History
Long-time campus activists John White and Sarah Archibald at the LGBTRC Dedication Celebration, Nov. 8, 1999.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, concerned staff, faculty, and student activists sought to establish institutional support for the LGBT campus community and its issues. The Chancellor's Advisory Committee on LGBT issues (CACLGBTI) specifically recommended a staffed Resource Center in correspondences and reports to the Chancellor. This work culminated in the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee, which aided by other bodies (Associated Student Council, the Chancellor's Commission on Diversity, the UCLGBTA Steering Committee and the Umbrella Group) drafted a formal proposal, Proposal to establish a Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center at UCSD, that was submitted to Chancellor Dynes in September 1998.
UCSD Chancellor Robert C. Dynes formally dedicating the LGBT Resource Center on Nov. 8, 1999.
Following the submission of the Proposal, a formal dialogue between the CACLGBTI and the Office of the Chancellor took place, discussing the need for safe space and institutional resources. Finally, in March 1999, the Chancellor appointed a Steering Committee to establish a LGBT Resource Center, and allocated a set of rooms and budget for operations and staff.
On November 8, 1999, Chancellor Robert C. Dynes (pictured above) officially dedicated the LGBT Resource Center for the UCSD campus community.
More than doubling the size of the previous space, the new LGBT Resource
Center has public and private space, a large conference
room, small group meeting room, common kitchen, gender
neutral restroom and three offices. The new space has a
combined common room and library, integrating the social and
academic aspects of our space. The new space also functions
as the David Bohnett Wireless
CyberCenter at UCSD. Through the graciousness of the David Bohnett Foundation, the Center is home to 10
laptop computers, which can be checked out and utilized
throughout the space by anyone in the community. Along with
the laptops computers there is a dedicated printer and
scanner for the community to access.
The LGBT Resource Center had a remarkable history at UCSD before opening its physical
space. Beginning as a small, two room operation in November
of 1999, with only 300 square feet, the Center has since
experienced dramatic growth. Housed in temporary space of
960 square feet at University Center 312 since February
2002, the Center is in the final stages of transitioning to
a permanent home, which will be approximately 2,300 square
feet.
In the Spring of 2002 a Building Advisory Committee was established to determine the new location for a number of facilities at UCSD, including the new Women's Center, the new LGBT Resource center, and a new Student Lounge and Restaurant. The committee included a number of faculty, staff
and students who were charged with responsibility for making the decisions around the new space.
In the Spring of 2002 a Building Advisory Committee was established to determine the new location for a number of facilities at UCSD, including the new Women's Center, the new LGBT Resource center, and a new Student Lounge and Restaurant. The committee included a number of faculty, staff
and students who were charged with responsibility for making the decisions around the new space.
The new site was chosen in the fall of 2002. Soon afterwards,
architects were selected. The small, local firm PUBLIC was selected,
and the founding architects, James Brown and Jim Gates worked closely
with our community to design a space that really met the needs of those
who utilized the space. Jim visited both an LGBTQIA meeting and QPOC
meeting to get a sense of how groups utilized our current space.
In coordination with our architects, the outside of the new LGBT Resource Center will have numerous very large screens which cover the floor-to-ceiling windows in our new space. The screens are moveable on sliders, so they can allow sunlight in, or block sunlight as desired. The screens on the east side of the building are reflections of the eucalyptus grove, with large letters "LG" "BT" and "RC" in orange.
In coordination with our architects, the outside of the new LGBT Resource Center will have numerous very large screens which cover the floor-to-ceiling windows in our new space. The screens are moveable on sliders, so they can allow sunlight in, or block sunlight as desired. The screens on the east side of the building are reflections of the eucalyptus grove, with large letters "LG" "BT" and "RC" in orange.
The screens on the north side are grasping hands in muted, pastel rainbow colors.
The screens on the south side, which front the entrance of the building,
are matching, and have an artistic rendering of a graffiti art piece
portraying Wonder Woman. The art was originally found in the Visual
Arts area of Mandeville Center.
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