"No pensábamos que fuera a tener buena acogida": la victoria legal de la Alianza Gay de Estudiantes sobre la Virginia Commonwealth University, 1974-1976

In 1974, a group of college students attempted to undertake the simple act of registering an official student organization at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). In contrast to every other student group that had sought such status, the group, the Gay Alliance of Students (GAS), was denied registration. They were denied because the group was composed of LGBTQI+ students who wanted to promote the well-being and understanding of themselves and other LGBTQI+ individuals on campus. This article examines the founding, experience, and legal battles of GAS, an important organization in both the history of LGBTQI+ students and the history of LGBTQI+ rights more broadly. In response to its denial, GAS sued VCU in US federal district court, claiming violations of its fundamental rights under the US Constitution. After a split decision in its initial case, GAS appealed and won a resounding victory over VCU administrators and their attempts to deny LGBTQI+ students their rights. That victory was the first ever for an LGBTQI+ student organization at the federal appellate level and set a precedent for other LGBTQI+ students in five states. This article uses historical methods to situate these efforts in their institutional and local context, contribute to the nascent literature on LGBTQI+ student legal cases, and consider this key case that had implications beyond VCU and, indeed, beyond higher education.En 1974, un grupo de estudiantes universitarios intentó llevar a cabo el sencillo acto de registrar una organización estudiantil oficial en la Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). A diferencia de todos los demás grupos de estudiantes que habían solicitado dicho estatus, al grupo, la Alianza Gay de Estudiantes (GAS), se le denegó el registro. Se les denegó porque el grupo estaba compuesto por estudiantes LGBTQI+ que querían promover el bienestar y la comprensión de sí mismos y de otras personas LGBTQI+ en el campus. Este artículo examina la fundación, la experiencia y las batallas legales de GAS, una organización importante tanto en la historia de los estudiantes LGBTQI+ como en la historia de los derechos LGBTQI+ en general. En respuesta a su denegación, GAS demandó a VCU ante un tribunal federal de distrito de EE.UU., alegando violaciones de sus derechos fundamentales en virtud de la Constitución de EEUU.. Tras una decisión dividida en su caso inicial, GAS apeló y obtuvo una rotunda victoria sobre los administradores de VCU y sus intentos de negar a los estudiantes LGBTQI+ sus derechos. Esa victoria fue la primera de una organización estudiantil LGBTQI+ a nivel de apelación federal y sentó un precedente para otros estudiantes LGBTQI+ en cinco estados. Este artículo utiliza métodos históricos para situar estos esfuerzos en su contexto institucional y local, contribuir a la incipiente literatura sobre casos legales de estudiantes LGBTQI+ y considerar este caso clave que tuvo implicaciones más allá de VCU y, de hecho, más allá de la educación superior

Academic freedom in an age of organization, 1913--1941.

This dissertation explores the development of academic freedom and tenure in American higher education from the initial meetings which led to the formation of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) through its endorsement of the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure. Rather than focus exclusively on the AAUP, however, this dissertation examines the approaches and activities of a group of educational and related organizations, including the American Federation of Teachers, the Association of American Colleges, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Progressive Education Association. Each association attempted to define and protect faculty rights in the highly contentious period and, significantly, each acted in relation to other interested organizations amidst concerns over unionization, professionalization, and civil liberties. The interactions of these groups, their efforts to work together, and their competition with each other influenced understandings of academic freedom, the defense of faculty rights, and the codification of modern policies designed to protect educational liberty. This dissertation argues that the modern codes which delineate academic freedom and tenure were the product of these interactions and demonstrate a gradual conditional agreement on the part of mainstream faculty and administrators. After examining the national scene, this dissertation explores the local experience of academic freedom through a case study of the University of Michigan and supporting evidence from other institutions in the state. The campus incidents and events point to the personal nature of many of the threats to academic freedom and professorial security. Certainly, national political and economic concerns were implicated in faculty experiences but so too were state and local politics, personal animosities, and individual jealousies. Large national issues, including anti-German zealotry during World War I and communist paranoia in ensuing years were important, yet not determinant. The case studies demonstrate the complex interactions and conflicting roles that influenced the existence and experience of academic freedom for individual instructors and professors. The historical development of academic freedom represents both national norms and potentially problematic institutional behaviors.Ph.D.EducationEducation historyHigher educationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/125313/2/3192592.pd

The Queer Student Affairs Career of Stephen Lenton, 1970-1980

This article primarily uses document-based historical methods to reconstruct Stephen Lenton’s LGBTQ advocacy while a student affairs professional at Virginia Commonwealth University from 1970 to 1980. Lenton enjoyed significant career success in his first several years at VCU, establishing popular and successful programs and a strong rapport with students. In 1974, Lenton agreed to advise VCU’s first LGBTQ student organization, even as its members sued the institution for refusing to register their group. After the students won the lawsuit, Lenton became a visible and noted advocate for LGBTQ people and became an openly gay man on campus. Yet as Lenton’s visibility increased, his career prospects at VCU diminished. VCU leaders rescinded a promotion, refused to incorporate LGBTQ advocacy into his job description, canceled his popular program, removed him from supervising other student affairs professionals, moved him to a worse office, and lowered his salary increases. These hostilities led Lenton to resign from VCU and leave the student affairs profession. Lenton continued to press VCU to eliminate homophobia as a private citizen, contributing to improved campus climates for LGBTQ people. The years that frame this study represent the beginning of a gradual shift within the student affairs profession from oppressing LGBTQ people to supporting their development, yet this history remains largely untold. Indeed, this article may be the first history centered on a student affairs professional who publicly advocated for LGBTQ rights and openly identified as gay

Using Evidence of Student Learning to Improve Higher Education

Comprend des références bibliographiques et un index.American higher education needs a major reframing of student learning outcomes assessment Dynamic changes are underway in American higher education. New providers, emerging technologies, cost concerns, student debt, and nagging doubts about quality all call out the need for institutions to show evidence of student learning. From scholars at the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA), Using Evidence of Student Learning to Improve Higher Education presents a reframed conception and approach to student learning outcomes assessment. The authors explain why it is counterproductive to view collecting and using evidence of student accomplishment as primarily a compliance activity. Today's circumstances demand a fresh and more strategic approach to the processes by which evidence about student learning is obtained and used to inform efforts to improve teaching, learning, and decision-making. Whether you're in the classroom, an administrative office, or on an assessment committee, data about what students know and are able to do are critical for guiding changes that are needed in institutional policies and practices to improve student learning and success. Use this book to: Understand how and why student learning outcomes assessment can enhance student accomplishment and increase institutional effectiveness Shift the view of assessment from being externally driven to internally motivated Learn how assessment results can help inform decision-making Use assessment data to manage change and improve student success Gauging student learning is necessary if institutions are to prepare students to meet the 21st century needs of employers and live an economically independent, civically responsible life. For assessment professionals and educational leaders, Using Evidence of Student Learning to Improve Higher Education offers both a compelling rationale and practical advice for making student learning outcomes assessment more effective and efficient.1 From Compliance to Ownership: Why and How Colleges and Universities Assess Student Learning ; A Culture of Compliance ; Realizing the Promise of Assessment ; Harvesting Results ; What This Book PromisesPart One What Works? Finding and Using Evidence ; 2 Evidence of Student Learning: What Counts and What Matters for Improvement ; 3 Fostering Greater Use of Assessment Results: Principles for Effective Practice ; 4 Making Assessment Consequential: Organizing to Yield ResultsPart Two Who Cares? Engaging Key Stakeholders ; 5 Faculty and Students: Assessment at the Intersection of Teaching and Learning ; 6 Leadership in Making Assessment Matter ; 7 Accreditation as Opportunity: Serving Two Purposes with Assessment ; 8 The Bigger Picture: Student Learning Outcomes Assessment and External EntitiesPart Three What Now? Focusing Assessment on Learning ; 9 Assessment and Initiative Fatigue: Keeping the Focus on Learning ; 10 From Compliance Reporting to Effective Communication: Assessment and Transparency ; 11 Making Assessment MatterReferences ; Appendix A NILOA National Advisory Panel ; Appendix B NILOA Staff, 2008 TO 2014 ; Inde