Pride Event

 

The LGBTQ+ Collective supports an inclusive, intersectional community championing the rights, identities, and contributions of LGBTQIA+ students, faculty, staff, and allies. Through diverse programming across all academic lens, we empower and elevate LGBTQIA+ voices, promote social justice and queer belonging across cultures, and advocate for educational enrichment and community engagement at Lehman College and beyond.

Vision  

We envision a thriving, inclusive community at Lehman College where LGBTQIA+ students, faculty, and staff are empowered to excel, innovate, and lead in a culture of respect, belonging, academic excellence, and social justice.  We aspire to be a transformative force in higher education, renowned for innovative programming, interdisciplinary collaboration, and unwavering support for LGBTQIA+ identities across all fields and cultures. Our goal is to serve as a model of inclusivity and excellence, fostering a global culture bridging diverse perspectives, preparing all members to make meaningful contributions. 

Values 


Inclusivity and Intersectionality 
 

We honor and embrace diverse identities, recognizing that individual experience is shaped by intersections of nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, ability, and other dimensions of identity.  Our community is built on respect, understanding, and mutual support.  

Empowerment and Education  

We believe that knowledge fuels positive change.  Through workshops, events, and interdisciplinary programming, we promote awareness, professional growth, and empowerment for our members and the Lehman community.  

Community and Connection  

Strengthening connections across cultures and identities, we strive to create a supportive environment where LGBTQIA+ students, faculty, staff, and allies can experience community, a sense of belonging to support collaboration, advocating for an inspiring future.  

Advocacy and Social Justice  

Dedicated to dismantling structural inequality, we are committed to an equitable future by embracing initiatives that support LGBTQIA+ rights, advocating for systemic change, and fostering a culture of compassion, understanding, and advancement. 

Innovation and Academic Excellence  

Grounded in Lehman College’s mission as a minority-serving and Hispanic-serving institution, we support initiatives in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences, promoting creative and academic excellence. 

 

Courses Offered

  • LGBTQ+ Literature (Spring 2025) 
    • Critical analysis of short stories, novels, poetry, drama, memoir, film, graphic, or multimedia narratives by, for, and about LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) people. Changing social, political, and cultural contexts. Feminist and queer theories of gender and sexuality.
  • Queer Theatre (Fall) 
    • Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered drama from Christopher Marlowe through Mae West to the present.

Upcoming Events

Photo of jaamil olawale kosoko

February 24, 2026

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Spring 2026 Queer Theater and Performance Speaker series - jaamil olawale kosoko

jaamil olawale kosoko is a multi-spirited Nigerian American choreographer, author, performance artist, and curator. jaamil’s interdisciplinary practice merges performance, video, sculpture, and poetry, exploring queer Black theory, emergence, and critical rest-care strategies for QTBIPOC+ liberation and reparation.

Photo of dancers rehearsing

March 17, 2026

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Spring 2026 Queer Theater and Performance Speaker series - Hana van der Kolk

Hana van der Kolk is a queer dancer, artist, and embodied learning, ritual, and celebration facilitator collaborating on Nipmuc (Western Massachusetts) and Mohican and Haudenosaunee lands (Hudson Valley). Hana spends time listening for/co-creating bridges through dance, performance, pedagogy, celebration, transformation, queer ecology, and dismantling empire inside and out.

Photo of dancer rehearsing

May 5, 2026

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Spring 2026 Queer Theater and Performance Speaker series - zavé martohardjono

zavé martohardjono is an interdisciplinary dance and installation artist. Their time-based works, rooted in ecological and political liberation, activate audiences' senses to dream of more just futures.

Steering Committee

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Benjamin Holtzman

Assistant Professor, History

Kenneth Schlesinger

Kenneth Schlesinger

Associate Dean & Professor Chief Librarian

kenneth.schlesinger@lehman.cuny.edu Leonard Lief Library, Room 201 718-960-8577
Matthew Frye-Castillo

Matthew Frye-Castillo

Lecturer/ and Director of the Program for Professional Communications, English

matthew.fryecastillo@lehman.cuny.edu Carman Hall, Room 394
Monica Duncan

Monica Duncan

Assistant Professor (Theatre), Music, Multimedia, Theatre & Dance

monica.duncan@lehman.cuny.edu Speech/Theatre Building, Room 106 718-960-6096

Profile

MX Cooper

MX Cooper

Associate Professor (Dance), Music, Multimedia, Theatre & Dance

mx.cooper@lehman.cuny.edu Speech/Theatre Building, Room 111 718-960-6095

Profile

Robert Utzinger

Robert Utzinger

Lecturer, Finance, Information Systems & Economics