March 2024 Newsletter

New Programs in Development

Webinar Series Launches March 20

We are very happy to be launching our new webinar series this month! Our first offering is a collaboration with Point Foundation, the country’s largest LGBTQ scholarship-granting nonprofit, that will highlight the very real impact anti-LGBTQ and anti-DEI laws are having now on the well-being of everyone on campus. Our members Jamie MaKinster, Lori Messinger, and Manny Velasquez will be joined by two Point Foundation ambassadors. Register here.

Mentoring & Career Development

We are deep in the process of designing our new mentoring and career development program. Thanks to everyone (52 of you) who filled out our survey. We asked respondents about four different models of mentoring, and members said they were interested in all of them. No model received less than 90% yes and maybe votes combined. These results have really helped us understand what members need and want in a mentoring program. We heard important information from those looking for mentors as well as those who were interested in serving as mentors. For example, the number one response to the question “What would you like to achieve through this program personally or professionally?” was “a new position.” The second most frequent response was “helping others achieve career advancement.” 


Our design group is led by board member Kenro Kusumi, Dean of Natural Sciences, at Arizona State University. We will be announcing our new program in the coming months. 



And (drum roll) the winner of the 50% discount on their 2024 Leadership Institution registration is Enrique Morales-Diaz, Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs at SUNY Oneonta. See you in October Enrique!

Welcome New Institutional Members

Arizona State University

Bard College at Simon’s Rock

Stockton University

San Diego City College

Santa Monica College

(as of 3/15/2024)

Council of Presidents Virtual Meeting

This year, we anticipate having three of this gathering of current and former presidents, chancellors, and CEOs. Our first meeting will be March 26 at 2 p.m. Eastern. This will be a virtual meeting. Please RSVP to Jim Berg to receive the Zoom invitation.

Leadership Institute, October 15-18, 2024 

The 2024 Leadership Institute will take place on October 15-18 on the shared campus of the University of Washington, Bothell, and Cascadia College (see above). Just 30-40 minutes from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The planning committee for began meeting in February. Look for more information in your email soon, including ways that you can get involved.

If you’re in the Seattle area, join us at the Velvet Elk, 3605 S. McClellan St., from 6 to 8 pm on March 28. This is an informal mixer for our friends in the Pacific Northwest to support LGBTQ Leaders in Higher Education. We are the only national organization dedicated to developing LGBTQ leadership and advocacy in higher education. Please RSVP to Jim Berg to receive the Zoom invitation.

More Webinars

NOTE: Initialize your account on our website to make sure you have access to our upcoming programs. It's simple, go to our website and log in, if necessary, you will be prompted to change your password (or update your membership).


We will be using the website for Webinar registrations starting in April, for mentoring program sign-ups, and more. Remember we have a discord server for member communications as well.


April 22: 3:30 Eastern. Webinar: Intergenerational Leadership, Collaboration, and Healing

Intergenerational communication and engagement is commonplace in higher education. Every year we welcome perpetually young learners and integrate younger professionals to our communities and institutions. At times, this intergenerational engagement animates tension, but it need not drive conflict. Meaningful intergenerational collaboration and leadership affords a wholeness of perspective to support strategic adaptations and healing responses to the socio-cultural change, political discord, economic flux, and advancements in digital technology that are jostling the foundations of higher education. This webinar will explore approaches to and opportunities for academic leadership informed by conscious generational awareness and proactive engagement across generations. Facilitator: Jonathan Rossing, PhD. Gonzaga University


May 16: Noon, Eastern. Webinar: Conscious and Inclusive Language for Academic Administrators

Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect, and is sensitive to differences. In this 60-minute webinar, Thoko Kamwendo (PhD; she/her) and D. Scott (PhD, JD; they/them) will introduce participants to a framework for using conscious and inclusive language. Importantly, this is about language use in context – rather than a list of words to say or not to say, this is about using critical thinking and compassion to communicate in a specific context. The webinar will address some of the principles of conscious language and how these relate to the work of leading academic communities. As the language used around a variety of identities is becoming increasingly politicized in the context of higher education institutions, the principles of conscious and inclusive language can provide a bedrock for communicating with care and avoiding harm.


Registration will begin after March 20, 2024. Check our website for updates.

Use Our Job Board

The Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (UBC), Sunny Hill Health Centre, and the Centre for Human Early Learning Partnership invite applications for a successful candidate eligible to be nominated for the approved Sunny Hill BC Leadership Chair in Child Development in the Department of Pediatrics, and appointed a faculty position at the rank of Professor with tenure.



Have a job to fill? Institutional members may post for one position for free on our job board. Check it out.

Become a Partner This Year

We are welcome inquiries from companies and organizations to become a year-long PARTNER with us. We honor our sponsors from the past and look forward to working with our partners in the future. This is more than just a change in terminology. We believe that our relationships are more than one-way and about more than one event. To learn about partnership opportunities, email Jim Berg.


lgbtqleaders.net | [email protected]

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