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Spotlight on SIUE Queer Faculty and Staff Association
Posted June 22, 2022
by Pamela Williams
The celebration of Pride Month 2022 at SIUE is amplified with the establishment of the Queer Faculty and Staff Association (QFSA) in the Spring of 2022. QFSA is SIUE’s newest constituency group and it provides community, advocacy, and visibility for LGBTQIA+ faculty and staff. Two of the four co-founders, Rex Jackson (Associate Director of Residence Life) and Nick Niemerg (Assistant Director of Constituent Relations) made time in their busy schedules to discuss the significance of the QFSA as well as some of the group’s aspirations now that it is an officially recognized campus association.
QFSA differs from SIUE Safe Zone as the association’s membership is exclusively for faculty and staff. LGBTQIA+ employee constituent groups, such as QFSA, are not as common as institution-wide or student-specific groups. With the founding of QFSA, SIUE joins a growing movement to include and recognize LGBTQIA+ faculty and staff apart from LGBTQIA+ student groups. Mr. Jackson and Mr. Niemerg shared that the organization referenced the structure of the Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA) which is another SIUE constituency group at SIUE.
Mr. Jackson and Mr. Niemerg were very excited at the prospect of QFSA supporting the recruitment and retention of new LGBTQIA+ faculty and staff. The organization would like to develop literature to encourage prospective LGBTQIA+ candidates to consider a career at SIUE. A mentorship program for new faculty and staff is also a QFSA inaugural priority. Other goals include fundraising for a student scholarship, hosting faculty and staff social and professional development events, and continuing to support Safe Zone and other community initiatives.
The association recently concluded its first executive board elections and looks forward to kicking-off the 2022-2023 academic year with a welcome reception in early September. Congratulations are in order as Mr. Jackson was elected Treasurer and Mr. Niemerg was elected President. The organization is working to establish a website to share information with members, prospective employees, and the SIUE community. Mr. Jackson and Mr. Niemerg also expressed their gratitude to QFSA fellow co-founders, Jennifer Wagner (Associate General Counsel) and Elizabeth Kamper (Assistant Professor and Information Literacy Librarian). To join or learn more about the QFSA, please email lgbtqia@siue.edu.
Images below: Nick Niemerg (left) and Rex Jackson (right, wearing glasses)
