Our History

In the Fall of 2004, The University of Texas as Austin joined over a hundred other national universities in creating a resource center dealing with issues of gender and sexuality. The Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC) is the product of over seven years of organizing by dedicated campus leaders, students, faculty and administrators.

The GSC finds its roots in the development of the Women's Resource Center (WRC) in 1997. The WRC was founded as an agency of Student Government (SG), with a student appointed as a director and an annual budget of $3000. The GLBTAA Agency (GLBTAAA) was created in the fall of 2001, also with a student director and a small budget, with the intention of demonstrating need and demand for a center. Because both organizations saw overlap in their services, and each recognized the importance of establishing a permanent office with a full-time director, the WRC and GLBTAAA decided to pursue a joint center. They began working through SG to create a combined Gender and Sexuality Center.

The watershed event for the creation of the center occurred in summer 2003. New SG President, Brian Haley, had campaigned on a promise to create a Gender and Sexuality Center, and he followed through. When a room opened up on the first floor of the Student Services Building, Haley claimed it for the new center through good networking and creative negotiating. With a space finally secured, Haley established an advisory committee, chaired by Teresa Brett, Dean of Students, to discuss the center's mission, goals, and activities. A proposal for the center was submitted to the Student Fee Committee in March 2004, and it was approved.

The Gender and Sexuality Center owes its creation to the hard work of many dedicated individuals. However, our work is not complete. In the future, the GSC hopes to expand its programs and find a home in a larger space that will provide for ease of organizing and socializing around issues of gender and sexuality.