Celebrating LGBTQIA+ History and Culture at Georgetown
As the first Catholic, Jesuit higher education institution to establish an LGBTQ Resource Center (2008), Georgetown celebrates the LGBTQIA+ community and draws upon our commitment to continuing to advance equity and inclusion.
Honoring the LGBTQIA+ Community
Georgetown joins the nation in celebrating LGBTQIA+ History Month, honoring the legacies, accomplishments and contributions of our LGBTQIA+ community to Georgetown and the world at large.
Quick Links
LGBTQIA+ Histories at Georgetown
To acknowledge and record the work done by LGBTQIA+ students from the 1970s to the founding of the LGBTQ Resource Center in 2008, the center created a blog with a timeline of events, archives and interviews with staff, faculty and alumni.
Campus Traditions
Lavender Graduation is a special ceremony during commencement season for LGBTQIA+ undergraduate and graduate students to acknowledge their achievements, contributions and unique experiences at Georgetown.
A Testimonial
“Out@MSB is crucial to creating meaningful visibility on campus. At a university like Georgetown, which can be very internationally focused, people have to realize how important recognized visibility might be for a lot of different international communities.”
Identity and Voices
“As a queer person who had very few, if any, queer role models in science, I hope to serve as a role model for other folks who may have struggled with their identities in the STEM fields.”
“Do the hard work to speak fluently the language of today’s foreign policy experts, but not to forget that you are already fluent in the language of change. The future of national security demands fluency in both.”
“We want to spread the visibility of [LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group] and highlight people within the larger university to show we can thrive on a Jesuit campus.”
Meet the New Associate Director of the LGBTQ Resource Center
After building LGBTQ outreach programs at other Catholic universities, Riley Jelenick joins Georgetown to lead the LGBTQ Resource Center. He hopes to continue to build a welcoming space for students and increase representation for marginalized communities.
Hispanic, Latino, Latinx or Latine?
Are gender-neutral terms like Latinx and Latine tailored English speakers? What’s the right word to use? How do you know who’s a part of the community? Professors Amanda Phillips and Ricardo Ortiz weigh in on the history, complexity and cultural significance of the identity terms they use to describe themselves and their communities.
Researching LGBTQIA+ Past and Present
Pronoun Practices for Teaching and Learning
Creating inclusive learning and work environments for all of our community members to learn and thrive supports our Georgetown values of community in diversity, cura personalis (care of the person) and educating the whole person.
Add Your Pronouns
Getting Involved in the DC Pride Festival
At this year’s DC Pride Festival, medical students from the Hoya Clinic and the Hoya Medical Pride Alliance offered free blood pressure and blood glucose screenings to the hundreds of thousands of people who attended the annual event.
A Testimonial
“Creating more opportunities for women and underrepresented minorities to succeed in the neurosciences has been an important priority of the program since the beginning.”
Legacy of LGBTQIA+ Advocacy
New generations of Georgetown students are taking up the legacy of LGBTQIA+ advocacy, organizing for the community and finding support among each other.