CUNY SPS Wins Grant to Expand LGBTQIA+ Programming

The CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) has been awarded funding by CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium to support the School’s LGBTQIA+ programming during the academic year 2023-2024.

Spearheaded by Dr. Jan Oosting, PhD, RN, assistant professor of Nursing, and Anthony Sweeney, associate director of student life, the award was granted as part of their efforts to help ensure the visibility and inclusion of the entire spectrum of LGBTQIA+ students, faculty, and staff.

"We are pleased and proud of CUNY SPS's growing relationship with the CUNY-wide LGBTQIA+ community through our new membership in the Consortium, as we believe strongly that our staff, faculty, and most significantly, our students, deserve a caring community of support as they navigate their identities and their place in the world,” said Dr. Oosting. “The social, intellectual, and financial support offered by membership in the consortium will broaden our college community's perspective on these highly active but often under-served groups." 

“This funding will help me better understand our LGBTQIA+ student community here at CUNY SPS so that I can develop the right programs and initiatives to serve their personal and professional needs,” said Sweeney. “The CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium also offers our campus the resources and collegial support to ensure our campus is supportive of and reactive to all our students.”

The funds, offered in the amount of $47,000, will be applied toward a robust, yearlong program here at CUNY SPS designed to center the members of the School’s recently formed LGBTQIA+ Student Union, also known as the “Pride Club” of CUNY SPS, in active leadership roles. Planned events over the year will include a film screening, speaker series, safer space training, career day, advocacy awards, pride parade, and a health science conference, among others.

To help coordinate the grant activities, Amarna Williams, a current student in the MS in Disability Services in Higher Education program and co-chair of the Pride Club, was recently hired as a college assistant.

The CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium facilitates the archiving of LGBTQIA+ history across New York, and supports LGBTQIA+ training, education, and programming. Housed at CUNY’s LaGuardia & Wagner Archives, the Consortium began in the borough of Queens in 2017, and since that time has expanded to 14 campuses across all five boroughs.

For more information, please contact Anthony Sweeney at  anthony.sweeney@cuny.edu.

About the CUNY School of Professional Studies

As New York's leading online school since 2006, the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) offers the most online bachelor's and master's degree options at the City University of New York, and serves as the University's first undergraduate all-transfer college. With 26 degrees and numerous other non-degree and grant-funded workplace learning programs, CUNY SPS meets the needs of adults who wish to finish a bachelor's degree, progress from an associate's degree, earn a master's degree or certificate in a specialized field, and advance in the workplace or change careers. Consistently ranked highly by U.S. News & World Report for its online offerings, CUNY SPS has emerged as a nationwide leader in online education. The School's renowned and affordable online programs ensure that busy working adults may fulfill their educational goals on their own time and schedule.

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