In February of 1988, the former President of Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein, created the President’s Select Committee for Lesbian-Gay Concerns which addressed the issues of gay and lesbian students as well as University faculty/staff members. In 1988, the Select Committee for Lesbian and Gay Concerns assembled and presented specific courses of action the university could take to seriously mitigate the injustices directed towards LGBT people on campus.
The first objective of the Select Committee for Lesbian and Gay Concerns was to establish an Office for Gay and Lesbian Concerns with a minimum of a one full-time staff member, which would monitor the implementation of policies aimed at creating an environment free of fear, violence, or harassment. In 1992, the Office of Diverse Community Affairs and Lesbian and Gay Concerns was founded under the direction of Dr. Cheryl Clarke.
In Fall 2005, the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs renamed and restructured the former Office of Diverse Community Affairs and Lesbian Gay Concerns. This unit became the Office for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities (SJE). During the Fall 2009 semester, the Office for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities relocated from Bartlett Street to a new space on Livingston Campus in Tillett Hall, where it was rebranded as the Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities Resource Center. The Center now currently resides at 17 Bartlett Street, on the College Avenue Campus.
Rutgers University-New Brunswick has a long history of student advocacy predating the creation of a formal center. To learn more, see our full timeline below of important events beginning in the sixties and the creation of the Rutgers Student Homophile League.
Rutgers University LGBTQA History Timeline
This timeline would not have been possible without the tremendous work other Rutgers community members have put into documenting #RULGBTQIA history. The photos, targum articles, and narratives were compiled using the following resources:
Special Collections and University Archives at the Alexander Library.
Consoli, J. & Gorder, E. (2000). Celebrating the tradition: 30 years of queer pride and activism at Rutgers. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T39021V8
Nichols, D. & Kafka-Holzschlag, M. (1989). The Rutgers University Lesbian/Gay Alliance 1969-1989: The first 20 years. The Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries, 51(2). Retrieved from https://jrul.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/jrul/article/download/1689/3128
