Prism Center Records

The Prism Center works with all members of the UVM community to create a more socially just, equitable, and inclusive campus through education, advocacy, and community building. The Center was first established as LGBTQA Services and was given an office in the Allen House with the Center for Cultural Pluralism in 1999, but the community was visible and active before the office was formally charged. LGBTQA stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, and Ally.

National Coming Out Day/Week (NCOW) has been observed on campus every year since 1990. Activism, discussion groups, film screenings, theatre, speakers, singers, and exhibits are just some examples of past NCOW events. The week was expanded into LGBTQ History month. A similar program is usually planned for LGTBQApril. LGBTQAwards and Rainbow Graduation celebrates graduates and recognizes accomplishments over the past year. Other annual events focusing on community building include Home for the Holidays before winter break and the Welcome Back Barbecue at the beginning of the fall semester. More frequent events such as Crockpot Comfort and Game Nights have a similar focus. The Center provides an affirming space for social support groups to meet and discuss issues. Educational programming for the campus community takes many forms such as bespoke training for UVM students and departments.

Advocacy on campus can be seen through participation on various President's Commissions regarding the campus environment for LGBTQA persons; initiatives such as the Gender Inclusive Restroom Task Force (GIRT); Gender-Inclusive housing options through Residence Life and Living/Learning Communities; and the ability to indicate a preferred name, pronoun, and gender throughout campus systems. The Faithful Narratives Conference was convened on the Center's tenth anniversary in 2009. The LGBTQA Center was initially coordinated by dian fitzpatrick (1998-1999) then led by directors Paij Wadley-Bailey (1999-2001), Dot Brauer (2001-2017), and Kate Jerman (since 2017). The LGBTQA Center was renamed the Prism Center in September 2018.

The campus had an LGBT+ student group long before the Center was established. This group has had several different names including Gay Student Union (established 1975), Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance (GLBA), Free2Be (followed by various acronyms such as GLBA and LGBTQA), and Queer Student Union (since 2018). Note that the Translating Identity Conference (TIC) was entirely administered by students from 2002-2016. Other conferences held at UVM such as Blackboard Jungle (organized by Human Resources, Diversity, and Multicultural Affairs) and Dismantling Rape Culture (organized by the Women's Center) demonstrate the increasingly intersectional nature of the approach to social justice issues.