Expanding the Circle: Creating an Inclusive Environment in Higher Education for LGBTQ Students and Studies (SUNY Series in Queer Politics and Cultures)

Examines strategies and best practices that effectively integrate LGBTQ areas of teaching and research with student life activities.

Many educational professionals agree that the time has come to expand their circle of inclusion and broaden their definition of diversity by increasing LGBTQ studies, but the question of how to do so is still debated. Although some colleges and universities have been incorporating LGBTQ studies for decades, courses and programs continue to be pockets of innovation rather than models of inclusion for all of higher education. Colleges and universities need to encourage faculty members to teach and research a wide range of LGBTQ topics, as well as support student life professionals in building inclusive campus communities. This book includes testimonies that alert educators to possible pitfalls and successes of their policies through an analysis of changing student attitudes. Based on these case studies, the contributors offer practical suggestions for the classroom and the provost’s office, demonstrating not only the gains that have been made by LGBTQ students and the institutions that serve them, but also the tensions that remain.