Affirming LGBTQ+ Students in Higher Education

by Rivera, David P.; Abreu, Roberto L.; Gonzalez, Kirsten A.

• ISBN13: 9781433833083
• ISBN10: 1433833085
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2022-05-31
• Publisher: American Psychological Association

Summary

This book will guide institutions of higher learning in making practical and effective changes at many levels to better support LGBTQ+ students and, ultimately, improve the campus climate for all.

For college students with marginalized gender identities and sexual orientations, simply getting through a day of study—not to mention work, exercise, and social life—can be taxing in the extreme, due to the additional weight of minority stress. However, there are many steps higher education leaders can take, both to boost students’ resilience and to dismantle the very structures that create minority stress. These steps may involve changes to facilities, student health and resource centers, housing, administrative policy, faculty training, curriculum, and other areas.
 
This book presents research-based needs assessment frameworks and best practices for integrating a broad array of institutional changes to improve LGBTQ+ students’ higher education experience. Chapters describe student populations with multiple intersecting identities: transgender students, students of color, students with disabilities, student athletes, international students, and first-generation college students. The authors also address issues unique to different settings, including community colleges, religious institutions, and historically Black colleges and universities.

Author Biography

David P. Rivera, PhD, is an associate professor of counselor education at Queens College-City University of New York. His professional experience includes college counseling, higher education administration, and also includes consultations and training on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. His research is guided by critical theories and social justice frameworks, and explores cultural competency development and issues impacting the marginalization and wellbeing of people of color and oppressed sexual orientation and gender identity groups, with a focus on microaggressions. Learn more about Dr. Rivera’s work on Twitter @DavidPRivera or Instagram at riveradavidp.

Roberto L. Abreu, PhD, is an assistant professor of Counseling Psychology and the director of the Collective Healing and Empowering VoicEs through Research and Engagement (¡Chévere!) in the Department of Psychology at the University of Florida (UF). Dr. Abreu’s research explores ways in which marginalized communities resist systemic oppression and promote bienestar colectivo (collective well-being), with a particular focus on Latinx communities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) and the intersection of Latinx and LGBTQ people and communities. Follow Dr. Abreu’s work on Twitter at @RLuisAbreu & @ChevereLab, Instagram at cheverelab, Facebook at Cheverelab.

Kirsten A. Gonzalez, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology, specializing in counseling psychology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). She is also a core faculty member in Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies and Latin American & Caribbean studies at UTK. Dr. Gonzalez's research and clinical interests include the psychological well-being of LGBTQ+ Black, Indigenous, and Other People of Color (BIPOC), migration experiences of Latinx community members, and allyship and social justice advocacy interventions. Follow Dr. Gonzalez on Twitter @DrKAGonzalez or Instagram @theresistlab. Learn more about Dr. Gonzalez’s work at https://resistlab.squarespace.com/

Table of Contents

Contributors

Introduction. Affirming All LGBTQ+ Students in Higher Education: A Call to Action
Kirsten Gonzalez, Saumya Arora, Roberto Abreu & David Rivera

Part I. Contexts

Chapter 1. Institutionalizing LGBTQ+ Student Support

Anneliese Singh
 

Chapter 2. Exploring the Complexities of Black Sexual and Gender Minorities in Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Angela Ferguson
 

Chapter 3. Planning and Building New Foundations: Developing Proposals for Creating LGBTQI+ Resources at Community Colleges

Emalinda McSpadden, Leilani Masse, & Ines I. Almarante
 

Chapter 4. LGBTQ Students in Non-Affirming Religious Institutions

Theresa Stueland Kay & Joshua R. Wolff
 

Chapter 5. One Model, Multiple Locations: The Salisbury University Safe Spaces Program

Diane S. Illig, Michele M. Schlehofer & Tara Taylor
 

Part II. Student Populations
Chapter 6. Recommendations and Advocacy Strategies for Meeting the Needs of Transgender College Students

Luke Allen & lore dickey
 

Chapter 7. Supporting LGBTQ+ College Students with Disabilities

Franco Dispenza, Merideth Ray & Jamian S. Coleman
 

Chapter 8. Creating Safe Spaces for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) Student-Athletes

Taylor McCavanagh & Michael C. Cadaret
 

Chapter 9. Navigating New Terrain: Sexual and Gender Diverse College Students Who Are the First in Their Families to Attend College

Alison Cerezo & Amaranta Ramirez
 

Chapter 10. Supporting Rural LGBTQ+ Students in Higher Education Settings

Joel Goodrich & Michael James McClellan
 

Chapter 11. Supporting LGBTQ+ International Students in Higher Education

Nadine Nakamura, Jan Estrellado & Saeromi Kim
 

Chapter 12. Resisting Colonization in Higher Education and Empowering LGBTQ+ Students: Mobilizing Toward Liberation

Roberto Abreu, Saumya Arora, Kirsten Gonzalez & David Rivera

Index
About the Editors