Office of the Provost. LGBTQ+ Center Records
WFU's LGBTQ+ Center is the campus organization where students, faculty, staff, and alumni connect for resources, services, education, and leadership programs related to gender identity and sexual orientation. The Center was established in 2011 to serve the needs of Wake Forest's LGBTQ+ students. This collection contains documents pertaining to the LGBTQ+ Center, including news clippings, brochures, correspondence, oral histories, fliers, posters, t-shirts, training, conference, and other materials.
Biographical and Historical Note
WFU's LGBTQ+ Center is the campus location where students, faculty, staff, and alumni connect for resources, services, education, and leadership programs related to gender identity and sexual orientation. It was built on the foundations of two predecessor groups, the Gay and Lesbian Association and Gay Straight Student Alliance. The LGBTQ Center was established as the LGBTQ Center in 2011 under the direction of Dr. A. J. Mazaris to serve the needs of LGBTQ students at Wake Forest. In May 2012, N.C. passed a state constitutional amendment, Amendment 1, that banned same-sex civil unions or marriages; it was overturned by the state Supreme Court in October 2014. The collection reflects the experiences and work of the Center during this time, and other periods where LGBTQ+ groups were targeted by national, state, and local politics and events.
The LGBTQ+ Center offers a variety of programs and events throughout the year including Safe Zone training and Identity Spaces. Their programming works on educating members of the Wake Forest community and creating a welcoming space for members of the LGBTQ+ community including small and large-group discussions, films, and participation in campus-wide events. In October, the Center offers unique programs and opportunites to celebrate Queer History Month including collaborations with other Wake Forest departments.
In 2019, the Center name became the LGBTQ+ Center to reflect a broader community of people of different genders and sexualities. The LGBTQ+ Center currently maintains an office in Benson University Center.
Collection Overview
This collection documents the work and activities of the LGBTQ+ Center and its staff and students. Material types include news clippings, brochures, correspondence, fliers, posters, t-shirts, related materials, and student contact logs maintained by the center's inaugural director A. J. Mazaris. Safe Zone training materials, oral histories created by the Queer Public Histories course, and materials related to the Rising Voices conference in 2015 are also included.
Collection Arrangement
This collection is arranged into 4 series: series 1. Artifact, Event, and program materials; series 2. Department and Subject files; series 3. Inaugural Director, A. J. Mazeris materials; series 4. oral histories. The first three series are arranged alphabetically; series 4 is arranged chronologically.
Administrative Information
- Publication Information
- Processed by Traienne Mitchell, circa 2013
- Revision Description
- Revised by Iman Ahmed, Stephanie Bennett, Immanuel Eggers, Ashelee Gerald Hill, Stephanie Bennett, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
- Revision Description
- Revised by Meg Campbell, newly processed accession, 2023
- Revision Description
- Revised by Kate Trathen, added new materials and updated related materials note, 2025 December
- Access Restrictions
- This collection is open for use.
- Copyright Notice
- The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
- Preferred Citation
- Office of the Provost. LGBTQ+ Center Records (RG22.3), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.