brainstorming

9 Gay College Presidents Holed Up Together Over The Weekend

What happens when nine homos from colleges across the country get together for a weekend in Chicago? Nope, it’s not a hotel sex party. It’s the first-ever meeting of out college and university presidents.

Of twenty-five invited, nine out academic leaders came together to form LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education, which has the grand goal of “encourag[ing] more gay academics to aspire to leadership positions and want[ing] to push higher education to include issues of sexual orientation when talking about diversity.” There was Charles Middleton, president of Roosevelt University; Raymond Crossman, president of the Adler School of Professional Psychology; and Theodora J. Kalikow, president of the University of Maine at Farmington. And they talked about themselves!

One of the topics of discussion at the meeting was how to view the extent of progress in presidencies being open to gay candidates. While the numbers today would have been shocking a generation ago, most of the presidents said that there are many colleges that because of their location, religious ties or other factors are highly unlikely to be open to gay presidential candidates, at least in the near future. Many of the colleges that have named gay presidents are places with “strong social justice missions,” Crossman said.

I’m guessing we won’t be seeing anybody from Bob Jones or Liberty join the ranks anytime soon?

Don't forget to share:

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated