U of L LGBT Center Advocate Award

2021 LGBT Center Advocate Award presented to Luke Buckman and Sarah McKinney 

Congratulations to Luke Buckman and Sarah McKinney who were both recently awarded the 2021 LGBT Center Advocate Award for the Belknap and HSC campuses, respectively.  Each year this award is presented to honor a faculty and/or staff member who has helped to build a more inclusive and welcoming campus community, and has made a positive impact through their advocacy for LGBTQ+ people campus-wide.

For more information, visit the LGBT Center Advocate Award presentation video, here.

Luke Buckman is the assistant director for student programming and development in the university honors program. He is known for going out of his way to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ students feel seen and valued. He states, “I am so incredibly honored to be awarded the 2021 LGBT Center Advocate Award.” Later, he went on to mention that “one of the things I try to center in the work that I do is to focus on listening to allow people to be heard, seen, and acknowledged for who they are.”

Sarah McKinney is a Technical Specialist, Sr. in the Pediatrics Department. She has restarted the UofL LGBTQ+ Faculty Staff Association which now has 100+ members after being inactive for 12+ years. She is the chair of the Transgender Wellness Summit and one of the co-founders on Kentuckiana Transgender Support Group. Additionally, she has helped organized various events and mentor several transgender individuals to help them through their transition. She states, “the LGBT Center helped me during one of the darkest times of my life and that’s part of what drives me to do the things I do in the community because I know how bad it hurts to be a part of population that is not accepted by everybody... if I can do anything to lessen the pain, I am going to do it.”

While working to create a welcoming campus community for LGBTQ+ students, it’s important to celebrate and recognize the faculty and staff advocates who have helped along the way. For this reason, the students, faculty, and staff served by the LGBT Center announce their annual UofL LGBT Center Advocate Award. Through these awards—presented each year during an LGBT Center event--we seek to honor those faculty and staff who work alongside us every day to build a more inclusive and welcoming campus community. 

Candidates for the award can include any faculty or staff member—LGBTQ+, straight, questioning, or those whose gender identity or sexual orientation is unknown to you—who is making a positive impact and advocating for LGBTQ+ people on our campus.

Think of the decision-makers or unsung heroes that you’d like to honor for their dedication, and tell us why you think they should be recognized using this form. 

Previous Faculty/Staff Ally Award Recipients: 

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