us in some good Hoosier songs, which had to contribute to our victory over Michigan later that evening and return to our #1 national ranking!
Bagels and Coffee at the GLBTSSS Office
We wrapped up the weekend over coffee and bagels (compliments of Bloomington Bagel Company) at the GLBT Student Support Services Office on Sunday morning.
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Provost Robel and Jerry Burgdoerfer at the Lilly Library
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One group enjoying the Lilly Library reception
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Sara Julian and her Big Red horn at the Grazie |
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IUSM at IUPUI. |
2. Gay-Straight Medical Alliance
The IU School of Medicine's Gay--Straight Medical Alliance ("GSMA") is a student-led organization whose mission is to foster greater understanding among medical students, residents and staff about the special healthcare needs of the LGBT community. The GSMA serves as a liaison between the Medical School administration and LGBT medical students and allies. It also works to improve outreach for medical students to the larger Indianapolis LGBT community itself. GSMA Board members and volunteer students visit the Indiana Youth Group headquarters monthly to increase LGBT youth health awareness through interactive discussions, activities and presentations regarding a number of topics. This year the meetings have included topics such as safe-sex education; teen safety and accidents; LGBT mental health; and careers in healthcare. The GSMA also participates in outreach at community health fairs, assisting with health screenings and providing resources for LGBT community members. The GSMA works with the IUPUI campus community by periodically collaborating with the LGBT student organizations for the Schools of Law, Dentistry and Nursing, as well. The GSMA website page is at: http://www.iupui.edu/~mscstaff/?q=taxonomy/term/101
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3. Tribute to Don Johnson
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GLBTSSS Office. |
When you hear the phrase "gay activist" I'm guessing that a particular image comes to mind - someone marching in a Gay Pride parade, someone actively lobbying politicians, someone shouting to a crowd about LGBT rights, or, at the very least, someone who regularly writes letters to the editor about any number of LGBTissues.
Don Johnson did none of these things, at least, not to my knowledge. A quiet, single man who lived alone in Carmel, IN, Don graduated from the IU School of Dentistry in 1956 and dedicated much of his life to issues of public health. He never married, had no children, and his circle of friends seemed fairly small. Ten years ago, he decided he wanted to come out as a gay man and he did so in a most unusual way - by authorizing the establishment of an endowment to the GLBT Student Support Services Office in Bloomington --- with the express purpose of providing educational programs regarding LGBT issues and providing support to LGBTstudents. And he used the establishment of the endowment as his 'coming out' declaration, noting in the text his identity as a gay man and reminding the reader of the difficulties gay people often face. And, so, in his early 70s, for the first time in his life, he experienced the freedom which many people experience in being honest with others about who they are. It was clearly a moment of triumph for Don.
Over the next ten years I visited with Don in his home on several occasions and, even though his mobility was limited due to increasing medical problems, he attended several events on the Bloomington campus including a GLBT Alumni Association Board meeting one summer and the 2009 Midwest BLGTA College Conference hosted by our office. Of the 1800 participants in that event, Don was surely the oldest and it was a thrill for him to participate. I communicated with Don several times a year, calling him to inform him of a successful program or a particular student who had benefited from our services. He was always grateful for those calls, and I always made a point of commenting on the fact that the work we did was a partnership with people like him.
Don passed away last July and, as promised, there was one more thing he wanted to do for us - add a "little something" to that initial endowment. That's how he expressed it. That 'little something' totaled over $325,000 and the interest on that gift will serve students on our campus for years to come. Don never thought of himself as an activist, but his quiet generosity may well do as much good as any parade or speech or letter to the editor. And for that, we are extremely grateful.
Doug Bauder
Coordinator, GLBT Student Support Services Office
Indiana University, Bloomington |
4. Member Profile
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David B. Johnson |
Since January, 2011, David B. Johnson has served IU Bloomington as the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management, and prior to that he served as an Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment Management. The Office of Enrollment Management (OEM) consists of the Offices of Admissions, Registrar, Financial Aid, Scholarships, First Year Experience, Admissions Operations, Strategic Planning and Research, Strategic Communications and Student Central, which is the new student services office being relocated to 408 N Union Street on the Bloomington campus (next to Eigenmann Hall).
As Vice Provost, David has been an integral part of strengthening the academic quality of the freshman class, as well as improving IU's minority student representation. An important part of OEM's mission is the enhancement of the freshman year and transfer student experience through strong, collaborative retention programs. The dedicated OEM staff works diligently to meet its mission of recruiting and serving promising students who persist and graduate from IU. "We work very strategically to meet this mission, and the great team I have working with me helps to ensure that our mission is realized," David says. He continues, "[f]or Enrollment Management, the challenges ahead for this season are, as always, to yield a high quality and diverse class while also managing the overall enrollment for the new class by providing appropriate need and merit-based scholarships. I welcome the challenge ahead and look forward to what I hope is another successful year."
"On a personal note, I really enjoy life in Bloomington, working for IU, an outstanding university, and falling in love, twice, since moving to Bloomington. First, I fell in love with the City of Bloomington and all that it has to offer, and shortly after moving to Bloomington I met and fell in love with my better half, Reuben Lidster. We were thrilled to marry on June 8, 2012 in New York City - our 5th year anniversary of meeting each other. We were also blessed to celebrate with family and close friends at our marriage reception in Bloomington, which we planned ourselves, mostly! I do feel blessed to be at IU and to be in Bloomington with Reuben."
Thank you, David, for your commitment to IU and your many good deeds! And, we extend congratulations and warmest wishes to Reuben and you.
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5. Facebook
The GLBTAA has had a Facebook page for some time now, but some of you may not be aware of it. If you haven't already done so, check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/iuglbtaa. "Like" our page and then you will automatically get our Facebook posts regarding news, updates and information of our events.
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6. Did You Know?
A study by IU public health experts and authors, Michael Reece, PhD and Debra Herbenick, PhD, shows that men and women of all ages said sex was equally pleasurable with or without using a condom. Their findings that safe sex is not only possible, but achievable without diminution of pleasure, might come to a surprise to some - especially in a nation where an estimated 19 million new sexuallyt transmitted infections occur every year. Dr. Reece is Associate Dean of the School of Public Health-Bloomington, and Dr. Herbenick is an Associate Research Scientist in the School of Public Health. Both also serve as Co-directors of the IU Center for Sexual Health Promotion. The Center's website is at: http://www.sexualhealth.indiana.edu/.
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7. Academic Scholarship Recipients
We have awarded four 2013 Spring Academic Scholarships. Two were highlighted in our November and January Newsletters. Congratulations are also extended to our other two recipients.
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Robyn Black |
Robyn Black is a senior at IU South Bend and expects to graduate in May with a major in Sociology and a minor in Women and Gender Studies. She aspires to a PhD in Sociology and becoming a Sociology professor. She contemplates her research will focus on social movements, particularly how intersections of race, class, gender and sexuality affect outcomes. Robyn has worked tirelessly in a number of projects assisting the local LGBT community and beyond. She is a founding member of the IUSB Campus Ally Network, an organization which, in the absence of a campus LGBT center, is critically important in supporting the LGBT campus community. Robyn is the former Vice President of the IUSB Gay Straight Alliance, which, among many other things, supports the LGBT Resource Center of South Bend. She is also a former member of the campus Diversity Committee, during which time she developed a campus climate index survey assessing the LGBT-friendliness of IUSB. She is also a former director of Indiana Equality and the AIDS Ministries/AIDS Assist of Northern Indiana. Robyn has accomplished all this while maintaining a 3.86 GPA!
Anthony Masseria is working on his PhD from IUB's School of Education within the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. He received his
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Anthony Masseria |
Master's from the same School in 2009, with a concentration in Higher Education & Student Affairs Administration. He currently serves as the Associate Director for Graduate Programs at the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis. He has also found the time to be involved in several activities benefiting the LGBT community. He is currently a member of the IUPUI Faculty/Staff Council and serves on its Diversity Committee. Off campus, he volunteers for Step Up, an organization that conducts outreach programs for the gay male community regarding health and related issues. Anthony maintains an impressive 3.97 GPA!
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8. GLBTAA Scholarships
GLBTAA Academic Scholarships Academic Scholarships are awarded to IU students enrolled at any IU campus, who are academically strong, as well as active in promoting diversity, tolerance and social justice. Scholarships are awarded to students based upon academic achievement, career goals, financial need, leadership experience, community service and extracurricular activities. Involvement in activities promoting diversity and raising awareness of GLBT and related issues on the student's campus or in his or her community is carefully reviewed by the Board. The maximum award for an Academic Scholarship is $1,000 per semester. An individual student may not receive more than $2,000. The deadline for the Spring 2013 semester is November 15, 2012.
IU GLBTAA Emergency Scholarships
Emergency Scholarships are awarded to those students who experience the loss of financial support when they make the courageous decision to disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity to their families. Emergency Scholarships help to ensure that students need not choose between their education at IU and living life openly and honestly. Emergency Scholarships are awarded to students attending any IU campus. The maximum award for an Emergency Scholarship is $1,500 per semester, and a student may not receive more than $3,000.
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9. Membership
Encourage your friends to join the GLBTAA. They can visit our website here and join. There are no membership dues, and you do not have to be a member of the IUAA. We are approaching 1,400 members, and we're growing! We appreciate your continued commitment! It is because of you that the GLBTAA is in existence, continues to grow and continues to serve our important mission on all eight of IU's campuses. If you are a member and wish to continue receiving our newsletters, please make sure we have a current e-mail address for you. You can visit https://alumni.indiana.edu/my-iu/index.html to see if your official record, including your e-mail address, is current. Thank you for your support through your membership. We look forward to serving you now and in the years to come. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Rachael McAfee [email protected] or Mike Shumate at [email protected] .
If not already a member, please consider joining the IUAA by visiting https://alumni.indiana.edu/membership/index.html, by [email protected] or calling (800) 824-3044. By joining the IUAA, among many other things, you help fund the various GLBTAA programs, along with gaining access to IUAA member-only events.
If you would like to unsubscribe and terminate future communications from the GLBTAA, please respond to: [email protected].
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