The South may not immediately conjure up visions of tolerance, but that’s exactly where the University found a new leader to guide its work on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.
A search committee has hired Chicora Martin to take over the position of director for LGBT Education and Support Services, replacing Brooke Lather, the group’s interim director. Martin’s resumé includes a stint at Florida State University in Tallahassee as advisor and group facilitator for the LGBT Student Union.
She also received her master’s of higher education from FSU and has work experience with the Dean of Students office at Georgia Institute of Technology, in addition to involvement with Bisexuals, Gay, Lesbian and Allies for Diversity at East Carolina University.
“She’s very passionate about this work [and] she’s very clear that this is the work that she’s about, that she wants to be doing,” co-chair of the search committee Annie Bentz said. “She’s got a ton of energy. Everybody who came in contact with her felt like they connected with her and that she would serve the University well in her role.”
Martin could not be reached for comment. Her job, which starts Aug. 21, falls under the supervision of the Office of Student Life.
“We are just really excited with her being a part of [our] team,” OSL Associate Director Cheryl Eyster said. “Her talents, experience and skills are really phenomenal.”
Martin’s other experience and background includes work with the Tallahassee Safe Zone Program, which is an outreach resource for students, faculty and staff at FSU. She also worked with the GLBT Resource Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Most of the issues Martin will encounter at the University are universal to all campuses, but Bentz said the new director will also have to jump in right away on an Oregon cause — the Student Protection Act, a measure on November’s ballot that would ban any discussion of homosexuality in the state’s public schools.
“I think the biggest challenge in the immediate future [for Martin] is working with the community around the [Oregon Citizen’s Alliance] measure and providing some leadership around that issue,” Bentz said.