In Dreams Begins Responsibility: Ways of Proceeding (.pdf)

It seems necessary to mark this moment: two years ago, President DeGioia held a historic town hall meeting in response to student demands, and announced the formation of three Working Groups and the establishment of a fully-funded and staffed LGBTQ Resource Center on the Hilltop. It had been a long journey to that moment, and like all such journeys, many roads led to that moment: roads paved with dreams—dreams lost; dreams won; dreams unraveled; dreams re-woven. The discernment and dialogue have continued and served as the Center’s touchstone since we opened our doors on August 26, 2008. Central to our vision is the belief that LGBTQ identities and communities are best understood in the context of all other identities and communities, and we draw upon our Jesuit values and understandings as we seek to model a unique way to build a Center that is truly integrative and integrated in its work.

Much of the Center’s work has been guided by the recommendations that emerged from the three Working Group reports on Resources, Education & Outreach, and Reporting and these have served as a road map in our “ways of proceeding.” In these first 14 months more than 80% of the chief recommendations have either been implemented in full, or the infrastructure for them has been established. As we move forward in our second year, we continue to build depth—weaving richer tapestries and adding layers to our understanding and modeling on how to do LGBTQ work thoughtfully in the wider contexts of diversity, inclusion, and faith in higher education.

Diversity Action Council Student Focus Groups on LGBTQ Issues, February 2008 (.pdf)
During Fall semester 2007, bias-related incidents focused on Georgetown's LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, questioning/queer) population set in motion a series of University-wide efforts to redress the prejudice and marginalization sometimes experienced by members of the LGBTQ community on campus. The Provost's Diversity Action Council (DAC) asked its assessment committee to talk with groups of students, faculty, and staff in order to assess the climate for LGBTQ individuals on campus, as well as to give participants an opportunity to share their own concerns and experiences in a supportive environment.

Working Group on Reporting
To evaluate existing mechanisms and develop a plan to strengthen the process for notifying members of the university community when acts of intolerance, hate or bias are reported and develop a clear statement of when, how and why the University makes public notifications and who makes these decisions.

Working Group on Resources
To evaluate and determine the range of student needs that should be addressed and the level of appropriate support, including the possibility of a full time LGBTQ resource coordinator and an LGBTQ resource center, for coordinating these issues in a manner consistent with Georgetown's Catholic and Jesuit identity; and that attention be given to students who have not come out or are questioning their sexual identity.

Working Group on Education
To evaluate the use of educational programs to promote inclusion of, and respect for, the LGBTQ community and develop ideas that complement and reinforce Georgetown's academic mission and desire to sustain many forms of diversity.

The Working Group on Education used the following two documents from the US Bishops as a guide in the process of discernment around the establishing of the Center. Always our Children, Ministry to Persons with Homosexual Inclination