George Mason University’s LGBTQ+ Faculty/Staff Alliance provides opportunities for LGBTQIA + faculty and staff to socialize, develop community and discuss ways to further create a more inclusive on-campus environment. While the alliance has existed informally for years, it created bylaws in March 2021 and has begun a concerted effort to grow in its visibility, outreach and advocacy.
“We’ve rebooted, and we’re in a place of growth,” said Holly Mason Badra, alliance secretary and the Department of English’s graduate admissions coordinator and fiscal manager. “We want to do good work and create community, and make sure folks know that we exist.”
The alliance states on its website that its purpose is to support Mason’s mission and vision through the promotion of an inclusive and affirming campus climate for all faculty, staff and students. The group is open to all currently employed full- or part-time Mason faculty and staff, including graduate assistants. The executive committee meets monthly, and the group hosts in-person and virtual events. It is recognized by Human Resources and Payroll as an Employee Resource Group.
“The alliance is providing LGBTQ+ visibility on all our campuses,” said Christopher Carr, College of Engineering and Computing associate dean and chief diversity officer and co-chair of the alliance. “It’s a place for resources, a forum for discussion to think through and elevate concerns. It’s a social space, a place in which you come with your affinity and be open and honest about that.”
The alliance’s stepped-up efforts can be traced to the LGBTQ+ Resource Center and conversations with Josh Kinchen, the center’s director.
“When I arrived at Mason in 2018, I learned the previous iteration of the alliance was defunct,” Kinchen said. “I got to work assembling our colleagues to reform it into a more formal structure. I'm proud that it is back and stronger than ever.”
David Powers Corwin, alliance co-chair, said they plan to host events on all the campuses.
“Right now, of course, we are still in a COVID world, but we have more plans for the future, such as guest speakers,” said Corwin, instructional faculty in the School of Integrative Studies and associate director of the Women and Gender Studies Program.
Among the resources the alliance provides is an Out List consisting of Mason employees who identify as LGBTQIA+, some of whom are willing to serve as mentors and part of an informal network for the LGBTQIA+ community.
“Your LGBTQ+ identity can at times be an invisible identity and one that people don’t outwardly see or note,” Carr said. “Sometimes you can find yourself assimilating, and sometimes you can find yourselves in environments that are hostile. Having a community space like the one the alliance is creating for staff and faculty is important for all these reasons.”