More than 20 undergraduate, graduate and professional students, faculty and staff were honored on Thursday, April 27 as part of Student Multicultural & Diversity Program’s Inaugural Lavender Celebration. The event took place in the Hill Student Center Ballroom in an effort to highlight UAB’s LGBTQ community for their outstanding campus contributions, graduation successes and additional academic achievements in the past two years, as well as the University’s historic strides toward creating an inclusive and welcoming campus throughout the decade.

“When I first began my position around two-and-a-half years ago, one of the biggest requests was for us to hold an annual Lavender graduation,” said Maigen Sullivan, coordinator of Gender & Sexuality Diversity. “Lavender Graduations began in 1995 at the University of Michigan as a way to honor the successes of Queer and Trans students and their families after Dr. Ronni Sanlo, a professor at Michigan, was denied attendance to her children’s graduation due to her sexuality. They are currently hosted all over the country at various institutions. And now we can proudly add UAB to that list.”

Award winners for some of the evening’s top nominations include:

• Glenda Elliot LGBTQ Advocacy Award | Melodi Stone
• Lavender Leadership Award | Ashley Turner
• Lavender Inclusion Award | Melba Major
• Inclusive Research & Imitative Award | Nicholas Reich

In addition to student, faculty and staff recognitions, one of the most esteemed highlights of the night was the recognition of Glenda Elliott, Ph.D. and the newly created Glenda Elliott LGBTQ Advocacy Award. A retired UAB faculty member and Associate Professor Emerita of the UAB Counselor Education program, Elliott was received special honor as one of the most influential leaders in LGBTQ education, activism, advocacy and policy for not only UAB, but Birmingham and the state of Alabama as a whole. Among her achievements, Elliott pioneered UAB’s first SafeZone program -- which provides training and education around issues of gender and sexuality on UAB’s campus -- and she was a critical force in incorporating sexual orientation, gender expression and gender identity in UAB’s nondiscrimination policy. She was also a 12-year Alabama AIDS Task force member, 4-year Equality Alabama board member, 10-year advisor to youth group BAGSLY, co-founder of ALGBTICAL (an Alabama association for LGBT issues in counseling), and co-facilitator of support groups for professional caregivers of people with HIV. Glenda is currently active with the Alabama Safe Schools Coalition (providing training on LGBTQ issues to educators and administrators statewide), remains a member of the ALGBTICAL Executive Council, and is a member of the Magic City Acceptance Project’s Faith Committee. She has received numerous awards, including the Fannie R. Cooley Award for Professional Development, Equality Alabama Lifetime Achievement Award, Bill Jack Gaither Humanitarian Award, and she is a two-time recipient for the Wilber A. Tincher Humanitarian and Caring Person Award (for both her work with HIV/AIDS and counseling in LGBTQ issues).

Student groups also gave out cords and certificates, some of the which included Gender and Sexuality Union (GSU) Cords, GRADient honors, and SMDP Leadership recognitions (for borderTrans and Safezone Peer Educators). Presenters then capped off the evening with a special presentation of cords to 21 graduating students. The Inaugural Lavender Celebration was sponsored by the Alliance for LGBT Equality at UAB, SafeZone, GRADient, the Gender & Sexuality Union, borderTrans, Gender & Sexuality Diversity and the Social Justice Advocacy Council.

UAB offers LGBTQ and Gender & Sexuality diversity competency, training, awareness and support efforts through ongoing programs and events, currently 6 LGBTQ affinity groups exist on campus: The Gender & Sexuality Union, SafeZone Peer Educators, the Alliance for LGBTQ Equality at UAB, borderTrans, GRADient, MedPride and the newly formed Social Justice Advocacy Council.

Visit the Student Multicultural & Diversity Programs website for more details about for upcoming SMDP events, initiatives and programs.