This TIP (“Toward Inclusive Practices”) message from the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity provides information about a new online, self-paced course.

GLBT Advocate Program Workshops and Events

The GLBT Advocate Program is a continuing education and engagement program for faculty and staff designed to provide participants with ongoing opportunities to learn and show their support as allies and advocates of the GLBT community.

Through engagement in intersectional, social justice, anti-oppression conversations about issues facing the incredibly diverse GLBT community, participants gain a stronger understanding of how to support GLBT students and colleagues beyond our Project SAFE Ally training. Through the GLBT Advocate Program, participants:

• identify and name examples of oppression at all levels as manifested in our classrooms, departments and communities;
• develop skills to address and interrupt oppression at all levels when encountered in our classrooms, departments and communities;
• discover and exercise skills to advocate for the creation and expansion of inclusive spaces;
• identify the impact of one’s positionality (social identities; power and privilege) on the ability to disrupt problematic attitudes, behaviors, policies or actions;
• model a social justice-oriented community that offers peer support and coalition-building.

Participation in the GLBT Advocate Program requires an academic-year commitment that may be renewed each subsequent year.

Participants must complete the following each academic year:

• Complete (1) GLBT Advocate Program workshop.
• Attend (1) GLBT Center event.

Register for the 2021-2022 Faculty and Staff GLBT Advocate Program

Opportunities

Workshops are offered regularly throughout the year as well as on-demand online course options, including the following (register for the individual offerings in REPORTER):

• Project SAFE Ally Training Online, on-demand;
• Optional Project SAFE Live Debrief, Mar. 11, 3–4 p.m. or May 19, 2–3 p.m. on Zoom;
• Exploring Identity Series: Sexuality, Jan. 26, 2–4 p.m. on Zoom;
• GLBT Inclusion in the Workplace,  Feb. 21, 2–4 p.m., hybrid;
• The Spectrum of Sex: Exploring Intersex Identities, Mar. 3, 1–3 p.m., hybrid;
• GLBT History, Mar. 1, 12–2 p.m., hybrid;
• What is Queer Liberation?,  Apr. 4, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., hybrid;
• Interpersonal and Sexual Violence in the GLBT Community, Apr. 12, 2–4 p.m., hybrid;
• Dismantling White Supremacy in the GLBT Community, May 24, 1–3 pm, hybrid.

Events are also offered regularly, including GLBT History Month, Trans Day of Remembrance and Lavender Graduation. We offer a Lunch & Learn Series to increase the skill sets of faculty and staff through dynamic community conversations, and the Advocate Roundtable, a discussion opportunity for faculty and staff to build community with other Advocate Program participants. This guided reflection models a social justice-oriented community through practicing identifying instances of oppression, debriefing successful and unsuccessful strategies for interrupting those instances, recognizing opportunities for advocacy within the institution and growing supportive connections with other faculty and staff. Look for details on the university calendar for the following:

• March Lunch & Learn: “Girls on Grass: Stock Photography in Higher Education” facilitated by Luna Vanaman, senior interactive media producer, University Communications, Mar. 25, 12–1 p.m., Zoom;
• Transgender Day of Visibility, Mar. 31;
• Film Screening and Discussion: Queer Japan, Apr. 6, 5–8 p.m., Hunt Library, IEI Lecture Hall 4106 (view the trailer);
• April Lunch & Learn: “Disordered Eating in the LGBTQ Community,” facilitated by Victoria Potocki, coordinator of eating concerns, Counseling Center, Apr. 19, 12–1 p.m., Zoom;
• Lavender Graduation, Apr. 20, 6–8 pm, Coastal Ballroom;
• GLBT Advocate Roundtable, Apr. 27, 3–4 p.m. and May 10, 12–1 p.m.

For Students

Are you a student wanting to take an intersectional look at the incredibly diverse GLBT community and gain a stronger understanding of inclusive practices, community building, and collaborative advocacy?

Register for this year’s GLBT Student Advocate Program

Opportunities

Workshops are offered regularly throughout the year, including online, on-demand course options (register in REPORTER).

• Module 1: Understanding Gender and Sexuality, on demand;
• Module 2: Supporting Trans Individuals, on demand;
• Module 3: The Impact of Heterosexism and Cissexism, on demand;
• Module 4: Allyship and Resources, on demand;
• GLBT Microaggressions, Mar. 22, 4–5 p.m., GLBT Center Lounge.

Have a Question?

Contact the GLBT Center at glbt-center@ncsu.edu with any questions about our educational opportunities.