Quick Navigation

Northern Illinois University

Northern News


News Release

Contact: Diana Swanson, (815) 753-6611
Robert Ridinger, (815) 753-1367

October 7, 2003

NIU to host institute on integrating
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender materials into curriculum

Northern Illinois University will be host to a one-day regional institute, “Getting Real: Integrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Materials Into Your Curriculum” on Friday, October 31.

Open and free of charge to all educators and administrators, the institute will provide assistance to faculty who are looking for ways to include information and ideas about sexual orientation and gender identity in their curricula. The institute is designed to offer practical help to faculty on how to start integrating LGBT material into courses they already teach.

The schedule for the day will feature a keynote presentation by Beth Zemsky, founding director of the Office of LGBT Programs at University of Minnesota, a panel of NIU faculty who have successfully integrated their courses, breakout sessions on integrating LGBT Studies into various disciplines, and on working past barriers when doing LGBT curriculum integration.

The institute will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the Holmes Student Center on the NIU campus, followed by a reception and tour of the Gender Studies Collection in Founders Library. The event is being hosted by the NIU Presidential Commission on Sexual Orientation and is sponsored by the Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center.

The institute will open with a morning session by Zemsky, who is also a member of the Board of Directors of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Zemsky played an instrumental role in founding the Schochet Center for GLBT Studies at the University of Minnesota, and has extensive experience working with faculty to develop and integrate LGBT and diversity issues into the curriculum. She has supervised University of Minnesota's Diversity Institute, has served as adjunct faculty at three universities, and has over 20 years experience facilitating workshops on diversity issues for universities, corporations, nonprofit organizations and government agencies.

Additional sessions will include workshops led by NIU faculty on integrating LGBT Studies into arts and humanities, social sciences, education and professional studies. A second set of workshops will focus on assessing personal readiness, homophobia in the classroom and homophobia in the academy.

Conference organizers anticipate attendance by faculty from Illinois and the Midwest. Registration is required – call the NIU Women’s Studies Program at (815) 753-1038 to register. Additional information about the event will be available on the institute Website at: www.niu.edu/lgbt/lgbtstudies.htm. Directions to NIU and information about local lodging are available online at www.niu.edu/dekalb.shtml.

###