LGBTQIA+ University Caucus

lBGTQIA+ University Caucus Mission

The mission of the LGBTQIA+ University Caucus is to promote the equity, empowerment, and success of LGBTQIA+ students, faculty, and staff by fostering a safe campus environment; developing, suggesting,and supporting inclusive policies and curriculum; supporting LGBTQIA+ recruitment and retention initiatives; and promoting social and educational opportunities to meaningfully engage with the University community.

The Caucus will make recommendations to appropriate channels with the University when concerns arise regarding these areas. These functions are in keeping with and enhancing the mission of West Chester University.

If you are interested in joining the LGBTQIA+ Caucus, please email LGBTQIACaucus@wcupa.edu.

Caucus Membership, 2022-2023

Name	Department	Role
Liam Oliver Lair (he/him)	Associate Professor, Women’s and Gender Studies	Faculty Co-Chair
Beth Shearn (she/her)	Program Coordinator, Graduate Social Work	Staff Co-Chair
Karen Dickinson (she/her)	Professor, Department of Counselor Education	Member
Summer Davey (she/her)	Assistant Director of Admissions and International Outreach	Member
Justin Sprague (he/him)	Assistant Professor, Women’s and Gender Studies	Member
Julie Tennille (she/her)	Associate Professor, Graduate Social Work	Member
Jen Bacon (she/her)	Dean, College of Arts and Humanities	Member
Orkideh Mohajeri (she/her)	Assistant Professor, Educational Foundations & Policy Studies	Member
Meg Panichelli (she/her)	Assistant Professor, Undergraduate Social Work	Member
Meredith Foster (she/her)	Technology Generalist, Francis Harvey Green Library	Member
Jason Vanfosson (he/him)	Assistant Professor, English	Member
Jackie Hodes (she/her)	Professor, Educational Foundations & Policy Studies	Member
Meg Hazel (she/her)	Assistant Director, Equal Opportunity and Title IX Investigator, Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion	Member
Pier Cicerelle (she/her)	Assistant Professor, Graduate Social Work	Member
Lesley Siegel (she/her)	Assistant Professor, Special Education	Member
Brie Radis (she/her)	Assistant Professor, Undergraduate Social Work	Member
Tess Benser (they/them)	Assistant Director of Outreach & Engagement, Center for Women & Gender Equity	Member
Meg Hoffer-Collins (they/them)	Instructor/Psychologist, Department of Counseling & Psychological Services	Member
Jenna Bossert (they/she)	Special Collections Technician at University Libraries	Member
Jason A. Bartles (he/him)	Associate Professor, Department of Language and Cultures	Member
Carolyn Sorisio (she/they)	Professor, English	Member
Peter Loedel (he/him)	Professor, Political Science	Member
Leigh Robinson (he/him)	Assistant Director of Data Administration, College of Education & Social Work, Assessment Office	Member
David Thomas (he/him)	Director and Assistant Professor, Office of Educational Accessibility	Member
Nicholas Provenzale (he/him)	Assistant Professor, Voice & Opera Studies	Member
Michelle Gherardi (she/her)	Adjunct Professor, Graduate Public Policy and Administration	Member
Clayton Kolb (he/him)	Director, Sykes Union and Student Activities	Member
Beth Foster (she/her)	Associate Professor, Adapted Physical Activity	Member
Michele Cooper (she/her)	Clinician in the Counseling Center	Member
Amanda Thomas (she/her)	Executive Director for Assessment and Planning	Member
Thomas Kwiatkowski (he/him)	Professor in Biochemistry	Member
Jackie Owens (she/her)	Assistant Professor, Nursing	Member
Chrissy Riccardo (she/her)	Assistant Professor, Nutrition	Member
Jeremiah Daudert (he/him/they)	Foreman, Project Work Force	Member
Kelly Fisher (she/her)	Associate Faculty, Human Rights Management	Member
Sarah Hyson (she/her)	Adjunct Faculty, English	Member
Melissa Cichowicz (she/her)	Assistant Department Chair, Chemistry	Member
Tina Alessandria (she/her)	Professor, Counselor Education	Member
Kim Johnson (she/her)	Associate Professor, Mathematics	Member
Kelsey Organ (she/her)	Associate Director of Candidate Services, College of Education & Social Work	Member
Elizabeth Grillo (she/her)	Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders	Member
Katrina Kelly (she/her)	Assistant Director of Financial Aid	Member
Lydia Lynes (she/her)	Area Coordinator, Residence Life	Member
Frank Stern (he/him)	Student Success Coordinator, Registrar's Office	Member
Jules Walls (they/them)	Assistant to the Associate Dean, College of Arts & Humanities	Member
Dean Johnson (he/him)	Professor of Philosophy/Director of Peace & Conflict Studies	Member
Nick Snyder (he/him)	Assistant Director, Graduate School Admissions	Member
Sam Brooks (they/them)	Adjunct Professor, Women's & Gender Studies	Member
Ari Sussman (he/him)	Adjunct Professor, Music Theory & Composition	Member
Kate Stewart (she/Her)	Professor, Art + Design	Member
Michael Hill (he/him)	Adjunct Faculty, Communication and Media	Member
Rebecca Grisillo (she/her)	Assistant Dean/Budget Manager, College of Sciences & Mathematics	Member
Alex Reed (they/them)		Member
Karin Gedge (she/her)	Professor, Secondary Social Studies	Member
Nicole Bobbert (she/her)	Manager, Accounts Payable	Member
Jordan Stokes (he/him)	Assistant Professor, Music Theory, History, & Composition	Member
Dave Barry (he/him)	Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Education	Member
Megan Schoettler (she/her)	Assistant Professor, English	Member
Shannon McCabe (she/her)	Senior Accountant, WCU Foundation	Member
Barrett McGee (he/him)	Associate Director of Student Activities	Member
Reva Zimmerman (she/her)	Associate Professor, Communication Sciences & Disorders	Member
Ryan Monaghan (he/him)	Adjunct Faculty, Literacy Department	Member

We also recognize the members of the LGBTQIA+ University Caucus that do not wish to be publicly recognized on the website. Their contributions to the efforts of the Caucus do not go unacknowledged and we are grateful for their support.

Caucus Bylaws

To view a copy of the Caucus bylaws, click here .

Upcoming Events

Please check back for upcoming events.

1st Amendment FAQs

Why This Is Here

Sometimes we have uninvited guests on our campus. We call these groups “uninvited guests” because they do not share the university’s values and because we do not want to give groups like this any more public recognition than necessary. Some of these groups are not here to engage in dialogue or make a genuine effort to affect change. Instead, they create conflict and sow division within our community. We encourage you to avoid engaging with them if you pass by them on the quad, or avoid those areas of campus altogether.

FAQs

1st Amendment FAQ

Created by Dr. Chris Stangl

Updated October 24, 2019

Why are uninvited guests permitted to show up on campus and present whatever message they choose to?

As a public school, a sizable part of the West Chester campus is considered a “public forum,” or space “devoted to assembly and debate.”

Wait, so these groups can show up pretty much anywhere on campus and do what they do?

Not entirely. There are three levels to public forum doctrine: 1) public forum, 2) limited public forum, and 3) nonpublic forum. While these legal concepts are quite complex, for purposes of the kinds of issues we have been addressing, it is sufficient to note that any open area or sidewalk on campus is likely a public forum. Basically, if a resident of the borough can walk their dog there, it’s probably a public forum, and individuals or groups are permitted to express their own views in such areas.

But West Chester has a Values Statement.

We do. However, the Values Statement cannot violate the First Amendment, which means that, when it comes to a public forum, West Chester must observe the principle of viewpoint neutrality. This means that WCU cannot pick and choose what perspectives it permits to be expressed on any topic of debate and which it does not. [In limited circumstances, WCU could restrict expression on all viewpoints on a general area of content, but this is subject to a very stringent test that would be almost impossible to be meet in situations when uninvited guests appear on the quad.]

So there are no regulations? Anything goes?

The classic regulations permitted are those of time, place, and manner. However, the middle of the day is clearly a reasonable time for expression and the quad is clearly reasonable place for expression, so that leaves only manner. Regulations on “manner” are permissible, but this does not mean that WCU may prohibit language it views as rude or inflammatory, or prohibit the use of large posters, each of which would likely run afoul of viewpoint neutrality requirements. A reasonable manner restriction means something like prohibition of bullhorns, microphones, speakers, etc.

What about “fighting words” though?

Fighting words is a category of speech that is not afforded First Amendment protection. However, the definition of fighting words—words that cause harm by merely being stated or that are tantamount to incitement of a breach of the peace—is very limited and has been defined almost out of existence by subsequent Supreme Court decisions. These decisions have regularly found speech restrictions to violate the First Amendment for reasons of vagueness (a reasonable person couldn’t tell what speech is allowed and what speech isn’t), overbreadth (even if a regulation is permitted in a particular case, it is written in such a way that it may be unconstitutional if applied to a different party and/or it covers substantially more expression than it needs to), or both.

Support

If you have experience harassment or discrimination based on who are, you can submit a report to the Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Additionally, if you ever want to touch base with a caucus member, please reach out to any one of us for support.