LGBTQ+ inclusion is a campus priority at UNC Greensboro. In fact, UNCG scores nearly perfect on the Campus Pride Index, the only tool of its kind in the United States that assesses and ranks campuses based on eight key LGBTQ-friendly factors.
“Our efforts around LGBTQ+ advocacy and inclusion campus-wide have earned us 4.5/5 stars for several years now, ” says Elliott Kimball, assistant director of the Office of Intercultural Engagement, one of several areas on campus where students and faculty can find work centered around LGBTQ+ inclusion.
UNCG LGBTQ+ opportunities and resources
People celebrate Pride Month in June by organizing events, advocating for equitable rights, and sharing educational resources. UNCG’s Campus Pride Month is in April in order to “engage more students than we might be able to in June,” Kimball explains. Beyond Pride Month, UNCG is committed to fostering an inclusive campus community. “We offer programming around gender and sexuality and opportunities for LGBTQ+ and allied students to engage and connect throughout the year.”
Some signature OIE events include a drag bingo in the fall and a drag show in the spring, both of which are collaborations with Campus Activities and Programs. Teaming up with Recreation & Wellness and student group No Labels, OIE hosts LGBTQ+ Speed Friending at the start of each academic year. Students can participate in the LGBTQ+ lunch and learn series as well as events recognizing Transgender Day of Remembrance, Transgender Day of Visibility, National Coming Out Day, and more.
Kimball adds, “While we offer a variety of educational programs and workshops, our office is proud of our Safe and Trans Zone Training Program, which provides students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to learn more about LGBTQ+ identities and how they can be more thoughtful and inclusive toward queer-identified people. We also advocate for students on a number of levels, providing educational experiences for faculty and staff campus-wide, helping them create more inclusive student experiences.”
The following programs and resources are intended to provide opportunities to connect with and support the UNCG LGBTQ+ community.
- The Office of Intercultural Engagement aspires to be a model of excellence for inclusive student-centered intercultural engagement and education, dialogue, and community building. The office has put together this list of LGBTQ+ Resources.
- LGBTQIA Education and Resource Network (LEARN) seeks to provide a network and support to faculty, staff, and students interested in advancing the health, wellness and quality of life of LGBTQIA populations through research, education, and community development.
- UNCG’s Gender Diverse Working Group (GDWG) is made up of students, staff, and faculty, all committed to identifying and removing barriers to success for gender diverse, transgender, and non-binary members of the campus community. GDWG has developed the Gender Diversity Resource Toolkit, which is intended to be an accessible document for gender diverse students and all who support them within and beyond the university.
- OIE provides helpful information about changing your name on campus. UNCG also hosts LGBTQ+ Name Change Clinics that are put on several times a year in partnership with Elon Law, NC A&T, and the Guilford Green Foundation and LGBTQ+ Center.
- For any incoming LGBTQ+ and allied students, here’s a look at what activities were planned during Campus Pride Month (April 2022).
Additional LGBTQ+ resources
Pride Month is celebrated each year in June in honor of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, the spontaneous protest following a police raid of a well-known gay bar on Christopher Street in New York City. The first Pride march was organized in New York on June 28, 1970, the one-year anniversary of the uprising. Decades later, LGBTQ+ communities and their allies continue to gather “to march with Pride and demonstrate for equal rights.” To learn more about the history of Pride Month, read the Library of Congress: History of LGBTQ+ Pride.
In 2018, UNCG launched the first-ever large-scale initiative to document the LGBTQ+ history of the Triad region. Pride! Of the Community is a collection of easily-accessible digitized stories and artifacts of local LGBTQ+ life, culture, and politics.
For those who live in the area, Greensboro Pride is an annual festival that includes a stage for performances, food and other vendors, and a KidZone. This year’s event will be held on September 18, 2022.
Story by AMBCopy, University Communications
Photography by University Communications
