Stronger together: Celebrating pride every day
June is all about celebrating people’s identities. Pride Month embraces the wonderful diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community. If you are part of the Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual (LBGTQIA) community or an ally, join us to celebrate the contributions of LGBTQIA+ people, learn more about the history, and consider ways you can contribute to creating a more inclusive community.
The Office of Student Inclusion and Diversity and the entire Augustana campus community aim to empower students and create an inclusive campus community for all. Recognizing disparities and working to improve the inequities related to race, sexual orientation, gender identity, poverty and disabilities align with Augustana's social justice commitment and the mission of the college.
We have a number of LGBTQIA+ events that provide meaningful opportunities for the campus community to engage in dialogue and share in activities. We’d love for you to join us!
LGBTQIA+ events
- LGBT+ History Month
- National Coming Out Day
- Transgender Day of Remembrance
- Night of Noise Drag Show
- Bisexual Health Awareness Month
- Regular educational events surrounding the intersectionality of identities for LGBTQIA+ people
Community partners
- Clock, Inc: LGBT+ Community Center
- The Project of the Quad Cities
- Quad Cities Pride Alliance
- QC Unity Pride
- Quad Cities Pride in Memory
- DeLaCerda House, Inc.
- Quad Citians Affirming Diversity
As the assistant director of the Office of Student Inclusion and Diversity and Augustana's first LGBT+ coordinator, I’ve had the opportunity to implement a campus-wide LGBTQIA+ committee focused on the continuous progress of LGBTQIA+ policies and programming.
Nineteen offices and departments across campus collaborate to assess existing inclusive LGBTQIA+ policies and identify areas of opportunity to expand programming while strengthening partnerships with community organizations. Here are some of the campus resources:
Campus resources
- Preferred Name, Gender Identity & Pronoun Policies
- Gender-affirming voice and communication services
- Gender-inclusive restrooms
- Gender-inclusive housing
- LGBTQIA+ Career Readiness
- LGBT+ counseling and support group
- Trans-inclusive student insurance
- Bias Education and Support Team and incident reporting
- Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
- LGBTQ+ books in Thomas Tredway Library
- Safe Zone training
- Campus-wide LGBT+ Committee
- Student Organization Gender and Sexuality Alliance
- LGBTQ faculty and staff organization
In addition to programming and resources, our women, gender, and sexuality studies academic program offers an understanding of gender and sexuality as social and cultural systems that inform science, media, history and global economic relationships. The program offers opportunities to be active on campus and in the community, promoting issues such as health education, LGBTQ+ awareness, violence prevention and global equality.
Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies concentrations
● Major (28 credits)
● Minor (16 credits)
● Gender and the Global Environment
● Gender, Sexuality and the Cultural Imagination
● Bodies, Health and Sexuality
● Identity and Difference
● Social Justice and Public Activism
Every student deserves to go to a college that is inclusive and a safe space — to learn, live and grow. I am proud of the work Augustana, the staff, the students and the administration have done this year to advance our mission to build future leaders and create safer, more inclusive communities. Let’s celebrate Pride every day by amplifying LGBTQ+ voices and communities!
What ways will you educate, support or celebrate Pride Month?
