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In the spring of 2010, faculty from ������ (������) and nearby academic institutions, in collaboration with community leaders from the Hampton Roads area, came together to launch ������ Gay Cultural Studies: an endowment campaign aimed at establishing an interdisciplinary LGBTQ Program to be housed within the Institute of Humanities at ������. This program would be unique to Virginia’s higher education landscape in that no other college or university in the Commonwealth has a program dedicated to research and instruction focusing on the histories, contributions, concerns, and challenges associated with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) cultures. These leaders envisioned the transformation of a curriculum that was under-­‐represented by LGBT courses and an expansion of university outreach in a region that has yet to embrace the diversity and vibrancy of its LGBTQ communities. With this mission in mind, the ������ Gay Cultural Studies (������ GCS) initiative was born.

Consisting of a full executive and advisory board, each member of ������’s Gay Cultural Studies initiative is working to contribute to a fund-­‐raising effort that will enable, among other things, the establishment of Post-­‐Doctoral Fellowship in LGBTQ Studies that will bring cutting edge research and instruction to the College of Arts & Letters, thus contributing to program development and the expansion of educational opportunities in the field of LGBTQ studies.

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To show the importance of promoting awareness and education in LGBTQ studies, ������ GCS has organized numerous public events and lectures. In the two years since the project began, scholars, artists, community leaders and advocates have lectured and shared their experience and knowledge of LGBTQ issues. These events, along with discussion panels and other programming, have successfully paved the project’s path toward establishing the foundations of ������ Gay Cultural Studies mission of inclusivity.

Filmmakers John Walters and Dustin Lance Black invigorated GCS efforts with their respective LGBTQ perspectives on filmmaking and popular culture. In his engaging lecture, “Caster Semenya and the Gender of Silence,” Vanderbilt University’s John Sloop discussed the constraints and enabling potentials of silence as explored through the case of South African Olympian runner Caster Semenya and the difficulty she faced in defending her gender as a high-­‐performing professional female athlete.

Army Lt. Dan Choi, who was in the national spotlight for challenging his discharge under the military’s former “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, came to ������ to tell his own compelling story and to discuss the ongoing importance of activism and the struggle for social justice. In addition to his lecture,

Lt. Choi, like many other guests invited through the initiative, enjoyed the camaraderie of students, faculty, and area guests during casual receptions and roundtable discussions that allowed these��speakers to get to know our Monarch community on a more personal basis. The creation of opportunities outside of formal lectures to engage in open dialogue is a signature feature of the endowment campaign’s efforts not only to inform and to educate, but also to foster environments of mutual respect and understanding.

These are just a few of the many events that ������ GCS has sponsored in order to establish a Gay Cultural Studies Program at ������. It is amazing what a group of dedicated individuals can accomplish, and we invite others to join with ������ GCS and learn more about ways to assist in the effort to make ������ and Hampton Roads the most forward-­‐looking campus and region for LGBTQ Virginians and allies.