LGBTQ Alumni Council
About the LGBTQ Alumni Council
The LGBTQ Alumni Council serves LGBTQ-identified alumni and allies of Franklin & Marshall College. We accomplish this by:
- Providing LGBTQ alums and friends of the College with a supportive professional and
social network of individuals with similar identities
- Reconnecting alumni/ae to the ever-changing F&M campus and the current undergraduate
population in order to strengthen support for the College and its students
- Allowing the experiences of LGBTQ alumni/ae to serve the intellectual, cultural and
social well-being of students through role modeling and mentoring
- Supporting the efforts of the Center for Career and Professional Development by providing formal and informal graduate school and career guidance to current students
and graduates
- Identifying opportunities to connect and collaborate with faculty and professional staff on LGBTQ-related academic and programming endeavors
- Informing the educational and administrative practices and policies surrounding institutional inclusion and equity as they relate to sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in order to build on F&M's commitment to being a diverse and affirming institution
History
The F&M LGBTQ Alumni Council was officially recognized on Jan. 16, 2016. The council
would be remiss without acknowledging the decades of work done by alumni/ae that laid
the foundation for this opportunity. In October 1983, the first formalized discussion
group for LGBTQ students was put together as a way for students to form friendships
and make connections. This group was later granted official club status by the Student
Activities Committee at the end of the fall semester of 1984 and began to operate
under the name Matrix. Matrix held its first open meeting in Distler Commons on Tuesday,
Sept. 30, 1986, on the topic of "Homophobia on Campus" and co-presidents Lilly Rizack
'87 and Jeff Aurich '87 led a discussion with the 30+ individuals in attendance. It
was not long after graduating from F&M that Aurich joined together with other LGBTQ-identified
alumni/ae to form Central Pennsylvania's first gay alumni organization, G.A.L.A.
(Gay And Lesbian Alumni). G.A.L.A. officially debuted at Homecoming Weekend in 1993
under the leadership of Lawrence Biemiller '80, and presented a session titled "Recovering
Our Past," which allowed alumni/ae to speak about their experiences at F&M. On March
31, 1995, the Allies Resource Center (ARC) opened in the Buchanan basement, as a place
for students to seek resources, meet other people and connect in a private environment.
The ARC still exists today in the basement of the Steinman College Center.
Board of Directors
President: Erica Gordon '05
Advocacy & Education Directors: position vacant; contact Erica Gordon '05 if you are interested in this role.
Center for Career and Professional Development Director: Erica D'Eramo '10
Event Planning Director: Austin Williams, MD, M.S.Ed. '07
Marketing & Communications Director: position vacant; contact Erica Gordon '05 if you are interested in this role.
Philanthropy Director: position vacant; contact Erica Gordon '05 if you are interested in this role.
Advocacy & Education Directors: position vacant; contact Erica Gordon '05 if you are interested in this role.
Center for Career and Professional Development Director: Erica D'Eramo '10
Event Planning Director: Austin Williams, MD, M.S.Ed. '07
Marketing & Communications Director: position vacant; contact Erica Gordon '05 if you are interested in this role.
Philanthropy Director: position vacant; contact Erica Gordon '05 if you are interested in this role.
Connect
Watch the Alumni Weekend panel discussion, "Rainbow Reflections: Panel & Discussion with LGBTQ Identified Alumni," featuring panelists Jeff Aurich '87, Joy Restucci '88, Lawrence Biemiller '80, Brian Rice '01, Sai Somboon '04 and Cheryl Fazio-Hardwick '11, and moderated by Maria Mitchell, professor of history, chair of women's, gender & sexuality studies.