March 25, 2024
New awards coming to Lavender Graduation; faculty and staff help welcomed
The LGBTQ Resource Center is hosting a Lavender Graduation ceremony at 5 p.m. April 26 in the Student Center Ballrooms, and there are several ways faculty and staff can play a part in honoring the LGBTQ+ community.
The center will present the Prism Award (previously the Saluki Ally Award) to recognize exceptional allyship to the LGBTQ+ community at SIU. Nominations for any SIU faculty, staff, alumni or community member are now being accepted. Send a one-page typed nomination letter to lgbtq@siu.edu no later than 4:30 p.m. March 29. In addition to providing the contributions for which the person should be recognized, the letter should include the names and contact information for the nominee and person submitting the recommendation.
In addition, a new award is being introduced, the Outstanding Queer Research Award in two categories: undergraduate and graduate research at SIU. All research fields are welcome to enter. Eligible submissions will be related to LGBTQ+ studies, and multiple submissions are allowed. All papers must be research conducted for an SIU course, and the cover letter must include the name of the student, title of the paper, course title and instructor name. Research papers must be submitted to lgbtq@siu.edu by 11:50 p.m. April 1. Faculty and staff are asked to encourage students to submit eligible research papers and to register at smrc.siu.edu/lgbtq/lavender-graduation/ by April 1 if they plan to participate in the ceremony.
Winners of the Prism and Outstanding Queer Research awards will be recognized during the Lavender Graduation, which will be an invitation-only audience.
For more information, email juniper.oxford@siu.edu or lgbtq@siu.edu.