A full-time and fully staffed office to support the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community at Vanderbilt will launch this fall. The K.C. Potter Center, named in honor of a former dean of residential and judicial affairs at Vanderbilt who was supportive of the GLBT community, will replace a part-time resource center.
The office will be led by Nora Spencer, who leaves a similar job at the University of Florida. There she oversaw support services, programming, strategic planning, marketing and fundraising for GLBT affairs and served as a resource and advocate regarding GLBT issues.
Nora Spencer
The new office “not only will provide support and encouragement, but also the type of visibility and advocacy needed in the Vanderbilt community,” says Shay Malone, assistant director of the Office of Leadership Development and Intercultural Affairs. “It is my hope that with a fully staffed GLBT office, we can begin to address some of the unique challenges GLBT students face here at Vanderbilt and the need to educate students about awareness and understanding in a way we were not able to do before.”
The university also has established a committee to advise the administration on issues that affect GLBT life on campus. David Boyd, associate professor of medicine, health and society, who led the task force that recommended creation of the GLBT center, has been appointed chair of the committee.