As 2014’s 15th Gayest City in America, according to the Advocate magazine, Pittsburgh’s climate for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community is warm and welcoming. With organizations like the Gay and Lesbian Community Center (GLCC), Persad, Gay For Good (G4G) and Steel City Sports our city is abundant with support for all things LGBT. With the start of a new school year, do the Greater Pittsburgh Area’s colleges and universities live up to precedent set throughout the city? Decide for yourself, with this list of LGBT resources within Pittsburgh’s higher education community.
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
Rainbow Alliance is Pitt’s LGBTQA student organization. The group works to ensure that the concerns and interests of Pitt’s LGBTQ students are addressed, while fostering awareness and acceptance throughout the campus community. For more information, visit their new site at:
www.pittrainbow.tumblr.com In addition to the Rainbow Alliance, Pitt has single-use restrooms as well as a variety of resources that can be found online at www.studentaffairs.pitt.edu/lgbtqa.
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
Meg Evans is CMU’s coordinator of LGBTQ resoruces. Evans coordinates programs such as the SafeZone, a diversity training program that provides students with a “network of allies” via university administrators, faculty, staff and students. Plateful of Pride, another of Evans’ programs is a monthly series that gives students the opportunity to discuss LGBTQ issues on campus and in the world today. Their student organization is called Allies. The group, operated through the Student Life Office, creates LGBTQ inclusive programming and houses resources “for people of all sexual and gender identities.” CMU’s Tepper School of Business as well as the Heinz College host organizations of their own, called “Out and Allied at…” For information on Allies, the SafeZone and Plateful of Pride, or visit www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/student-life/lgbtq, or call Meg Evans at (412) 268-2142.
CARLOW UNIVERSITY
LGBT & Allies is Carlow’s awareness organization. For more information, contact pride@carlow.edu
DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY
Lamda acts as Duquesne’s gay, straight alliance, which aims to foster a community of tolerance and acceptance in dealing with LGBT issues on its Catholic campus. The group meets every other Wednesday during the semester, at 6 p.m. in 325 Fisher Hall.
ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY
RMU’s Student Alliance for Equality (SAFE) was formed during the spring 2008 and has been active ever since. The LGBT and allied student organization holds regular meetings and special events, while sponsoring the University’s Day of Silence program in April. Visit them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/safeinyourface.
CHATHAM UNIVERSITY
Chatham University’s LGBTQIA student group, “This is Me! Queer-Straight Alliance,” provides a variety of programming for its students, including organizing LGBTQIA Awareness month every October. The institution officially celebrates LGBTQIA history month and has attended Campus Pride’s college fairs or LGBT friendly colleges in the United States. For more information, visit This is Me! on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/groups/301626953254637
ART INSTITUTE OF PITTSBURGH
The Art Institute of Pittsburgh’s LGBTQIA Pride Club is a recognized student organization at the proprietary school, but its Facebook page hasn’t been active since 2012. For more information on the group, visit their page at: tiny.cc/aippride
COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
CCAC’s gay, straight alliance, aptly titled Family, aims to be just that – to provide LGBTQ students and allies a safe environment in which they can come together and establish a sense of community. The organization was formed in 2010 and is active on CCAC’s South Campus. For more information contact Chris Robinson at (412) 469-6229.
INDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Although it was recently ranked by the Princeton Review as the 17th most unfriendly college for LGBT students in the United States, IUP’s LGBT community can find several sources of support on campus. The Pride Alliance is IUP’s gay, straight alliance and can be reached at pridealliance.wordpress.com. IUP offers its students a small, unstaffed resource room for LGBTQIA students; however, the resources are limited. The room can be accessed in 327 Delaney Hall. Tedd Cogar, Assistant Director for Student Life and Student Conduct, will begin working additionally as the Assistant Director for LGBTQIA Advocacy during the fall, 2014 semester. He can be contacted at tcogar@iup.edu. Finally the GLBT commission acts as an advisory council to the Office of Social Equity and IUP’s president. Formed in 1998, the group works to improve the campus climate for LGBT students. For more information visit www.iup.edu/glbt
CLARION UNIVERSITY
Allies, Clarion University’s gay, straight alliance is dedicated to social activism, the promotion of social equity and the spread of knowledge about the lgbtq community, according to its student organization website at www.clarion.edu/organization/allies.
SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY
Slippery Rock University is the closest University to the Pittsburgh metro area that has an institutionally established student center for those who identify as LGBT. The center is located on the 2nd floor of the Smith Student Center. For more information call (724) 738-4378 or contact Jodi Solito, director, at Jodi.Solito@sru.edu. Visit Slippery Rock’s Pride Center online at www.sru.edu/pride.
