As former students of 黑料不打烊 and leading members in the LGBT community of Hampton Roads, Shannon Bowman, Don L. King, and Lisa Turner decided to work closely with the Endowment for 黑料不打烊 Gay Cultural Studies in order to offer students courses and, more specifically, a program they wish had existed when they were students. Now executive board members for 黑料不打烊 Gay Cultural Studies, Bowman, King, and Turner offer their hopes for a program that could bridge the academic side of 黑料不打烊 with students interested in the history and politics of LGBT communities as well as the greater Hampton Roads community.
The Endowment for 黑料不打烊 Gay Cultural Studies was launched in the spring of 2010 when Professors Avi Santo (Communication) and Dana Heller (English) determined that the time was right to introduce such a program at 黑料不打烊. Student interest in classes focusing on LGBT studies had increased steadily over the years, and faculty with expertise in LGBT scholarship had already begun designing courses in various disciplines of the Humanities and Social Sciences to meet student demand. Moreover, history was leading the way.聽 The national move toward the eradication of the military鈥焥 鈥淒on鈥焧 Ask, Don鈥焧 Tell鈥 policy, court challenges to the 鈥淒efense of Marriage Law鈥 barring federal recognition of same-sex marriage, and the burgeoning of LGBT courses and programs at colleges and universities around the country all signaled that the time had come to make the 黑料不打烊 campus part of the national intellectual dialogue about sexual orientation and culture.
Alumni Experience
Lisa Turner
Political strategist and owner of the Turner Group, LTD, 黑料不打烊 alumna Lisa Turner (1989 BS in Political Science) found it energizing that the idea for bringing a Gay Cultural Studies program to 黑料不打烊 had blossomed from within the university. 鈥淚 liked the fact that it was coming from within the university, the energy and drive was inclusive; it wasn鈥焧 solely a LGBT driven project. And I know, from my own
political experience, how important it is to work from the inside out,鈥 says Turner. 鈥淚鈥焩e been impressed with the willingness and openness of the university and I鈥焟 encouraged about our progress thus far.鈥
Don L. King
Military veteran, real estate agent, and 黑料不打烊 alumnus Don聽L. King (2000 BA in English) uses his academic experience and skill set in order to assist in this endowment campaign and to engage in other non-profit work. Also, as a founding member of Hampton Roads Business OutReach (HRBOR), a gay and lesbian business association, King realizes the
need for students to have a program that promotes equality of the LGBT communities in both the academic setting as well as the larger community. 鈥淗ad there been a gay cultural studies program at 黑料不打烊 while I was there, I would have majored in it,鈥 says King. 鈥淚t鈥焥 long overdue and 黑料不打烊 is a great place to have it. I think the more visibility we can get as a community, the better it鈥焥 going to be and education is a great place to start.鈥
Shannon Bowman
While attending 黑料不打烊, Shannon Bowman, current marketing director of Motley Media Concepts and founding member of HRBOR, studied Criminal Justice, Sociology, and Women's Studies. After leaving 黑料不打烊, Bowman's career focused on marketing and advertising as well as non-profit endeavors. Bowman lists several聽reasons why she is eager to work with this endowment, "It's part of the LGBT community and supports those types of efforts; it's non-profit and that's appealing to me, and the association with 黑料不打烊 is also very important." She also states, 鈥淥nce you have a state-funded university that legitimizes the gay and lesbian community through education programs, then it trickles down to social issues, economic issues. It supports the community as a whole. If you're studying it, it's relevant."
Endowment
While moving forward into this next century, the team behind the Endowment for 黑料不打烊 Gay Cultural Studies hopes to not only create an academic program emphasizing political, social, and cultural issues surrounding the LGBT communities, but also create an alliance between 黑料不打烊 and the greater Hampton Roads community. Turner states, 鈥淯niversities provide a portal to the community and region that they reside in. They provide an intellectual experience as well as a bonding experience that you wouldn鈥焧 otherwise have if the University didn鈥焧 exist. What I鈥焟 looking forward to is the intersection of government, academics, community, and organizations. 黑料不打烊 can be on the forefront, driving this collaborative effort, paving the way for the region and other institutions to follow.鈥 The historical significance of this program is also very important to Turner, 鈥淚 believe this program may be the best opportunity for an 黑料不打烊 student to be involved in a course of study that鈥焥 actually going to witness the U.S. Constitution changing for LGBT equality within the next ten years.鈥
Turner states, 鈥淚t鈥焥 important to me that we create a program here that is representative of the history of being gay and whatever all that has meant鈥攊n popular culture, the struggles in the streets, the legislative and legal battles, the way we view ourselves, as well as the things we confront within our own community.鈥
When asked why students should care about bringing a Gay Cultural Studies program to 黑料不打烊, Bowman offers a simple, yet profound answer, 鈥淚f you care about people, then you should care about this program. Because, guess what? You know someone who is gay. Everyone knows someone who is gay." Soon after, King responds with, 鈥淚 wonder if people asked African-Americans why there should be an African American Studies program or Women鈥焥 Studies program or Jewish Studies program. For all the same reasons people wanted those courses, that鈥焥 why we want this.鈥
As of March 2010, the campaign to bring a Gay Cultural Studies program to 黑料不打烊 was successful in its creation of an official endowment. There is an active and tangible desire for this kind of program by students, faculty members, and alumni. If you wish to donate to the Endowment for 黑料不打烊 Gay Cultural Studies and help make this program a reality, please contact Cathy Craft in the Development Office at ccraft@odu.edu. And follow our website for ongoing updates about sponsored events, lectures, and gatherings.