Green Bay, Wis.— The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is announcing the expansion of its Campus Pride Center—currently located at the Green Bay Campus and the Community LGBT Center at Marinette, to both its Manitowoc and Sheboygan Campus locations.
The Manitowoc and Sheboygan Campuses are opening Pride (LGBTQ+) Centers that will be staffed by interns 10 hours per week. The staffing of the interns is made possible by generous funding support from the LaForce Family Foundation. Pride Center interns will provide social support and resources for LGBTQ+ students, their families and allies, and will collaborate with local LGBTQ+ community organizations on Pride events and initiatives.
“The ability to bring such a resource to our campus is a collaboration between our Green Bay Campus Pride Center, community organizations and the generosity of the LaForce Family Foundation,” said Manitowoc and Sheboygan Campus CEO Jamie Schramm. “Community collaboration is an important aspect of any successful modern university. Our faculty member Thomas Campbell was engaged with local community organizations and asked the question, ‘Is this possible?’ It was imperative for those of us in leadership positions to remove any roadblocks to this initiative and ensure our campuses and communities represent a diverse and wide-ranging set of perspectives.”
In addition, the Pride Center will place an intern 10 hours a week at the Kress Center on the Green Bay Campus. The focus of this internship is to develop the new LGBTQ+ student-athlete ally group which provides support, resources and events centered on student-athletes.
UW-Green Bay leaders anticipate that the expansion of services will fill a community need, based on its tremendous response in Marinette and Green Bay.
“Since its opening in 2017, the Marinette Campus Community LGBT Center has been working to enhance and sustain the lives of LGBT people in our community through resources, support, information and a safe and inclusive space,” said Marinette Campus CEO Cindy Bailey. “We are the only community resource center available to serve Marinette, Menominee and Oconto Counties, and during our short time, we have seen a large number of individuals and family members come through our doors and attend our events to find themselves accepted and part of a greater community.”
Each of these interns will help with SAFE Ally training, social support groups, classroom and community education, and leadership within the Pride Center youth camps that occur year-round.
The Pride Center is currently in the process of interviewing students for the eight La Force Foundation intern positions. Interns have been selected for the Sheboygan and Kress locations. Students who are interested in applying should contact Stacie Christian, Ph.D. at christis@uwgb.edu.
