The LGBT Resource Center was founded in 2006 to provide education and resources to UNF with a commitment to support, advocacy and equality for LGBT people. In order to preserve the rich history of activism, community involvement, and progress at UNF, the Center decided to collect and document its story in partnership with the Thomas Carpenter Library. The archival process is meant to honor the individuals who created a foundation for LGBT inclusion at UNF, to document the Center’s origins, and to measure impact and growth of the Center over time. As LGBT inclusion becomes more mainstream, the histories of activism and change sometimes get lost; this project is meant to prevent the erasure of LGBT history at UNF. In collaboration with the Thomas Carpenter Library, the Center’s archival collection was created in 2013. This DHI project will build upon that collection by creating an opportunity for the Center to recommit to the archive project, to make the collection more accessible to the broader community, and to raise visibility about the archival collection.

The project will create a digital archive to store and make publicly accessible data, photos, audio, video, and documents about the LGBT Resource Center and LGBT inclusion at UNF. Artifacts will be uploaded, curated, and made available for the community to learn about the history of the Center. The site will be used for education, research, and planning for the future. UNF students and LGBT Resource Center staff will participate in the process by assisting in archiving current data, conducting interviews, collecting photos, and helping add to the Center’s story.

 

Project leader Kaitlin Legg is the director of the UNF LGBT Resource Center. Her current work focuses on institutional policy and cultural change for transgender inclusion, capacity building for LGBTQ support services, community partnerships and fundraising development, meeting the needs of the LGBTQ community, and outreach-based education. She also facilitates workshops and consults on broad issues of diversity and inclusion. Her research interests include mentoring and LGBTQ students, the efficacy of diversity and inclusion training in organizations, and preparedness of student affairs professionals for serving diverse populations. Kaitlin serves as a Southeast region co-coordinator for the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals, Vice President for Diversity with the Association of Fundraising Professionals (First Coast Chapter), and as a TransAction Florida advisory board member with Equality Florida.

 

Jensen Alex

Project collaborator Jensen Alex is an undergraduate studying philosophy and English here at UNF. He identifies as queer/bisexual, and is also affiliated with Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) on campus. He hopes to pursue graduate work in philosophy of mind and philosophy of language after completing his studies at UNF.

 

 

 

 

Project image: Students write supportive messages at a 2016 vigil for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub massacre