NEW INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND
LESBIAN GAY BISEXUAL TRANSGENDER STUDIES
OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES
DEAN ROBERT HAMPTON
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES
DEAN JAMES F. HARRIS
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UPPER-DIVISION CERTIFICATE
Award to Be Offered |
AUGUST 2002
Proposed initiation Date |
The following constitute the Faculty Oversight Committee for this proposal.
CONTENTS
The Provost has allocated funding for this proposal.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Studies takes as its comprehensive subject the lives, experiences, identities, and representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals; their families and communities; their cultures and subcultures; their histories, institutions, languages and literatures; their economics and politics; and their complex relations to the culture and experience of the gender conformant and (hetero)sexual majority. The four main goals of the proposed Certificate in LGBT Studies are
1) Curriculum development and transformation: To provide coherence and continuity for a course of study already being offered at UMD and to encourage continued curriculum development and transformation as well as enhancement of pedagogical practice.
2) Theory and practice: To provide opportunities for linkages between scholarship in LGBT issues and practical application through internships, service learning, and other community involvements.
3) Research and scholarship: To build upon the already strong base of research and scholarship on human diversity at UMD by providing coherent focus on LGBT issues and benefitting from the methodological richness inherent in a multidisciplinary program.
4) Community of scholars: To increase and facilitate interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary activity within the UMD scholarly community and to formalize UMD’s connection to the group of research universities who offer LGBT Studies.
An interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary field, LGBT studies benefits from research and teaching in a wide variety of disciplines. Among the traditional social science and humanities disciplines incorporated into the framework for organized LGBT Studies are those represented by the forty-two essays reproduced in the standard Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader, ed. Abelove, Barale, and Halperin (1993): Afro-American Studies, Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies, Literature, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. To these may be compared the subject areas for the signed entries in the recent, two volume Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures, ed. Zimmerman and Haggerty (2000): AIDS, Anthropology, Architecture, Art, Art History, Asian-American Studies, Biography, Black Studies, Chicano/Latino Studies, Classics, Dance, Economics, Education, Fashion, Film, Geography, History, Journalism, Law, Literature, Media Studies, Music, Philosophy, Photography, Politics, Popular Culture, Pornography, Psychology, Religion, Science, Sexology, Sociology, Sports, Theatre, and Theory.
The proposed Certificate in LGBT Studies is a natural consequence of two contemporary trends. The first is the growing visibility both on campus and in the general community of sexual minorities (most of whom had been largely invisible in the public sphere until the 1970s or later). Approximately one-hundred Fortune 500 companies and some 3,500 other companies, colleges and universities, and state and local governments now offer domestic partnership benefits to LGBT couples. Such development is an indication that academic, corporate, and governmental America recognizes the irreversibility of this visibility, and the growing necessity both to treat sexual minorities equitably and to increase the knowledge of LGBT issues, persons, and topics among that majority. For these and other reasons, courses and programs in LGBT studies have been in continuous development at major colleges and universities since 1972 when the first such program opened at Sacramento State University.
The second contemporary trend leading to this proposal is the continued evolution of academic studies of human subjects based on geographical origins and other significant identity groupings. For example at the University of Maryland we now offer credentials to undergraduate students in the following courses of study: Afro-American Studies, American Studies, Asian-American Studies, East Asian Studies, Family Studies, Germanic Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin-American Studies, Russian Area Studies, and Women's Studies.
Although the proposed certificate is new, courses with LGBT content have been offered at Maryland since the early 1970s, and the present count of course offerings either focused on LGBT peoples or formally inclusive of them now numbers approximately twenty. The purpose of the certificate is to formally credential students who have successfully undertaken a course curriculum of 21 credits in this field. This proposal is also consistent with UMD's Mission Statement, that states we are "the comprehensive public research university for the State of Maryland," and that it is our responsibility to provide "high-quality undergraduate instruction across a broad spectrum of academic disciplines." And it further assures adherence to our Strategic Plan which instructs us to "provide a set of undergraduate educational opportunities on a par with those available at the nation's leading public research universities."
Disciplinary trends
LGBT Studies draws upon multiple disciplines in the formulation of its scholarly foundation. It challenges traditional disciplinarity and forces scholars to reach across boundaries that frequently serve to divide. LGBT courses necessarily draw upon knowledge from different fields, and utilize various methodologies including close literary, rhetorical, and textual analysis; cultural criticism; historical inquiry, evidence assessment, and recuperative strategies; qualitative and quantitative social science research including ethnographic observation and description and statistical analysis, clinical and laboratory studies, scientific hypothesis formation and testing, as well as a broad variety of communications, critical race, developmental, economic, feminist, literary, political, psychological, rhetorical, sociological and queer theories. Indeed, the formalization of LGBT Studies will bring to our undergraduate students influential contemporary modes of thought in which many of our faculty and graduate students already excel, especially feminist and queer theories.
Institutional strengths
Our Mission Statement claims that "the diversity of [our] human resources and educational opportunities is a distinguishing characteristic of [our] institutional identity." Our Strategic Plan asserts that we have "assumed a position of leadership in American higher education through [our] commitment to diversity and the transformation of the curriculum to address issues and new scholarship relating to women and our multi-cultural heritage." A coherent program in LGBT Studies would confirm our stated commitment to diversity as a core element of our identity, and it would help make legitimate our claim of leadership.
This proposal for a Certificate in LGBT Studies expressly responds to the directive to "find ways to capitalize on our academic strengths." The breadth of courses we offer at present which focus on LGBT people and issues or which include them within their purview, underscores our strength in LGBT Studies. Indeed, we assert that LGBT Studies already exists at College Park, but it lacks the necessary structure needed to award our students the recognition they deserve after completing scholarly study of LGBT issues on this campus.
Synergy with existing programs
A coherent program in LGBT Studies will deepen and enhance existing programs by providing a vehicle and an institutional home for cross-disciplinary work in LGBT Studies. With the participation of scholars from diverse programs, LGBT Studies will be a vehicle for development of faculty whose work may then be informed by an array of disciplines. By providing instruction with a variety of approaches, and disciplinary locations, we will afford an institutional home for our students to gain exposure to the ways in which different disciplines operate in addressing a central field of subjects. This synergy will occur both with traditional disciplines and with other inter- multi-disciplinary programs such as Women's Studies, which shares strong conceptual ties with LGBT Studies. Other examples include Afro-American Studies and Asian-American Studies.
Institutional strategic priorities
The University's Strategic Plan instructs us to provide "a set of educational experiences that will convey some sense of the diversity of human culture." Establishing a formal program in LGBT Studies also addresses the mandate to "seek additional ways to tap the enormous set of intellectual resources located in the national capital region, and to build on the progress in diversity we have made as an institution." Major intellectual, political, health, and social organizations that serve LGBT individuals and communities find their headquarters inside the Washington beltway, and they provide a wealth of learning and service opportunities for our students. LGBT Studies at College Park will demonstrate our commitment as an institution to this area of scholarly work and it will afford greater opportunities for us to tap into the LGBT leadership that resides within commuting distance of College Park.
Student demand
When Professor Frederick Suppe taught his "Gay and Lesbian Philosophy" course at UMD (an outgrowth of "Homosexuality and Morality" offered in the 1970s which was the first LGBT-oriented course taught at College Park) it consistently oversubscribed. Since his departure, demand for this course remains strong. Other instructors who regularly teach courses in LGBT Studies report the same observation. Student interest in LGBT Studies is substantiated by the following table which shows the enrollment during the past three years for courses that will form the core of this proposed LGBT certificate. [NB: Temporary funding permitted the offering of LGBT 200 as WMST 298E, and LGBT 400 as CMLT 498Y during the spring semester of 2001.]
WMST 298E [LGBT 200] Special Topics in Women's Studies: Intro to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies (First offered Spring 2001)
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ENGL 265 Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Literature (First offered in Spring 2000)
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CMLT 291 International Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Studies
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PHIL 407 Gay and Lesbian Philosophy
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WMST 494 Lesbian Communities and Difference
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CMLT 498Y [LGBT 400] Selected Topics in Comparative Studies: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies (First offered Spring 2001)
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NB: ENGL359 Special Topics in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Literatures, ENGL459 Selected Topics in Sexuality and Literature, and ENGL465 Theories of Sexuality and Literature, are new numbers which will be offered for the first time in the spring 2002 semester. Several very popular courses previously taught under other numbers will now be offered under these new numbers. They include, “Gay is Very American,” “Pro- and Anti-Gay Rhetoric,” and “AIDS in African America: History, Rhetoric, and Literature.”
Enrollment numbers for COMM388 Communication Practicum, are not illustrative of participation in the Speakers Bureau or of LGBT Studies in general as they include students following independent projects as a Communication Practicum. However, approximately 15 to 20 undergraduate students participate in Speakers Bureau every year. |
Thus, current LGBT courses are clearly well attended, and although we are proposing a relatively small program, we have reason to believe that the additional course materials offered will be utilized by students not seeking the LGBT Certificate.
Another indicator of student demand for LGBT courses was a petition calling for the establishment of an Undergraduate Certificate in LGBT Studies which was initiated and circulated by undergraduate students in the spring of 2001. They gathered over 800 signatures and presented the petition to the Provost in the fall of 2001 to establish a formal LGBT curriculum.
Market demand for graduates
We envision a Certificate in LGBT Studies to be an enhancement to a Bachelor's degree, something that will give our graduates a competitive edge in seeking employment. Expertise in this area is already a contributing factor in the hiring in many professions. On February 19, 1999, The Washington Blade reported that the number of bills introduced in statehouses which directly address sexual orientation grew from 51 in 1994 to 113 in 1999. This doubling of legislative activity in five years is a result of greater visibility of LGBT people and of their demand to be acknowledged and treated equitably by the majority. It is also an indicator of the growing number of professions that will need individuals with expertise in LGBT issues. Obvious areas include education, journalism, the law, personnel, public policy, social services, and all the health professions. Additional areas are within higher education, both as a specialty in an established discipline and as an area of responsibility within student affairs.
Positions available at LGBT organizations may serve as an indicator of the range of majors whose added expertise in LGBT Studies gives them a hiring edge. These include The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (http://www.ngltf.org/) which recently advertised for a Grants Administrator, a Field Associate, a Legislative Lawyer, a Public Information Associate, a Federal Policy Advocate, and a Field Organizer for Youth and Campus Issues. The Human Rights Campaign (http://www.hrc.org/) advertised for a Deputy Director of Development, a Development Assistant, an Assistant for Direct Marketing, a Major Donor Associate, Assistants for Marketing and Membership, a Manager for its store and action center in Provincetown, MA, a Publications Assistant, a Deputy Political Director, and a Southern Field Organizer. This particular list of jobs is skewed toward the advocacy role these organizations play, but it indicates, nonetheless, the breadth of professions in which expertise in LGBT issues can be decisive.
Many of our students who receive this proposed Certificate may not work in specifically LGBT organizations, but will instead bring their expertise to positions in government, industry, for-profit companies, and non-profit organizations. Others will enter the professions of law and medicine, as well as the other health professions, while still others will go on to graduate study in a wide variety of disciplines that recommend or even require a formal knowledge of LGBT Studies.
As is true in government agencies and large organizations, so also within the academy, LGBT caucuses, divisions, associations, and study groups have multiplied across a broad array of professional organizations. Clearly, a certificate in LGBT Studies will enable graduates to be more competitive in applying for advanced study in the disciplines where these sub-specialties have emerged.
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Companies, non-profits, government agencies, and college campuses increasingly are hiring staff to work expressly with LGBT populations. The National Consortium of Directors of LGBT Resources in Higher Education (http://www.lgbtcampus.org/), for example, regularly lists job announcements on its web site. Campuses with this type of office have grown from one in 1971 to nearly eighty, several having multiple staff positions. Similar growth has occurred off-campus, and our students will be well-equipped to be competitive with regard to all such opportunities.
The following table lists some of the Undergraduate Certificate Programs that are currently active and available at the University of Maryland. Given the numbers of students already enrolling in courses with LGBT content, we project that with sufficient time and resources this will become a program comparable in number to the Certificate Programs currently offered on campus.
| Program | Year established | Current enrollment (December 2001) |
2000-2001 graduates |
| Afro-American Studies | 1968 | ca. 90-115 | 15 |
| Asian American Studies | 2000 | ca. 30 | 2 |
| Latin American Studies | 1997 | 65 | 15 |
| Science, Technology and Society | 1990 | 31 | 3 |
| Secondary Education | 2001 | new offering | 0 |
| Women's Studies | 1976 | 80 | 11 |
The Program in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Studies offers an interdisciplinary undergraduate certificate designed to examine the lives, experiences, identities and representations of LGBT persons, those who are today described as having a minority sexual orientation or who are gender transgressive. Students study LGBT families and communities, cultures and subcultures; histories, institutions, languages and literatures; economic and political lives; and the complex relations of sexual minorities to the culture and experience of the gender conformant and (hetero)sexual majority. LGBT Studies is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary field, and promotes the application of new theories and methodologies (e.g., queer, feminist, critical race, and multicultural theories) to established disciplines, and it advances the generation of new knowledge within traditional fields of scholarship. Through study of sexual minorities, students gain an understanding of and respect for other differences in human lives such as age, ability, class, ethnicity, gender, race, and religion. With their faculty advisors, certificate candidates design a program that complements their major field of study.
This certificate consists of 15 core credits and 6 elective credits. No more than 9 credit hours may be applied toward the major. A minimum of 12 credit hours must be taken in upper division courses (i.e., those numbered 300 or above). A maximum of 3 credit hours of "Special Topics" or "Selected Topics" courses may be taken with the exceptions noted below. No more than 9 credit hours may be taken at institutions other than UMD.
Because this is a rapidly evolving field of study, it is expected that the Faculty Oversight Committee will periodically review all courses in this program for their appropriateness; some may be deleted whereas others may be added. This is especially true for the list of approved electives.
The core requirements comprise 15 credits which include a lower and an upper division course focused on personal, social, political and historical aspects of LGBT people, a lower and an upper division course focused on literature by or about LGBT people, and a final course focused either on the interaction of the humanities and social sciences in this field of study, or on the practical application of this academic training in community service organizations.
A maximum of 3 credits of ENGL 359 may count toward the Certificate in LGBT Studies. It will not count toward the Special/Selected Topics maximum stated above.
A maximum of 3 credits of ENGL 459 may count toward the Certificate in LGBT Studies. It will not count toward the Special/Selected Topics maximum stated above.
Students choose 6 hours of elective credits in consultation with their advisor in LGBT Studies. At least 3 hours of elective credits must be from upper division courses (i.e., those numbered 300 or above). Electives are chosen to complement the student's knowledge of LGBT people and issues by exploring disciplines that contrast with the major field of study.
Elective courses may be chosen from the list of core courses or from the list below. Each of these courses contain significant LGBT material sometimes within a larger context (e.g., HLTH377 Human Sexuality), or they center on interdisciplinary methodological and theoretical tools that may be helpful for a particular focus (e.g., ENGL444/WMST444 Feminist Critical Theory).
This course counts toward the Special/Selected topics maximum described above.
This course counts toward the Special/Selected topics maximum described above.
This course counts toward the Special/Selected topics maximum described above.
This course counts toward the Special/Selected topics maximum described above.
This course counts toward the Special/Selected topics maximum described above.
A student may petition to have any other course fulfill this requirement by providing evidence, usually the syllabus, that a substantial amount of the course work, usually including a term paper, consists of LGBT material. The Faculty Oversight Committee determines the outcome of each petition. The following list includes courses that are known to include LGBT material frequently and is given for illustrative purposes.
Admission to the program is limited to undergraduate students enrolled in good standing at the University of Maryland. Applicants already possessing the Bachelor's degree may be admitted as special students in order to fulfill certificate requirements.
The program will have a half time Director and a Faculty Oversight Committee to provide academic direction and oversight.
LGBT Studies is an interdisciplinary program calling upon the expertise and participation of faculty from various departments. Most faculty participants already offer courses in the area of LGBT Studies and they are encouraged to continue and to enhance these offerings.
The academic home of the Director is in one of the regularly constituted units of the university. The Provost appoints the Director upon the recommendation of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies. Initially, this is an internal appointment. For the purposes of the Certificate in LGBT Studies, the Director reports directly to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies.
The Faculty Oversight Committee is defined initially as the group creating this proposal. Thereafter, each member is appointed by the Dean in consultation with the Director. There is no appointment to LGBT Studies per se; therefore, each member of the Faculty Oversight Committee has an academic home elsewhere in the university. This group has the authority to make requisite decisions rightfully under its purview analogous to the faculty of a department. Each member of the Faculty Oversight Committee must attend at least one faculty meeting each academic year.
In addition to the Faculty Oversight Committee, affiliate faculty are included as determined by the Faculty Oversight Committee. Although they play an important role by offering many elective courses, they do not participate in the decision-making processes of the Program.
Each semester the Director works half time as Director and half time in a home department. He or she is responsible for administering funds for instructors to cover LGBT 200 in the fall, and LGBT 400 and 450 in the spring.
The Director advises all students pursuing the Certificate in LGBT Studies. There is mandatory advising each semester before registration.
The Faculty Oversight Committee acts as a department for all program changes. The PCC Committee of Undergraduate Studies plays the ususal college PCC role.
If the program is to be offered to students at an off-campus location, with instructors in classrooms and/or via distance education modalities, indicate how student access to the full range of services (including advising, financial aid, and career services) and facilities (including library and information facilities, and computer and laboratory facilities if needed) will be assured.
Not applicable.
None of these issues apply to this proposal.
Identify specific actions and strategies that will be utilized to recruit and retain a diverse student body.LGBT Studies addresses all forms of diversity directly in its curriculum. This diversity is not limited to sexual orientation and gender identity. In the proposed catalog description, we assert that "Students gain an understanding of and respect for other differences in human lives such as age, ability, class, ethnicity, gender, race, and religion." The nature of the program and the historical enrollment patterns for LGBT courses strongly suggest that this program will attract a diverse student population and students majoring in other programs addressing a specific area of diversity will find this Certificate to be an enhancement to their degree. We envision enrollment by students from Afro-American Studies, Women's Studies, and other related programs.
VII. Required Physical Resources
[Text of memorandum signed by Desider Vikor, Director of Collection Management & Special Collections, and Karla Hahn, Collection Management Coordinator.]
Present holdings of the Libraries in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender studies and related areas are adequate to meet the needs of the proposed certificate program. These holdings include an estimated 2,000 monographic titles and a number of journal subscriptions. In addition, the Libraries subscribe to at least 12 journals with core content in the area of LGBT studies while subscribing to many others which occasionally carry content related to LGBT issues. This area is futher supported by current acquisitions through our comprehensive purchase plan. The Libraries also have substantial holdings in this area in non-print media including more than 100 documentaries on LGBT topics and more than 150 feature films with LGBT characters.
A number of electronic resources include significant content supporting research and teaching in this area. Relevant databases include MLA International Bibliography, Family Studies, Contemporary Women's Issues, Sociological Abstracts, and the Social Sciences Citation Index. Many other databases include information related to LGBT scholarship and issues. Full text of relevant literature is included in EBSCOhost's Academic Search file and in JSTOR.
Because most of the courses proposed for inclusion in the certificate program are already being taught as part of other campus curricula, current resources and collecting activities will be adequate to meet the needs of the LGBT certificate.
We can initiate an Undergraduate Certificate in LGBT Studies using existing facilities; however, we believe that this program will grow quickly and will soon require dedicated space. Upon approval of this proposal, we will plan to secure the following space specifically for LGBT Studies.
When appropriate space is identified, funds will also be necessary for
No impact is anticipated on existing facilities with the exception of the new space allocation noted above.
VIII. Resource Needs and Sources
Describe the resources that are required to offer this program, and the source of these resources. Project this for five years. In particular:
The Provost has allocated funds for this proposal.
New courses
Funds are currently available to buy out or cover three new courses.
Additional sections of existing courses are not anticipated.
Advising
Administration
No new permanent hires are necessary.
We do, however, strongly encourage the assignment of a faculty line for a faculty member working on LGBT issues in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. This individual would be hired with tenure in the appropriate academic department.
Permanent funding already allocated by the Provost will be sufficient to hire teaching assistants from the pool of graduate students already on campus, adjunct lecturers from the community, and course buy-outs of existing faculty. The half-time Director will perform all administrative duties. Each member of the Faculty Oversight Committee advises students in the LGBT Studies program and performs this duty in addition to assigned duties within the home department.
Not applicable.
All necessary resources will come from $60,000 allocated on a permanent basis by the Office of the Provost.
TABLES 1 AND 2 REQUIRED BY MHEC
A program in LGBT Studies will attract new students both from off campus as well as on campus. Indeed, evidence from other universities, such as UCLA, indicates that students come to a particular campus or may complete an undergraduate degree because there is such a program. (See Appendix 2). This proposal, however, does not depend on new enrollments. Therefore, a commitment from the Office of the Provost for $60,000 is the total funding required.
| Resource Categories | Year 1 | Year 2* | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Reallocated Funds | 60,000 | 61,200 | 62,424 | 63,672 | 64,946 |
| 2. Tuition/Fee Revenue (c+g) below | |||||
| a. # Full Time Students | |||||
| b. Annual Tuition/Fee Rate | |||||
| c. Total Full Time Revenue (a x b) | |||||
| d. # Part Time Students | |||||
| e. Credit Hour Rate | |||||
| f. Annual Credit Hours | |||||
| g. Total Part Time Revenue (d x e x f) | |||||
| 3. Grants, Contracts, and Other External Sources | |||||
| 4. Other Sources | |||||
| TOTAL (Add 1 - 4) | 60,000 | 61,200 | 62,424 | 63,672 | 64,946 |
*Years 2 through 5 include a modest annual increase of 2% as an indication of rising commitments associated with cost-of-living and merit adjustments.
| Expenditure Categories | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Faculty (b + c below) |
42,000 | 42,840 | 43,697 | 44,571 | 45,462 |
| a. FTE | 0.5 Director | 0.5 Director | 0.5 Director | 0.5 Director | 0.5 Director |
| b. Total Salary | 30,000 | 30,600 | 31,212 | 31,836 | 32,473 |
| c. Total Benefits | 12,000 | 12,240 | 12,485 | 12,989 | 12,989 |
| 2. Administrative Staff (b + c below) | |||||
| a. FTE | |||||
| b. Total Salary | |||||
| c. Total Benefits | |||||
| 3. Support Staff (b + c below) | |||||
| a. FTE | |||||
| b. Total Salary | |||||
| c. Total Benefits | |||||
| 4. Equipment (a + b + c) | |||||
| a. Computers | |||||
| b. Printer | |||||
| c. Copier | |||||
| 5. Library | |||||
| 6. New or Renovated Space | |||||
| 7. Other Expenses (a + b + c) |
18,000 | 18,360 | 18,727 | 19,102 | 19,484 |
| a. Course buyout (3) @ 5,000/course | 15,000 | 15,300 | 15,606 | 15,918 | 16,236 |
| b. Office Supplies | 2,900 | 2,958 | 3,017 | 3,077 | 3,139 |
| c. Travel/Conferences | 100 | 102 | 104 | 106 | 108 |
| TOTAL (Add 1 - 7) | 60,000 | 61,200 | 62,424 | 63,672 | 64,946 |
1. U.S. Institutions with LGBT Studies Programs
This list was based on the work of John Younger, Duke University. His electronic list of LGB university programs is updated regularly. http://www.duke.edu/web/jyounger/lgbprogs.html.
*Cooperative program
2. Details of selected programs
Programs selected are roughly equivalent to the certificate we are proposing (generally termed a minor at other institutions). They include the following institutions.
Duke University
Program in the Study of Sexualities (http://www.duke.edu/web/SXL/)
An Undergraduate, Certificate Granting Program
John Younger, Director
Requirements for the student
Administration of the program
San Francisco State University
Department of Human Sexuality Studies (http://hmsx.sfsu.edu/)
Minor in Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Studies
Also offers a minor in Human Sexuality Studies
Gilbert Herdt, Director
[NB: Answers were deduced from published materials.]
Requirements for the student
Administration of the program
Towson University
Minor in Lesbian and Gay Studies (http://www.towson.edu/~tinkler/lgb/minor.html)
Cindy Gissendanner, Chair
Requirements for the student
Administration of the program
University of California, Berkeley
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies (http://ls.berkeley.edu/ugis/lgbt/index.html)
Mary Anne Bartholomew-Couts
Program Assistant for LGBT minor
Telephone: (510) 643-0554
Requirements for the student
Administration of the program
University of California, Los Angeles
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies
Professor James Schultz, Chair
Telephone: (310) 825-5194
Requirements for the student
Administration of the program
Boston University
http://webdev.bu.edu/LIBRARY/research-guides/gaylesbian.html
City University of New York
CLAGS (The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, CUNY)
http://web.gsuc.cuny.edu/clags
Colorado State University
http://manta.library.colostate.edu/research/gnl/index.html
Cornell University
http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/HSC/faq/hscfaq.htm
Duke University
http://www.duke.edu/web/SXL/biblio.html
Iowa State University
http://www1.iastate.edu/~savega/les_biga.htm
Middlebury College
http://www.middlebury.edu/~lib/gaylesbian.html
New York Public Library
http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/grd/resguides/gay.html
New York University
http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/hum/les-gay/
Princeton University
http://www.princeton.edu/~michael/glbt.html
Radcliffe College
http://www.radcliffe.edu/schles/libcolls/bksper/bibs/lgb.htm
Stanford University
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/kkerns/gays.html
University of California at Irvine
http://sun3.lib.uci.edu/~mlriweb/lesbgay.htm
University of California at Los Angeles
http://www2.library.ucla.edu/libraries/url/colls/lgbt/index.htm
University of California at San Diego
http://sshl.ucsd.edu/guides/GayLesBi.html
University of California at Santa Barbara
http://www.library.ucsb.edu/subj/gay.html
http://vos.ucsb.edu/shuttle/gender.html#queer
University of California at Santa Cruz
http://bob.ucsc.edu/library/ref/instruction/refguides/gay_lesbian.html
The University of Chicago
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/gaylesb/glguide.html
University of Colorado at Boulder
http://www-libraries.colorado.edu/ttp/ser/topicalguides/topical19.htm
University of Colorado at Denver
http://library.auraria.edu/libq/lbgt.html
University of Kansas
http://www.ukans.edu/~rmelton/guides/gaylesbi.htm
University of Maryland
DiversityDatabase
http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/Diversity/Specific/Sexual_Orientation/
University of Minnesota
http://www.glbtstudies.umn.edu/
http://www1.umn.edu/glbt/studies.htm
University of Southern California
ONE Institute
http://www.usc.edu/isd/archives/oneigla/
University of Washington
http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/GayLesbianStudies/
Vassar College
http://iberia.vassar.edu/vcl/electronics/etc/acad/gays.html
Yale University
http://www.library.yale.edu/rsc/gayles/gayindx.htm
4. Selected Scholarly Journals in LGBT Studies
5. Selected Academic Press Series in LGBT Studies
Letter of Support
Afro-American Studies Program
April 24, 2000
Dr. Luke Jensen
Director, Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender Equity
2105 Computer Science Bldg.
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
Dear Dr. Jensen,
I am delighted to write in support of your ongoing efforts to institutionalize an Undergraduate Certificate in LGBT Studies here at the University of Maryland. Earlier in the semester, you requested a letter of support from me in my capacity as Acting Director of the Afro-American Studies Program. At the time of your request, due to health concerns, I was unable to meet your request. Unfortunately, I also cannot meet with the PCC this week. However, in lieu of that meeting, I gladly submit this letter of support for the Certificate, and hope that it will be of use to you as you navigate the administrative waters of our university.
Specifically, I want to address the requirement that focuses on the social, political, and /or historical aspect of LGBT people in the certificate curriculum (section IIB3 of the online version dated 2/28/2000). As a social scientist who has practiced the art of cross-disciplinary ethnic and feminist studies for the past fifteen years, I am convinced of the importance of social science perspectives in these fields. In Women's Studies, Afro-American Studies, Asian-American Studies, and Chicano Studies, the works of sociologists, political scientists, critical legal theorists, anthropologists, economists, and psychologists have transformed the conventional wisdom during the past thirty years. I hope a few examples will make my case.
Recall that sociologists and anthropologists have disrupted notions of the natural patriarchal family, and located its origins and ideology in specific historical and cultural communities and moments. They have demonstrated that many gendered and racialized social forms and institutions are social constructs, not natural and universal phenomena. Political scientists and legal scholars have copiously documented the role of legal practice and political institutions in codifying and reproducing social relations of inequality between genders and racial ethnic groups. Economists informed by ethnic and feminist studies traditions have challenged conventional wisdom about the content, predictions, and assessment of mainstream theories on market life, families, inequality, economic development, and the social division of labor. Meanwhile, psychologists of the past generation have challenged the race and gender assumptions of conventional models of human development and identity formation.
Scholars in the field of LGBT have also transformed fields of knowledge and challenged conventional interpretations of the life world. During the past fifteen years, we have witnessed an explosion of scholarly work that re-examines the canonical wisdom on sexuality. Social scientists have reformulated and permanently complicated our understandings of sexualities. Philosophers, sociologists, psychologists, and anthropologists have led the way in transforming our knowledge of the creation, evolution, and meanings of sexualities within and across cultures, now and in the past. Human rights activists in LGBT communities have used this scholarship to challenge socially sanctioned practices that normalize violence and discrimination against LGBT people.
Clearly we at Maryland stand poised at a crucial juncture. Our current proficiency in LGBT Studies fully supports the establishment of an undergraduate certificate. Because the overview courses include an introduction to the methodologies of the applicable social sciences, we convey to colleagues and students our commitment to substantively multidisciplinary scholarship and teaching. Moreover, the array of courses in the behavioral and social sciences in the list of electives indicates our potential to develop more significant offerings in this area. We should proceed with the certificate immediately, and, as outlined in the proposal, make a LGBT Studies hire in the social sciences a high priority.
Best wished in this ongoing effort.
Regards,
Rhonda M. Williams
Associate Professor and Acting Director,
Afro-American Studies Program
(Ph.D., Economics)
Affiliate Faculty, School of Public Affairs and the Departments of American and Women's Studies
Letter of Support
College of Arts and Humanities
March 13, 2000
Dr. Richard E. Walker
Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies
2130 Mitchell Building
Campus
Dear Dr. Walker
I am writing to you in your capacity as Chair of the Undergraduate Programs, Courses, and Curriculum Committee to express my support as Dean of Arts and Humanities for the proposed certificate program in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Studies. I have reviewed the proposal and note both the extensive investment in the program by faculty from the College of Arts and Humanities and the emphasis on existing ARHU courses from CMLT, ENGL, JWST, PHIL, and WMST in the fifteen credit hour curriculum of the certificate program.
To my mind there are still some issues which must be resolved, such as the reporting lines for the Director and the structure of the Faculty Advisory Group, the assignment of courses and the negotiating of released time for faculty who wish to participate in the program, and of course the issue of the resource base for this program. Without an adequate funding base for the program initially, the program could, like any other program, become a drain on college and departmental resources which the Dean of the College might be unable to control.
Still, I agree that this program captures the spirit of diversity which, over the past decade, has animated the Curriculum Transformation Project enabling that project to have an enormous positive influence on the campus. As a cross-disciplinary program the currently proposed Certificate in LGBT Studies draws on traditional disciplines within Arts and Humanities and across the campus providing new perspectives upon those traditional fields of study. I therefore endorse the program assuming that the structural and resource issues can be satisfactorily addressed.
Sincerely,
James F. Harris
Dean
Letter of Support
College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
March 14, 2000
Dr. Luke Jensen
Coordinator of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equity
2105 Computer & Space Sciences Bldg.
Campus 5031
Dear Luke:
I am pleased to support the proposal for an undergraduate certificate program in LGBT Studies. I believe such a program would be an important addition to our curricular offerings. Moreover, it supports campus goals to explore diversity issues in our research and teaching programs.
As noted in the proposal, the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences has considerable faculty expertise in diversity research and scholarship. You have identified some of the coursework in Afro-American Studies, Psychology and Sociology which is directly related to the LGBT certificate.
Please do not hesitate to contact me for further assistance in the development of the certificate program.
Sincerely,
Irwin L. Goldstein
Professor and Dean
Letter of Support
Comparative Literature Program
Dr. Richard Ernest Walker
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies
Chair, USGT-PCC Committee
2130 Mitchell Building
Dear Dr. Walker:
I write this letter in enthusiastic support of the proposal for an Undergraduate Certificate in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) studies. The teaching mission of the Comparative Literature Program is to help our students understand literary and cultural experience from both an international and interdisciplinary perspective. Issues of diversity, gender, and sexuality play a large part in this pedagogical experience. We would welcome an undergraduate Certificate in LGBT studies, which would help structure and clarify for Maryland students their exploration of these crucial matters.
You also have my assurance that we will support the Certificate in any way that we can. We are happy to know that some of our 200-level courses are being considered as an option for either a Certificate core course or a Certificate elective, and are at the disposal of the Certificate proposal committee if they need any help in deciding what CMLT courses might best serve those roles. We will also most certainly be open to discussing with the Certificate program any time-release issues that might arise, such as coming to an agreement on a course buy-out for one of CMLT's faculty members.
Thanks ahead of time for your attention to this matter. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to consult me.
Cordially,
Orrin Wang
Acting Director
Comparative Literature Program
Associate Professor
Department of English
Letter of Support
Counseling and Personnel Services
March 2, 2000
Dr. Richard E. Walker
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies
Chair, UGST-PCC Committee
2130 Mitchell Building, ZIP 5251
Dear Dr. Walker:
On behalf of the Counseling and Personnel Services Department for support for the proposal for an Undergraduate Certificate in LGBT Studies. Moreover, should you need to explore the possibility of release time for faculty in our Department, as long as adequate compensation is provided per course, I am sure that an arrangement can be made. I also encourage Dr. Ruth Fassinger to continue her active participation in the guidance of the proposed program. We cannot provide any teaching assistant resources, as the Department does not have any lines for such personnel.
I extend my best wishes for success in the proposal development.
Sincerely,
Paul W. Power, Sc.D.
Professor and Chairperson
March 9, 2000
Dr. Richard Ernest Walker
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies
Chair, UGST-PCC Committee
2130 Mitchell Building
Dear Richard,
I am pleased to give my enthusiastic support to the proposal from the President's Commission on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Issues for an Undergraduate Certificate in LGBT Studies. I find the proposal to be compelling in its substance and in its goals and carefully conceived in its plans for implementation.
The Department of English at the University of Maryland has been a national leader in LGBT literary studies. As Chair, I am pleased to note that several faculty in the Department of English will serve on the Faculty Advisory Group of the Certificate and that several courses in the curriculum of the Department either will fulfill core requirements for the Certificate or may be used as electives for it. I endorse this initiative.
Cordially,
Charles Caramello
Professor and Chair
February 29, 2000
Dr. Luke Jensen
Campus LGBT Equity Officer
2105 Computer and Space Sciences Bldg.
Campus
Dear Dr. Jensen,
This is to indicate my strong support for the new certificate minor in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Studies. Fred Suppe of our department already teaches one of the courses that will be featured in the program, and we do not anticipate any release time problems for the giving of this course. I wish you the best of luck in realizing the academic and instructional potential of the new certificate.
Sincerely yours,
Michael Slote, Chair
Department of Philosophy
December 5, 2000
Luke Jensen, Director
Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equity
2105 Computer and Space Sciences Building
University of Maryaldn
CAMPUS
Dear Luke:
I am writing in response to your request that Sociology consider the proposal to establish an undergraduate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender certificate program.
I believe that, on balance, the departments and courses you show as contributing to the program do much to make the case for it. Indeed, I further believe that a major role for Sociology is especially important in the program you propose. Why "especially important?" Because Sociology focuses first and foremost on structural inequality, on the ways that things like race, gender, and social class interact to produce and, crucially, reproduce systems of inequality that benefit some more than others. These "systems", then, are the normative patterns which guide people's everyday lives, one by-product of which may be various forms of discriminatory behavior (racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, and so on). While we deal with these things in many of our courses, sexuality and sexual-orientation issues are addressed in some detail in courses regularly offered by us, especially SOCY 325 (Sociology of Gender) and SOCY 425 (Gender Roles and Social Institutions); and it is easy to imagine us offering other contributing courses if given support from the proposed program.
Within the behavioral and social sciences more broadly, your program stands to gain from a variety of faculty interests, especially expressed in their research. In particular, I believe that you will find these forms of support in Anthropology with Tony Whitehead's work on AIDS in Baltimore City; in Economics with Seth Sanders' work on the economics of gay life in America; and in Sociology with courses taught by Janet Hunt and Laura Moore on gender and sexuality, as well as in faculty research by Len Pearlin and Scott Schieman on AIDS and stress among AIDS caregivers. (While I say nothing here about the role that might be played in Afro-American Studies, I do so with sadness, mindful of Professor Rhonda Williams recent passing.) These different intellectual and substantive emphases also offer up the possibility for students to be exposed to a variety of research methodologies and techniques (ranging from ethnographic field work in Anthropology to sophisticated statistical modeling in Economics and Sociology).
Economists have a term to refer to a program such as the one you propose: "value added." It is precisely via the combination and integration of departments, courses, and people you propose to involve that your program will be strengthened considerably; it will be much richer than it ever could be by one department alone. The colleges of Arts and Humanities, and Behavioral and Social Sciences offer a powerful diversity of intellectual emphases and research skills. Thus students will have the opportunity to develop truly interdisciplinary frameworks for understanding incredibly complex issues. How could we not support such a program?
If you or others have any questions about my response to your proposal, please, feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
William W. Falk
Professor and Chair
Letter of Support
Women's Studies
March 3, 2000
Dr. Richard Ernest Walker
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies
Chair, UGST-PCC Committee
2130 Mitchell Building
Dear Richard Ernest Walker:
I write in my capacity as chair of the department of Women's Studies in support of a Certificate Program in LGBT Studies. Indeed, several of our faculty have served on the planning committee for this proposal and expect to teach in the program. Women's Studies is pleased to cooperate with a Program that promises to be as academically solid as it is path-breaking.
Our department regularly offers courses that would count in the LGBT Certificate Program, either as core courses or as electives. WMST 494: Lesbian Communities and Differences, one of the Certificate's core required courses, is offered every year. We shall welcome students from the Certificate Program into this course and would not require any reimbursement for the service. Were a Women's Studies faculty to offer a course in the LGBT Certificate Program that is not appropriate to our department's curriculum, I am certain we could arrange a buy-out and hire an adjunct faculty or teaching assistant to teach the faculty's Women's Studies course.
I fully endorse the LGBT Certificate Program proposal. If you wish to contact to comment further or for more information, please do not hesitate.
Sincerely,
Claire G. Moses
Chair and Professor