The University of Oregon ranks among the top institutions in the nation for being gay-friendly, boasting an array of LGBTQIA resources, such as discussion groups and on-campus support for coming out to the community.
These resources create a community for individuals to connect on common ground, but fail to also focus on graduate students, faculty and staff.
Graduate student Staci Tucker formed the LGBTQ networking group to give graduate students, staff and faculty the same opportunities. The group encourages participation from LGBTQIA individuals, allies, colleagues and those working on research in this field.
Tucker says graduate students in particular tend to have difficulty finding a community on campus.
“I don’t think there’s much out there for professional masters students,” Tucker said. “I think they’re the ones who get lost in the cracks. They’re not necessarily tapped into a community.”
Those who identify as LGBTQ may face additional challenges when trying to navigate the complex network of professional academia.
“Grad students are in a precarious position politically,” Tucker said. “We teach classes in addition to pursuing Ph.Ds, but we’re also subject to political relationships with faculty. It can get tricky.”
Sarah Ray Rondot, a graduate student, agrees that graduate students, faculty and staff do not have as many opportunities within the college as LGBTQIA students.
“I think the LGTBQ networking group for faculty and staff is a fantastic idea, and one that is very needed at UO,” Rondot said. “As is true of many universities, I have felt that the UO community is very divided by department — Sociology folks mingle with Sociologists, English folk with English instructors, etc.”
Maure Smith-Benanti, assistant director of LGBT Education and Support, guesses that Eugene may have a higher percentage of LGBTQ individuals than the national estimate of 10-15 percent of the population.
“I have a general sense that faculty and staff on this campus who identify as LGBT want more in the way of services and connection opportunities because, frankly, they see how great it is for the students,” Smith-Benanti said.
Smith-Benanti thinks the opportunity to build a stronger LGBTQIA community will have a positive outcome at the UO. Tenured faculty members will be able to advise grad students, and those working with LGBTQIA research will have networking opportunities and connections that they didn’t before.
“It’ll make it easier for the UO to retain LGBT faculty and staff so that once they arrive here, they’re happier because they know there are other folks out there,” Smith-Benanti said.
Tucker held a networking event to unite the faculty, staff and grads student of UO on April 18 at Agate Alley. The turnout represented a mix of each. This event was the first of its kind, and Tucker plans to continue organizing events for networking opportunities in the future.
“We’ve made a lot of progress in queer rights in the last decade, and (the) UO is better than many campuses in the country,” Tucker said. “But it’s good to know what your community looks like.”