Date of Award
5-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Executive Leadership
First Supervisor
Joshua Fegley, EdD
Second Supervisor
Leah Deasy, EdD
Abstract
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) students continue to be a growing population within higher education. This has led to further initiatives to enhance LGBTQ+ campus climate. Institutions of higher education across the United States have created LGBTQ+ centers, to enhance and cultivate an LGBTQ+ campus climate that promotes a sense of belonging and inclusion. The growing popularity and development of LGBTQ+ centers provide a physical space for students, and marketing materials to promote resources for students, with the potential to impact digital campus climate. However, there have been limited studies that focus on LGBTQ+ climate assessments from the perspective of LGBTQ+ center directors which provide leadership for LGBTQ+ centers on college campuses. The purpose of this queer qualitative phenomenological study was to explore both the process that LGBTQ+ center directors have utilized to complete LGBTQ+ climate assessments and their perception of the assessments. This study aims to enhance the literature on LGBTQ+ center directors’ responsibilities and expectations, while supporting LGBTQ+ campus climate, through the utilization of campus climate assessments. Through the lens of queer theory, this study curated the stories and experiences of five LGBTQ+ center directors located throughout the United States. Three essential themes emerged: advocacy, navigating politics, and leadership. The findings highlighted the importance of storytelling, as participants shared how advocacy led them to the LGBTQ+ center director position, and how they used LGBTQ+ campus climate assessments as counter-stories to (re)name the experiences of students on campus. This study recommends embracing stories through the various ecological systems within higher education institutions to enhance LGBTQ+ campus climate.
Recommended Citation
Luckman, James, "More than Just a Sticker of LGBTQ+ Inclusivity: Exploring College and University-Based LGBTQ+ Center Director’s Process and Perceptions of LGBTQ+ Campus Climate Assessments" (2024). Education Doctoral. Paper 599.
https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/education_etd/599
Please note that the Recommended Citation provides general citation information and may not be appropriate for your discipline. To receive help in creating a citation based on your discipline, please visit http://libguides.sjfc.edu/citations.