Your support of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) Gift Fund will help fund campus initiatives such as RPI’s Lavender Graduation, an annual celebration of graduating LGBTQ+ students and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
This event serves as an opportunity to celebrate the unique achievements and obstacles that many LGBTQ+ students experience while studying at, and graduating from, Rensselaer, as well as to recognize individual students, faculty, staff, and alumni for their contributions to the campus community.
The support provided by donors and attendees reinforces the dedication and commitment to our LGBTQ+ students’ and graduates’ success, and helps make this event possible from start to finish!
The LGBTQ+ Task Force is comprised of students, staff, and faculty volunteers who fundraise for, plan, and execute RPI’s Annual Lavender Graduation. Without generous donations from our donors and campus partners, this event would not be possible.
The mission of the LGBTQ+ Task Force is to ensure that all students, staff, faculty, alumni, visitors, and guests of RPI have the right to safety and the expectation of safety in their personal identity and the expression of that identity, whatever it may be, within the bounds of both the law and mutual respect for the differences of other members of the Institute.
The LGBTQ+ Task Force pursues developments in policy, facilities, and the deployment of range of resources across campus to specifically support the LGBTQ+ members of the Rensselaer community, as well as working to advance diversity and inclusion more broadly.
The education, outreach and support offered by the Task Force through activities such as the Annual Lavender Graduation, events for National Coming Out Day, Trans Awareness Week, and LGBTQ+ Pride Month, and guidance to the Institute on updates to policies and procedures are critical to making every member of RPI’s LGBTQ+ Community feel not just tolerated or accepted, but celebrated for the unique experiences and perspectives they bring to the campus.
The education, outreach and support offered by the Task Force, such as the Annual Lavender Graduation, LGBTQ+ Pride Month activities, and guidance to the Institute on updates to policies and procedures, are critical to ensuring every member of RPI's LGBTQ+ community feels not just tolerated or accepted, but celebrated for the unique experiences and perspectives they bring to the campus.”
Kevin R. Bleyle ’98 (left) with his husband Jasen W. Coole (right) on safari at Zulu Nyala in Hluhluwe, South Africa, are B. F. Greene Patroon Society Members. Each year when making their annual gift to RPI, they direct their support to the LGBTQ+ Task Force given its important role in shaping a welcoming and inclusive community for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students, faculty, and staff at RPI.