Lydia Glenn

Contributing Writer

Penn State’s University Park recently celebrated 20 years of their Sexual and Gender Diversity program. The Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity provides a range of education, information, and advocacy to service students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

The center states that they work to create and maintain an open, safer, and inclusive environment at their campuses to honor gender and sexual diversity. It is a way for students and faculty to educate themselves on topics such as gender and sexuality and also functions as a helping hand to anyone who needs it. 

Throughout the month of October, the center will present “Penn State Queerstory” which is an exhibit of LGBTQ+ history at Penn State and the history of the program itself. The exhibit will be set up in the HUB-Robeson Center at University Park, and students and faculty will be encouraged to go and educate themselves about LGBTQ+ history at Penn State. The exhibit is said to take visitors back in time and showcase photos, documents, and artifacts that contribute to the queer history at Penn State.

The history that the exhibit highlights are the beginnings of the LGBTA resource room and how it transformed into what it is today – The Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity. In 1990 was the first year where President Joan Thomas appointed someone to head a taskforce that addressed the concepts of gender and sexuality. While this was a step in the right direction to prevent discrimination against students who identified as out of “the norm,” it was not enough. 

For five years, the taskforce reported to the university that a dedicated space and other resources were needed. Finally, in 1996, the LGBTA Student Resource Room was established and allowed students to find any resources that needed relating to gender and sexuality there.
In 2014, the center changed its name to a more appropriate one, The LGBTQA Student Resource Center. Then in July of 2019, the name was changed again and is now today what students and faculty have come to know as The Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity.

The name changed for the final time to better reflect its service to the growing diversity within LGBTQ+ communities. The center wanted to maximize inclusivity, so taking away a name like LGBTA allows for students and faculty who do not fall in any of the categories to feel included. 

The center’s change is not yet finished, and Penn State is always improving programs like this one to best serve its students. In February of 2021, Penn State announced a $1 million gift from alumnus Jeffery A. Conrad to support facility renovations and enhanced programming for the Center of Sexual and Gender Diversity.

This is the largest gift in the center’s history, and the gift was used to renovate and expand programming within the center. The expansion focuses on themes of social, gender and racial justice which will be portrayed through the LGBTQ+ lecture series, keynote speakers, faculty workshops, peer-to-peer engagement, and community outreach events. 

Penn State was recognized in Campus Pride’s “Best of the Best” LGBTQ+ friendly colleges and Universities list. The university received an overall 5 out of 5 stars on the Campus Pride index. While this is good news, and the work that was put in by everyone advocating for a more inclusive campus improved the inclusivity of the LGBTQ+ communities, there is still more work that needs to be done. 

Sonya Wilmoth, the Director of the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity reflected on the idea that more work needs to be done. “So much work was done by faculty, staff, and students to get 

Credit: Amir Agharebparastus to the point we are today and we are forever grateful. There is much work to do, but this look back has given us strength for the future.” 

The Center looks forward to the future and expansion of the program with positive eyes. To learn more about the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, you can visit https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/csgd or follow their social media which is @PennStateLGBTQ.