LGBTQ+ Information for Faculty and Staff

Faculty and staff are involved with the LGBTQ+ community in a variety of ways. Attend one of many events offered to the larger Penn State community or explore the many academic and social offerings for the LGBTQ+ community at Penn State. Many faculty and staff also collaborate with the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity to organize speakers, panels, and other events across campus to assist with creating an even more inclusive campus community.

Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity Services

The Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity is equipped to provide many different services, depending on the needs of individuals. Below is a list of some the programs and services we offer:

• Advocacy
• Advising
• Consultation and Referrals
• Community Development
• Diversity Workshops and Education
• Mentorship
• Programming
• Research
• LGBTQ+ Lending Library
• Join one of our listservs to stay current with upcoming events

Academically LGBTQ+

Penn State also has a number of different resources for people interested in the study of human sexuality and gender. The undergraduate minor in Sexuality and Gender Studies addresses human sexuality and gender as they have been conceptualized and investigated by diverse disciplines: humanities (including history and cultural studies), behavioral and social sciences, biological sciences, and visual and performance arts.

Courses in the minor require students to explore scholarship and research on sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender across the lifespan, across cultures, and throughout history. Courses in the minor cover theories of sexuality and gender; sexual orientation; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender movements; the history of sexual norms; queer theory; gender identity; and impact of gender identities and erotic orientations on the arts; etc.

LGBTQ+ Colleague Network Group

The Penn State University Colleague Network Groups (CNGs) are university sponsored employee resource groups for traditionally underrepresented minorities and allies of those groups. The CNGs provide a professional support system that can extend beyond the workplace. Each CNG advocates for a specific demographic within the Penn State faculty and staff community to improve the recruitment and retention efforts as well as the climate for the community as a whole. The CNGs enhance the Penn State culture by providing feedback and programs to develop an environment that fully engages and cultivates all of the faculty and staff of Penn State University.

The mission of the Penn State University LGBTQ+ Colleague Network Group is to raise awareness about the workplace issues faced by LGBTQ+ faculty and staff; provide networking opportunities for LGBTQ+ faculty and staff; and to support the recruitment and retention efforts of LGBTQ+ faculty and staff at Penn State University. In addition, the LGBTQ+ CNG serves as a resource network for all members of the Penn State community.

For more information about the LGBTQ+ Colleague Network Group email list, please contact the LGBTQA Student Resource Center at lgbtq@psu.edu.

Trans and Non-Binary Resources at Penn State

Penn State University is committed to creating a safe and respectful campus for all members of our community including those of all gender identities. Our Trans and Non-Binary Resources page provides general guidelines for specific areas of campus life related to gender identity and gender expression.

Incorporating LGBTQ+ Issues in the Classroom

Please review the following documents regarding the incorporation of LGBTQ+ issues in the classroom environment.

LGBTQ Issues in Your Curriculum 
LGBTQ Assessment for the Classroom 

Business Cards, Email Signatures, and Name Badges

Please see the LINK Transgender and Non-Binary Penn State page if you would like to review resources and policies related to gender diversity and inclusion.  

We encourage more people to include the pronouns they wish to be referred to by in prominent places where their name appears for the first time. For example, in a written biography or staff page of a website, on business cards, in an email signature, on permanent office name badges or office name plates, and on conference or event name tags.

Some individuals have been able to add pronouns to their business cards at Penn State through Multimedia & Print Center.

Email signature with pronouns examples:

Sonya Wilmoth, M.Ed.

Director | Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity

Student Affairs

The Pennsylvania State University

LL011 HUB-Robeson Center

University Park, PA 16802

Phone: (814) 863-1248 

Example Syllabus or Handbook Language

If you teach classes or manage an office's handbook or manual, you might consider inserting information about names and pronouns. Here are some examples:

Full Version

Forms of Address: Names and Pronouns

Our institution's official policy states that "The Pennsylvania State University recognizes the need or preference for members of the University community to refer to themselves by a first name other than their legal first name as well as self-assert a gender other than their legal gender or their gender at the time of birth (AD 84)." One way we can support self-identification is by honoring the name and pronouns that each of us go by.

Many people (e.g. international students, performers/writers, trans & non-binary people, and others) might go by a name in daily life that is different from their legal name. In this classroom, we seek to refer to people by the names that they go by.

Pronouns can be a way to affirm someone's gender identity, but they can also be unrelated to a person's identity. They are simply a public way in which people are referred to in place of their name (e.g. "he" or "she" or "they" or "ze" or something else). In this classroom, you are invited (if you want to) to share what pronouns you go by, and we seek to refer to people using the pronouns that they share. The pronouns someone indicates are not necessarily indicative of their gender identity.

Visit Trans and Non-Binary Penn State to learn more.

Condensed Version

Names and Pronouns: Many people might go by a name in daily life that is different from their legal name. In this classroom, we seek to refer to people by the names that they go by. Pronouns can be a way to affirm someone's gender identity, but they can also be unrelated to a person's identity. They are simply a public way in which people are referred to in place of their name (e.g. "he" or "she" or "they" or "ze" or something else). In this classroom, you are invited (if you want to) to share what pronouns you go by, and we seek to refer to people using the pronouns that they share. The pronouns someone indicates are not necessarily indicative of their gender identity. Visit trans.umd.edu to learn more.

Simple Version

Names and Pronouns: In this classroom, we will respect and refer to people using the names and personal pronouns that they share. Visit Trans and Non-Binary Penn State to learn more.

Broader Statement on Identities

Names/Pronouns and Self Identifications

The Pennsylvania State University recognizes the importance of a diverse student body, and we are committed to fostering equitable classroom environments. I invite you, if you wish, to tell us how you want to be referred to both in terms of your name and your pronouns (he/him, she/her, they/them, etc.). The pronouns someone indicates are not necessarily indicative of their gender identity. Visit Trans and Non-Binary Penn State to learn more.

Additionally, how you identify in terms of your gender, race, class, sexuality, religion, and dis/ability, among all aspects of your identity, is your choice whether to disclose (e.g. should it come up in classroom conversation about our experiences and perspectives) and should be self-identified, not presumed or imposed.

I will do my best to address and refer to all students accordingly and will support you in doing so as well.

General Resources and Community Information

As a center, we recognize the need to provide resources to our community that are both inside and outside of Penn State. With this in mind, we have attempted to provide an array of resources internal and external to Penn State. Please visit our Resource section for an array of resources that might be helpful during your time at Penn State.