The Orbis

Issue date: 9/10/08 Section: News/Features

The new location, in the K.C. Potter Center behind Tolman, is an improvement, since you may actually be able to find it this year.

Vanderbilt University welcomed its newest department over the summer with the creation of the Office of LGBTQI Life. The administration hired Nora Spencer as the first director of the office, housed in the K.C. Potter center next to the Women's Center. Spencer's hiring and the creation of the new office are among a large number of policy changes that Vanderbilt is instituting to make the university more supportive of its LGBTQI students, staff, and prospective community members.

The office "was a response to a general climate issue" of Vanderbilt's attitude towards LGBT members, according to director Nora Spencer. Previously, Vanderbilt had never hired a full-time professional to serve as a point person for LGBT concerns, trailing behind most of its peer institutions. Spencer's office will help people engage in more formal discussions of LGBTQI issues, as well as collaborate with admissions, housing, and deans to ensure proper representation for the community.

Spencer has already received an outpouring of enthusiasm from campus. "I've had dozens of people approaching me already, saying how can I help? How can I find out more? [The new office] is central to campus, in a prime location, and it clearly states that Vanderbilt is prioritizing LGBT life and making a clear statement that LGBTQI students are here and need support."

One of the center's goals this year is to serve as a conduit for better communication between the gay student associations at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Lambda Association, Human Rights Campaign, and similar organizations in the law school, medical school, and divinity school, all stand to benefit from opportunities for collaboration.

Lambda Association president Klint Peebles agrees with Spencer about the value the new center brings to campus life. He states that the center will help improve university policies, form institutional support, gain student commitment for LGBT awareness, and address issues surrounding the admissions process. Like Spencer, Peebles is excited by the symbolism of the center's new location. "The office is important in that it lets LGBTQI students feel truly valued, as an integral part of the skeleton of the university rather than an isolated section. It's not tucked away anymore. It's very visible and prominent, and it sends a message that students can feel more confident and secure in the administration's support." Until last year, the LGBT office was located behind the Community Partnership House.

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