Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center at the University of Pennsylvania Records UPE 502

Summary Information

Prepared by

Timothy H. Horning

Preparation date

May 2014

Date [inclusive]

1979-2013

Extent

4.0 Cubic feet

PROVENANCE

The records of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center at the University of Pennsylvania were transferred to the University Archives in 2002 (accession number 2002: 52) and 2014 (accession number 2014: 20). Some materials from the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Alliance (LGBA) were transferred from Van Pelt Library in 1998 (accession number 1998: 47) and added to this collection.

ARRANGEMENT

The records of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center at the University of Pennsylvania are organized into six series – Diversity Education, Domestic Partner Benefits, General File, HIV/AIDS Awareness and Education, Other LGBT Organizations, and Publications – each of which are arranged alphabetically.

AGENCY HISTORY

The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Center at the University of Pennsylvania provides support for Penn’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and allied (LGBTQA) students, staff, and faculty. It provides a confidential and non-judgmental place in which to embrace and discuss sexuality and gender. The Center seeks to create a sense of community among LGBTQA persons, engender pride, and provide learning and leadership opportunities. It also provides meeting space for several affiliated graduate and undergraduate student organizations.

The origins of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center date to 1982. Following a spate of disturbing homophobic incidents on campus, the University hired Bob Schoenberg, a Philadelphia-area social worker and 1968 graduate from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Work, to become the University’s Gay and Lesbian Program Advisor. Schoenberg was to be a permanent spokesman for the LGBTQA community in the university administration, provide LGBTQA students with mentoring and support, and to serve as the official advisor to Penn’s LGBTQA student group, Lesbians and Gays at Penn (LGAP, which became the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance (GLBA) in 1989). Working part-time, Schoenberg divided his time between the Student Life Office and the University Counseling Service. By the early 1990s, Schoenberg had become a full-time director with a support staff, and the Center moved to new space in 3537 Locust Walk.

In 2000, two members of the Class of 1985, Larry Goodhand and Vincent Griski, presented a major financial gift to Penn. This gift, coupled with donations from other alumni and friends, allowed for the renovation of a historic 1870s carriage house located at 3907 Spruce Street. The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center at the University of Pennsylvania officially opened in its new building in June 2002.

SCOPE and CONTENT

The records of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center at the University of Pennsylvania document thirty-five years of education, outreach and support by and for the University’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and allied (LGBTQA) students and employees.

There is considerable documentation of the struggle to achieve medical benefits for the same-sex partners of University employees that took place throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s. There is also documentation of the process to create an official university policy regarding HIV and AIDS during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and documentation of the planning and execution of a diversity education event that took place during Labor Day Weekend in 1990.

The publication series includes community resource guides, clippings of LGBT-related articles from The Daily Pennsylvanian, OUTlines newsletter, and supplements to The Daily Pennsylvanian that were produced for the University’s annual Bisexual Gay Lesbian Awareness Days (B-GLAD). The material from the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance consists entirely of Daily Pennsylvanian clippings and was integrated into the clippings sub-series.

Finally, there is a some documentation, mostly in the form of correspondence, pertaining to other University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia-area LGBTQA organizations.

Controlled Access Headings

Subject(s)

Homosexuality and education — United States

University of Pennsylvania. Lesbian Gay Bisexual Center

Inventory