Our Services: Outreach
Speakers Bureau | Social and Educational Programs | Student/Org Support
Travel Fund | Annual Events
Speakers Bureau
The Speakers Bureau provides panels of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and allied UNC students the opportunity to share their personal stories about being LGBTQ or an Ally on campus. Panelists respond to questions and comments from an audience, and are used in classrooms, trainings, and workshops.
Panels:
- provide information about the UNC climate, increase LGBTQ visibility, and should be educational
- consist of 3 to 5 people that identify as LGBTQ or Allies
- are comprised of UNC students, faculty, or staff and sometimes alumnae/i or local community members
- strive to be diverse and able to represent the UNC Chapel Hill campus and surrounding communities
- typically run one hour in length
Contact us at lgbtq@unc.edu to schedule Speakers Bureau panelists to visit your classroom, training or workshop.
Social and Educational Programs
The LGBTQ Center sponsors programs such as brown bag lunch discussions, monthly social events, major speakers and film screenings. UNC students, faculty, staff and community members can request programming for a course, workshop or organization.
Programming may include topics such as:
- “Coming Out” Issues
- Relationship/Dating
- Gender Identity/Development
- How to be an Ally
- Sexuality
- Transgender Issues
- Same-sex violence
- Speakers Bureau
- LGBTQ Resources
- Discrimination
- Campus Climate Issues
To request a program, please submit a completed Programming Request form. LGBTQ Center staff will contact you within one week after receiving a completed form.
Student/Organizational Support
The LGBTQ Center can assist individual students, student organizations, departments, and other University offices in activity and events planning. Requests can be made for funding, sponsorship, programming, leadership development and other types of organizational support.
Requests will be considered only for events taking place on the UNC-CH campus and must be submitted no later than two weeks prior to the event. No fees may be charged of students to attend the event. The following types of expenses are not considered for funding by the LGBTQ Center:
-
Programs and events that do not have a clearly defined educational component and/or a cultural heritage component
-
Research leading to a degree unless it benefits the greater campus
- Stipends to university employees or students
To make a request for sponsorship or co-sponsorship, please complete the LGBTQ Center Sponsorship Request form.
Travel Funds
The LGBTQ Center can support undergraduate and graduate student travel to national and regional conferences pertaining to sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. These conferences must be pertinent to the student’s academic course of study or leadership development. Preference is given to students who are attending conferences for the first time, for non-graduating students that will be able to bring information from the conference back to campus, students who have been involved in campus LGBTQ work, and for students who will be giving presentations.
Support for travel to national conferences (e.g. NGLTF’s Creating Change) is available up to $500 for each student. Student support for travel to local and regional conferences is available up to $250 for each student. The total number of students that can receive travel grants from the LGBTQ Center depends on availability of funds in the LGBTQ Center budget. Students are encouraged to apply to multiple sources to receive travel support. If approved, applicant is responsible for submitting receipts to document expenses.
Expenses which can be covered by LGBTQ Center Travel Grants:
- Conference registration
- Transportation (airfare, bus, train, taxi and shuttle bus only)
- Gas reimbursement for personal car
- Hotel accommodations (room and tax only)
Expenses not covered by LGBTQ Center Travel Grants
- Organizational dues
- Food reimbursement
- Incidentals
- Rental car reimbursement
- Hotel costs other than room and tax
To apply, please fill out the LGBTQ Center Travel Grant Request Form.
Annual Events
The LGBTQ Center hosts and participates in a number of annual events, including:
- Coming Out Week: Week of October 11
- National Coming Out Day: October 11
- Transgender Awareness Week: November
- Ally Week: January/February
- Celebration Week: Spring Semester
- National Day of Silence: April
- Lavender Graduation
If you would like to be involved in planning these events for the center, please contact us at lgbtq@unc.edu.
