A large group of Hamline community members marching in a pride parade

Sexualities and Gender Diversity Programs

Affirming and supporting the LGBTQIA community

Hamline University's campus-wide Sexualities and Gender Diversity Programs are focused on creating a dynamic campus community that affirms and supports sexual and gender diversity and promotes healthy and safe relationships. This work is part of the larger campus-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion work, to develop a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students, faculty, and staff. LGBTQIA people come from every walk of life, and our communities include people who are affected by every system of oppression, not just homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia.

In order to create a supportive and welcoming environment, programs have been developed for faculty, staff, and students. These programs include campus wide training and other educational events, specific leadership training opportunities for students, and training for faculty and staff to develop and create more welcoming classroom and community spaces on campus. We work to create opportunities to foster mentoring relationships between faculty, staff, and students. Additional campus programs encourage faculty and staff to take leadership on LGBTQIA issues in their offices and academic departments and encourage students to take leadership in their academic work and in the student organizations where they are members and leaders.

Groups

Student programming

Get involved with Hamline’s LGBTQIA student groups and events.

Learn more

Transform

Find out more about Hamline’s trans* identified student group. Contact t. aaron hans for more information.

Join

LGBTQIA Coalition

Learn about the mission of the LGBTQIA Coalition at Hamline University.

Find out more

Get involved

Hamline faculty and staff have a variety of ways to get involved and be supported here at Hamline. Each semester we offer LGBTQIA educational events and programs, faculty and staff discussion opportunities, and the opportunity to participate in the Queer2Peer Mentoring program.
- LGBTQIA Faculty and Staff Brown Bag Lunches (on hold until further notice) invites all LGBTQIA identified staff and faculty to a brown bag lunch and discussion on the third Monday of each month from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Giddens Learning Center Room 138S Faculty Lounge. The group begins with talking about what is happening on campus and shifts to what is happening out in the community.
- Queer2Peer (on hold for 2022/2023 academic year) is a mentoring program established to help students develop a positive LGBTQIA identity while successfully navigating Hamline. As a faculty or staff mentor, you can be matched with and build a mentoring relationship with a student mentor and an incoming first year student mentee. Your role is to assist your student mentor in offering support, guidance and resources to the incoming first year LGBTQIA student. If you are interested in joining Queer2Peer, apply to be a mentor or mentee.
Graduate students have a variety of opportunities and ways that they can get involved on campus. Specific LGBTQIA initiatives have come out of different graduate programs.

Additionally, graduate students are encouraged to participate in Sexualities and Gender Diversity Educational Programs and trainings, apply to be Queer2Peer mentors, apply for graduate funding to attend conferences related to LGBTQIA issues, and participate in LGBTQIA programs across campus.

To keep up to date with events and happenings sign up for the LGBTQIA Listserv or contact t. aaron hans at tahans@hamline.edu.
Check out our upcoming events on Presence, Hamline's student event portal.

To keep up-to-date with events and happenings sign up for the LGBTQIA email list.

A note about language

LGBTQIA is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer, intersex, and asexual. The intent is to represent these identities and also related identities not explicitly included in the acronym.

Trans* refers to the broad community that encompasses the spectrum of gender identities that includes but is not limited to: transgender, transsexual, crossdresser, drag, genderqueer, two spirit (and other indigenous community identities), androgynous, a-gender, bigender, and people who are gender diverse and gender expressive. The asterisk is used as a visible signifier of the complexity and diversity of trans* communities.

Office of Inclusive Excellence Diversity resources

Hamline's LGBTQIA+ history

Hamline University has a rich LGBTQIA+ history. Mariah Timm, a previous Sexuality and Gender Diversity Programs intern, researched Hamline’s queer history and created the timeline below to honor the community members who fought for their rights and the rights and privileges we enjoy today so that we may remember their efforts and do the same for the people who come after us.

Timm extends an invitation to those who would like to continue this work:

“Hamline’s queer history is rich. Through adversity, our community has held strong and cared for one another. I am not a historian, nor someone who is tied to academia, but I am a queer person that feels revived in discovering and learning about queer ancestors. We’ve just scratched the surface of documenting the arc of Hamline’s queer story, and though unfortunately I am unable to continue this research, I would love to see this project live on. If any students, staff, faculty, or community members want to help contribute to our work, please email queer@hamline.edu.”

A timeline of LGBTQIA+ struggle and equality at Hamline

Year	Event
1975	The Hamline Year Book the Liner mentions “gayness” for the first time.
1991	The first HUSC chartered student organization for gay, lesbian, and bisexual students is formed. GLBC and Friends' mission was to “provide a safe and strong support network for gay, lesbian and bisexual students through meetings and social activities.” GLBC and Friends later changed its name to Queers and Peers.
1992	Hamline hires an openly lesbian Dean of Students, Marilyn Deppe.
1994	Hamline University’s Board of Trustees approves the university's current Diversity Policy.
1995	Professor Máel Embser-Herbert leads a first First Year Seminar on the topic of HIV/AIDS.
1998	The Merv Meyers-Jeff Nash Scholarship is founded, established by Dwight P. Joyner (CLA ‘86) in honor of Professor Merv Meyer and his partner Jeff Nash. The award recognizes an undergraduate junior or senior student with financial need who is self-proclaimed lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender student, and is actively involved in community service. The recipients of this award demonstrate a legacy of service to the LGBTQIA and Hamline University communities.
2000	The LGBTQIA+ student organization changes its name from Queer to Peers to Spectrum. Hamline’s faculty and staff begin to fight for domestic partner benefits.
2002	A new LGBTQIA+ centered course debuts: Sexuality, Gender Identity, & Law, taught by Professor Máel Embser-Herbert.
2005	Hamline establishes the Safe Zone Program for students, faculty, and staff with the guidance and leadership of founding coordinators Carlos Sneed and Javier Guiterrez and many other current and previous staff. Hamline hires its first employee focused on LGBTQ specific programming and resources in the Multicultural Life office.
2012	Students protest and occupy Old Main to object to former Hamline University’s President Hanson’s refusal to make a statement on the Minnesota Gay Marriage amendment. The first Q-Unity annual three-day camping retreat for queer students to learn and grow into their queerness.
2013	LGBTQIA+ mentorship based program Queer 2 Peer begins. Trans community and support group Transform begins.
2015	The Safe Zone Program is renamed the Rainbow Inclusion Network based on the message and the frame to show that Hamline is welcoming and inclusive for LGBTQIA+ communities.
2018	Students begin an all-gender restroom campaign to rename all the single stall restrooms. As of fall 2018, there are 17 all-gender restrooms on campus.
2020	The Love Boldly initiative passes a resolution in order for Hamline to become a reconciling university. The resolution was unanimously passed by the Faculty Council, the Hamline University Staff Association (HUSA) and the Hamline University Student Congress (HUSC). Hamline’s welcoming statement as a reconciling university is: Throughout its history, Hamline University has strived to create a diverse and inclusive learning community. As a school that invites all and is committed to continued learning and growth, Hamline University welcomes and celebrates people of all educational backgrounds, nationalities, religious and spiritual identities, socio-economic classes, mental and physical abilities and disabilities, marital statuses, cultural identities, racial and ethnic identities, immigration statuses, veteran status, gender expressions, sexual orientations, and gender identities. Canvas and Workday, which Hamline uses for academics, courses, and work study, are updated to include preferred name options and pronouns. QTBIPOC forms as a student group to provide queer and trans* students of color a chance to connect and to create a community on campus.
2022	Drew Hall renovations includes updated gender inclusive restrooms, heralding a new era of bathroom access in the Hamline dorms. Each bathroom now has full enclosures and space to change in the shower stalls with complete privacy.

Upcoming events

Mar 28

QTIBIPOC Social

QTIBIPOC is our programming for our LGBTQIA+ BIPOC students. Join us for Ice cream, cocoa, snacks, and button/sticker making!

Mar 30

Trans Day of Visibility Movie Screening

Sexualities and Gender Diversity Initiatives will host a screening of Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria and a zine-making activity on trans joy...

Contact information

Sexualities and Gender Diversity Programs

Hamline University
1536 Hewitt Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55104
United States
t. aaron hans

651-523-2380

tahans@hamline.edu