A new LGBTQIA+ Steering Committee is being formed to lead efforts to support equality, inclusion and civil rights protections across the Pitt community.
The committee — announced in October by Clyde Wilson Pickett, vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion — is co-chaired by Todd Reeser, the Dietrich School of Arts & Science’s associate dean for faculty affairs, and Angie Bedford-Jack, interim director of strategic operations for the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
Eventually, the new committee will provide advice and counsel to Chancellor Joan Gabel and senior administrators on LGBTQIA+ issues. Right now, the co-chairs are in the early phases of forming the committee and seeking community input. They have been tasked with pulling together a committee that represents all members of the community, including LGBTQIA+ faculty, staff, alumni and students. Meetings are currently being scheduled with departments, offices and units.
Senate President Robin Kear said at the Nov. 29 Faculty Assembly meeting that a member of the Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Advocacy committee and another at-large member from the Senate will be part of the LGBTQIA+ steering committee.
Reeser also is a professor of French and Italian with a secondary appointment in Pitt’s Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies program. Bedford-Jack is director of digital equity and special projects in diversity office.
The steering committee will organize a central advisory board of faculty, staff and students to assess opportunities to improve the climate and culture for the LGBTQIA+ community at Pitt, Pickett said.
“While the University is committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community, we know there remains significant work to be done,” he said. “We are hopeful that through the work of this committee we can make more substantive progress to realize the promise of Pitt for all members of the LGBTQIA+ community.”
A Pitt student formed a task force of more than 70 people in August 2020 that included faculty, staff and students. The task force issued a report in 2021 outlining the status of LGBTQIA+ resources at the University and called for a new physical center and staff hires dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ community on campus. The task force ceased operations after its student leadership graduated in spring 2022,
This year, activist groups, particularly Trans Action Building, have staged protests at the June and September Board of Trustees meetings to complain about lack of action on the task force’s suggestions. Trans Action Building is not a registered student group, but has members from Pitt’s students, staff and faculty.
In July, Zach Davis, chair of the faculty and staff affinity group Pitt Queer Professionals, said the group supports having a physical resources center and has “made several reminders to administration about the inaction items (from the task force) at least over the past year.”
— Susan Jones
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