We are thrilled to announce that Brian Edwards (he, him, his, they, them, theirs) will be joining the Office for Diversity and Inclusion team at University of Connecticut as the new Director of the Rainbow Center beginning on August 18, 2017.
Brian has over 13 years of experience in higher education and has held various positions in both student and academic affairs. Most recently, he served as the Assistant Director of the Office of Equity and Diversity and the Coordinator of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Center at Montclair State University, in addition to teaching LGBTQ Studies courses in the Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies department. At Montclair, Brian was responsible for the advocacy and direction of University-wide services and programs for LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff.
Brian is active in professional higher education organizations such as NASPA and ACUI, and has served as a regional representative for The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals. Currently, he is part of a team in the Consortium charged with developing national standards of practice for LGBTQ center practitioners.
Brian holds a B.F.A. from Marymount Manhattan College and an M.S.Ed. from Baruch College, CUNY. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in education with a concentration in higher education administration at New England College. His current research explores the experiences of college students and campus administrators engaged in LGBTQ social justice education activism.
On behalf of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion team, we would like to thank the search committee for their active participation in this search process. We would also like to thank Elsie Gonzalez for her dedicated service as the Interim Director during this transition. Please join us in welcoming Brian to the UConn community in August.
For more information, contact: Office for Diversity and Inclusion at diversity@uconn.edu