DGALA | Dartmouth LGBTQIA+ Alum Association

The LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index is a vital tool for assisting campuses in learning ways to improve their LGBT campus life and ultimately shape the educational experience to be more inclusive, welcoming and respectful of LGBT and Ally people. The index is owned and operated by Campus Pride, the leading national nonprofit organization for student leaders and campus groups working to create safer, more LGBT-Friendly learning environments at colleges and universities. The index is supported under the Campus Pride Q Research Institute for Higher Education as well as benefits from strategic partnerships with professional organizations in higher education and related LGBT nonprofit organizations.

Star ranking system is based on a five star continuum of progress for LGBT-Friendly policies, programs, and practices. Three stars represent the mid-range score possible. The overall campus climate score is broken down for comparison purposes.

Overall Campus Climate Score:
Sexual Orientation Score: 5 of 5 Stars
Gender Identity/Expression Score: 4.5 of 5 Stars

LGBT-Friendly Break-Down by Inclusion Factors:
LGBT Policy Inclusion:  4.5 of 5 Stars
LGBT Support & Institutional Commitment:  5 of 5 Stars
LGBT Student Life:  5 of 5 Stars
LGBT Academic Life:  5 of 5 Stars
LGBT Housing & Residence Life:  4.5 of 5 Stars
LGBT Campus Safety:  5 of 5 Stars
LGBT Counseling & Health:  5 of 5 Stars
LGBT Recruitment and Retention Efforts:  3.5 of 5 Stars

We are looking for volunteers to join one or more of the committees that we have recently created. These are: (1) College Relations, (2) Communications, (3) Development and Finance, (4) Governance, (5) History, (6) Networking and (7) Programming (each described in more detail below).

College Relations Committee
The College Relations Committee focuses primarily on establishing and maintaining rapport with the President of the College, the Board of Trustees, College administration, faculty and staff, and other College entities on behalf of DGALA so that DGALA’s interests can be communicated to and reflected in the College’s decision-making processes. The Committee also advises and reports i) to the DGALA Board of Directors and its Alumni Council Representatives on contemporary alumni/ae perceptions of the College; and ii) to DGALA members about issues of significance occurring at the College.  For more information, please contact Mikee Guzman ’06 at mikee.guzman@gmail.com
 
Communications Committee
The Communications Committee has been created to facilitate communications between the DGALA Board of Directors and DGALA members, inform the college community and general public about DGALA-related news and activities and support the efforts of the other DGALA board committees.  To accomplish its mission, the Communications Committee is looking for volunteers to assist with sending out email communications, social networking, maintaining and developing the www.dgala.org website, blogging and acting as liaison with college resources such as the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine and the public affairs office. Volunteers with backgrounds in public relations, marketing, HTML and web/graphic design skills are especially welcome.  For more information, or to get involved, please contact Susi Kandel ’00 at susi@alum.dartmouth.org.
 
Development and Finance Committee
The Development and Finance Committee seeks to help DGALA (1) develop and manage its membership, (2) raise funds, and (3) oversee its funds and expenditures, including setting an annual budget.  If you’re interested in being involved in any or all of these areas, please contact Pete Williams ’76 at dartgala@gmail.com.

Governance Committee
The Governance Committee ensures that DGALA’s organizational structure is as effective as possible to best support the needs of our members. The committee is responsible for overseeing board member elections, Alumni Council representative selection, and elections of DGALA officer positions. On the broader level, the committee works to facilitate transparency and increase general membership engagement in the governance of the organization. If you think critically about how organizations are run and have ideas about ways to make DGALA work even better for its members, we would love to have you on board! Contact David Hankins ’05 at hankinsdg@gmail.com.
 
History Committee
The History Committee collaborates alongside Rauner Special Collections Library to collect and care for material bearing on the rich history of the LGBTQ community at Dartmouth, its three professional schools, and alumni/ae body, DGALA.  To advance this work, the History Committee is looking for volunteers to help assist with facilitating discussion amongst alumni/ae and students to share their experiences at Dartmouth, maintaining and managing this information, and acting as liaison with Rauner Library.  For more information or to get involved, please contact Jamal Brown ’08 at jamal.t.o.brown@gmail.com.
 
Networking Committee

The purpose of the Networking Committee of DGALA is to establish, develop and maintain, in conjunction with the student LGBT Peer Mentoring Program and the College’s Advisor to LGBT students, a mentoring program for young LGBT alumni/ae and students that seeks to address such diverse needs as academic and career advice, securing off-term internships and permanent employment and adjusting to new geographical locations.  From time to time the Committee may also devise and implement programs designed to bring together LGBT alumni/ae who share other common interests identified by the Committee. To get involved, contact Nick Chamousis ’73 at nchamousis@cs.com.
 
Programming Committee
The DGALA Programming Committee, in line with the organization’s mission and financial position, plans and executes a broad spectrum of programming and special events for the support, education, advancement and benefit of our membership.  To that end, the Programming Committee works with the organization’s Board and alumni/ae membership; current Dartmouth students, faculty, staff and administrators; fellow Dartmouth affiliated, shared interest, regional and class organizations; and GLBTQA organizations at other schools and within the larger GLBTQA community. Examples of past and proposed Programming include regional outreach mixers, networking and career development events, museum programs, movie screenings, sports outings, educational panels, joint events with fellow GLBTQA alumni/ae organizations, mini-reunions and all-class reunions.  To join the Programming Committee, contact Kamil Walji ’03 at kamil.walji@gmail.com.