Recent and Upcoming Events
January 2013 - Many thanks to the alumni and students who joined us for "Working Out: LGBTQ Issues in the Job Search and Workplace," a special career panel for LGBT students co-sponsored by GSAND and the Office of Career Services! Please contact betaylor@davidson.edu if you are interested in serving on future panels. Click here for a list of LGBT-specific career resources compiled by Career Services.
April 10, 2013 - Hosted by the LGBT Representation and Rights initiative of the Curriculum in Global Studies at UNC Chapel Hill, Frank Bruni of The New York Times and Jonathan Capehart of The Washington Post and MSNBC will speak at 5:30 p.m. in the Nelson Mandela Auditorium of the FedEx Global Education Center at UNC-CH about "The Future of LGBT Rights in America."
June 7-9, 2013 - Members of the Classes of 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, and 2008 are invited back to campus for Reunion Weekend 2013! Stay tuned for more information about the GSAND reception during Reunion Weekend soon.
Please check back for a list of Spring 2013 on-campus events soon.
 Connect with GSAND through social media!
Please follow the GSAND Facebook page for LGBT alumni news, the Alumni Relations Facebook page for regular updates about alumni programs & services and chapter events around the country, and the Davidson College Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) page for news about current student programs and events on campus. You can also join our email list to receive 6-12 brief newsletters per year from the college related to LGBT initiatives and updates; please contact Becca Taylor '06 to join the listserv.
Get Involved with GSAND
• Thank you to those who responded to our August 2012 survey about GSAND's strategic priorities for the upcoming year! We appreciate your thoughtful insights. A brief overview of the survey results is available here.
• Get involved with your local alumni chapter! Contact your chapter president or Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Lauren Biggers (704-894-2919) if you'd like to help host an LGBT-related chapter event in your city.
• Want to help lead the network or share a program idea? Contact Becca Taylor '06 to join the email list or the informal advisory board for GSAND! Click here to see a full list of ways to get involved at Davidson.
College News
Davidson has made great strides in its incorporation of LGBT issues into the curriculum. We are excited to share that there is a new interdisciplinary major offered in Gender and Sexuality Studies! The core classes include offerings from the History, English, Religion, Political Science, Spanish, and French departments.
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A group of faculty, staff, and students at the college have come together to create the "LGBTQ Caucus," a group that advocates for and supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons at the college by attending to the issues, ideas, social history, and cultural practices that are of interest to them, and which matter to a diverse community. More information about this group will be posted soon; in the meantime, please contact us with any questions.
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On March 9, 2012, President Quillen released a statement reaffirming Davidson's commitment to diversity, specifically to the community of our LGBT faculty, staff, students, and alumni. This statement was issued in light of recent state-wide discussions in North Carolina about same-sex marriage. The President affirms that Davidson does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and that the college does and will continue to offer same-gender domestic partner benefits to employees. You can read the full statement here.
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Did you know? Writing under pen name Ann McMan, Davidson's own Director of Design has penned three bestsellers on gay & lesbian fiction lists! Check out Jericho, Dust, and Sidecar Stories at www.amazon.com today!
  
And be sure to order Aftermath, the long-awaited sequel to Jericho released in December 2012!
About GSAND
Mission Statement
The mission of the Gay-Straight Alumni Network of Davidson (GSAND) is to serve as a source of support, advocacy, visibility, and programming for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) alumni population of Davidson College. GSAND is an informal affinity network created to facilitate connections between LGBT alumni and the college.
Objectives
1. Provide opportunities for interaction among LGBT alumni and allies, through electronic communication and on- and off-campus Davidson events;
2. Increase the visibility of LGBT alumni;
3. Facilitate connections between LGBT alumni and current students for mentoring and advocacy for campus diversity initiatives;
4. Share information about opportunities for LGBT alumni to get involved in college volunteer opportunities, such as career networking or prospective student recruitment; and
5. Collaborate with constituents and partner organizations at Davidson.
History
The Gay-Straight Alumni Network of Davidson (GSAND) was formed following a gathering of alumni for a special interest weekend on April 1-3, 2004. Approximately sixty alumni and friends of the college gathered for a lecture by William Eskridge '73, Yale law professor and legal scholar/TV commentator on LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. The lecture was co-sponsored by the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) student organization and the Pre-Law Society, and the weekend also included a special dinner and presidential reception. Following the high level of interest in this weekend, the Office of Alumni Relations sponsored a "Gay Life at Davidson" weekend on March 17-18, 2006. Approximately 40 guests attended a keynote speech by Anne Stanback '81, founding executive director of Love Makes A Family, the organization that led the fight to win marriage equality in Connecticut. The weekend included a meaningful roundtable discussion between current students and alumni, and the participants joined together to form the initial volunteer group for GSAND. Since that time, GSAND receptions have been held during many major alumni programs including all Homecoming and Reunion Weekends. The network of LGBT alumni and allies continues to grow!
Resources
LGBT Career Resources for Students and Alumni
The Office of Career Services has compiled a list of links to numerous resources where you can learn about LGBT rights in the workplace, gay-friendly job search organizations and web sites, industry and geographic resources, and tips for assessing the inclusivity of employers.
Student Organizations
Click here to explore the current student organizations at Davidson College related to issues of health, gender, and sexuality. GSAND partners most frequently with the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA); for more information, please contact current president Jamie Durling '14.
Multicultural Student Services
Davidson College is pleased to welcome Dr. Tae-Sun Kim as the new director of Multicultural Services! In line with the college's strategic plan, a Patterson Court house was renovated to become the new Multicultural House in 2010, a location intended to stimulate student interest in and appreciation for the vast diversity on campus. Read more about the opening of the Multicultural House here.
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