The 2024 LGBT Plus College Conference will be held on Middle Tennessee State University’s campus April 4-6, 2024. There will be an option to attend virtually. The conference is free to attend for everyone. Please register to help in planning. All posted times are for the central time zone.
Conference Theme – All Identities–Standing Strong
The conference is focused on helping participants to be more effective advocates for themselves and their communities, and to help them leverage the power that comes from standing strong.
How can academic administrators, advisors, faculty, and student affairs staff improve belonging, engagement, retention, progression to degree, and graduation likelihood for LGBTQ+ students?
The LGBT Plus College Conference is packed with ideas and strategies to leverage our presenters’ expertise into student success.
LGBTQ+ students are at a greater risk of experiencing difficulties than their non-LGBTQ+ peers
“…it is within the higher education context that many students begin to explore and/or disclose their sexual identities, positioning college and university environments with potentially high levels of influence on this process” (Dugan & Yurman, 2011, p. 201).
“Reviews of published campus climate studies for GLBT students universally indicate that these students experience discrimination, harassment, and fear and that the campus climate for them is chilly at best” (Brown, Clarke, Gortmaker, & Robinson-Keilig, 2004, p. 8).
“Taken together, this information suggests that LGBTQ students may face a great deal of adversity from the campus climate. Best practices information shows that campuses can change their policies, procedures, and facilities to be more inclusive” (Tetreault, Fette, Meidlinger, & Hope, 2013, p. 950).
How can you improve your campus climate for LGBTQ+ students?
The LGBT Plus College Conference offers opportunities to explore these issues with experts and thought-leaders from academia and beyond. Learn about the latest research and develop concrete interventions to implement on your campus.
LGBTQ+ employees are at a greater risk of experiencing difficulties in the workplace that affect the bottom line
“For the estimated 8.8 million lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) adults living in the United States (Ramos, Badgett, & Sears, 2008), the concept of spending 25% of a year at work believing they lack the safety to self-identify as LGBT because of fear of losing employment can cause psychological stress, diminished physical health, and reduced work performance (Chun, 2011)” (Hollis & McCalla, 2013).
“A growing body of research demonstrates that not only does this discrimination [against LGBT+ people in the workplace] lead to negative outcomes for the gay and lesbian employees, such as lower levels of job satisfaction and psychological well-being (Griffith & Hebl, 2002), but it also has negative impacts on organizations’ financial performance (Johnston & Malina, 2008; Wang & Schwarz, 2010).”
How can you improve your workplace climate for LGBTQ+ employees?
The LGBT Plus College Conference offers opportunities to explore issues with experts and thought-leaders from academia and beyond. Learn about the latest research and develop concrete interventions to implement in your workplace. By interfacing with students, common issues can be addressed, and the transition to the workplace can be made as smooth as possible.
Benefits for human resource professionals and corporate/workplace leaders:
Get information about challenges faced by LGBTQ+ employees and concrete strategies to address those challenges.
Interact with your peers to share information and strategies.
Influence the next generation of workforce and workplace leaders through interaction and informal mentoring.
Communicate your values and commitment to diversity to your employees and your market.
Registration at the LGBT Plus College Conference is free, and you are encouraged to attend all events. We want your input and participation! (Corporate participants are encouraged to request support for the conference from their organization to keep the conference free for all students.)
Speak to issues of diversity and inclusion of importance to academia, the workplace, marketplace, and community
Provide the leadership expected of higher education to investigate issues from a research, knowledge, and thought perspective and provide answers to the community’s critical questions
