History
The UCLA LGBT Campus Resource Center was borne of a long history of queer activism at UCLA, from Evelyn Hooker’s research in the 1950s to the formation of the Gay Liberation Front in 1969.
In 1974 the first Gay Awareness Week was hosted with such speakers as Rita Mae Brown, Harry Hay, and Charlotte Bunch. In 1976 UCLA Chancellor Charles E. Young directed departments and programs not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, one of the first such administrative orders by the head of an American university, and in the same year, the first course in lesbian, gay, and bisexual studies was offered at UCLA and taught by Peter Thorslev.
In 1979 UCLA students published the first edition of Ten Percent, which predated Frontiers as a Los Angeles gay newspaper. Also in 1979 a gay film festival was held at UCLA, organized by John Ramirez and Stuart Timmons, and grew to become OutFest.
In 1989 both the UCLA Lesbian and Gay Faculty/Staff Network and the Lambda Alumni Association were founded., and in 1990 the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Lesbian and Gay Issues was established. In 1991 Curt Shepard developed the proposal to establish an LGB student resource center which opened its doors in 1995 under the direction of doctoral student Charles Outcalt.
In 1997, after the center moved from a small closet in Haines Hall to 440 square feet in Kinsey Hall, Dr. Ronni Sanlo, founder of Lavender Graduation, was recruited from the University of Michigan to grow the UCLA LGBT Center. In 1998, the first UCLA Lavender Graduation was celebrated. In September of 2003 the UCLA LGBT Campus Resource Center moved into a 1600 square foot space in B36 in the Student Activities Center, formerly the Men’s Gym, where we currently reside.
Thanks to the support of the university, generous donors, and grants, the new UCLA LGBT Campus Resource Center now includes the David Bohnett Cyber Center and an extensive library collection. Feel free to come check out our center whether you just want to hang out, check your e-mail, study, or participate in our weekly programs.