About our Name Change

The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center staff team is excited to announce our new name. On July 1, 2021, the LBGT Resource Center will become The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center!
 
On this page you will find: 
The purpose of this page is to inform our community about the change and share details that may impact internal and external partners. 
 

Rationale for the Name Change

In 2006, when the LBGT Resource Center was founded, the acronym representing our communities was far less standardized than it is today. Today our center’s name is an outlier among the Big Ten schools and Michigan’s public institutions. While it has served us well, the name “LBGT Resource Center” now presents many challenges.

Challenges with “LBGT Resource Center” include:

  • The acronym “LBGT” is not the common order of the acronym. The more correct and current acronym is “LGBTQIA2S+.”
  • The name does not represent us well. People have assumed that the use of “LBGT” was an error on our part. 
  • The name is not as inclusive as we would like. “LBGT” leaves out many important identities.
    Our students are aware of these concerns and often ask us about changing our name. Critiques of our current name and requests for us to change have emerged in many informal conversations, as well as in more formal assessments.
The benefits of “The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center”:

  • It is more inclusive of the diversity of sexual and gender identities, including asexual and agender communities. 
  • It positions us as a resource for all students, as well as the faculty and staff we are already serving.
  • While our focus is on LGBTQIA2S+ students, this new name conveys that we are a resource for everyone, including people of all genders and sexualities and all campus affiliations (faculty, staff, students, alumnx, parents, community members, prospective students, etc…), those hoping to support and affirm LGBTQIA2S+ community members, and those seeking to learn. 
  • Our name change reflects a trend in our field. This shift also follows best and better practices in LGBTQIA2S+ resource center work. This name is in alignment with our counterparts within the Big Ten and across the nation.
  • The inclusion of “Campus” demonstrates the breadth of our work and shows that we are more than a “resource.” We are community builders who create a space for students to be powerfully and authentically themselves. We are a “home away from home” and a safe haven. We shift culture and work tirelessly to create a more inclusive campus for all people to be exactly who they are. 
    • Further, naming us a “Campus Center” will underscore our position as a resource for the MSU community. We receive many requests for support each week from people across the country that we cannot address. This name change will help to communicate our role and relationship to the greater community, as well as our focus on MSU community members.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are you changing your name?

In short, “LBGT” just wasn’t expansive enough to represent the identities we serve, people often thought it was a error since “LGBTQIA2S+” is more broadly used, and this name change is something current and graduated students have wanted for a very long time. Read more on our page about what this change means to us.   

 

When does it go into effect? 

Thursday, July 1st 2021. If you have “LBGT Resource Center” on any websites or materials, please ensure our new name is updated. 

 

This new name seems really close to The Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen). Won’t that be confusing? Does the GenCen know this is happening?  

The Center for Gender in Global Context leadership was consulted during the exploration phase of the name change process and GenCen enthusiastically supports the change. 

 

Requests for Internal and External Partners: 

We ask that our partners support our name change while the community becomes more accustomed to our new name. Our previous name, email, and website address appear on many MSU websites and on print materials distributed by numerous departments and offices. 

 The new name is: The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center

 Notes about the name: 

  • Please do not use the ampersand (“&”)
  • The acronym for the Center is: GSCC

 Campus partners must update their web and print resources on July 1, 2021. Below you will find the new information or the anticipated date that information will be available: 

  •     New website: www.gscc.msu.edu [will be live by July 1, 2021!]
  •     New email address: gscc@msu.edu  [will be live by July 1, 2021!]
  •     Blurb about the Center:
    • The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center is a student-centered campus resource that works to celebrate, affirm, and empower LGBTQIA2S+ members of the Michigan State University community. Through education, engagement, advocacy, and student support, we work to create an inclusive campus culture for people of all genders and sexual identities. We provide intersectional educational and social programming and collaborate with student leaders and campus partners to build community and increase a sense of belonging.

This is the new logo:

stacked signature

signature

 

 

About