For the first time in more than 10 years, it appears that UCSF will no longer have a stand-alone Center for LGBT Health and Equity, an office that was the first-of-its-kind in the country. The center's most recent director, Shane Snowdon, left last summer to take a position with the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C. Since then, her position hasn't been filled, and according to a recent job announcement, it won't be. Instead, the university is looking to hire a diversity program manager/LGBT specialist, which is a significant step down from a director. Additionally, this new program manager/LGBT specialist won't be focusing solely on LGBT concerns. Rather, the job overview states that the person "is responsible for the design, execution, and assessment of diversity and outreach programs that advance the strategic goals of the Office of Diversity and Outreach and the UCSF campus, including UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital." In other words, the position will have a "special focus" on the LGBT community, but that won't be exclusive as it was in the past. A more detailed job description reveals that the specialist would spend only 25 percent of their time managing the health center.
It appears that the position has been downgraded. As Snowdon wrote on the UCSF LGBT Facebook page, UCSF will be the only UC campus (except Merced) without an LGBT Center director. "Since 1999, there has been a fulltime LGBT director at UCSF, and the center ... has been a major campus, Bay Area, and national resource." It's not even clear the UCSF Center for LGBT Health and Equity still exists, as it's not mentioned in the current job posting, Snowdon noted.
A concerned member of the UCSF LGBT community who sent us an anonymous email because of fear of retaliation pointed out that the change �" dividing the time between general diversity work and LGBT concerns �" will "significantly damage the substantial progress made at UCSF since the LGBT center's creation in 1998."
We are, of course, aware of the devastating state budget cuts to higher education over the last several years, but the LGBT center ran on a budget of $100,000 to $150,000, from internal and external sources �" a drop in the bucket of the overall budget. Considering UCSF is located in San Francisco, which has one of the highest percentages of LGBT residents in the country, the move to lessen the focus of the LGBT center is a head-scratcher. It represents a significant cutback in UCSF support for the LGBT community �" both on its campus and at large �" and is not acceptable.
Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Renee Navarro told us this week that she remains committed to the center, and that the changes were made so that diversity issues would be approached in a combined fashion. While there are benefits to coalitions in diversity work, the fact remains that LGBTs at UCSF and elsewhere continue to have unique health and education issues.
UCSF is a world-class learning institution, and has one of the best medical schools in the country. It works closely with the San Francisco Department of Public Health and San Francisco General Hospital. The LGBT community in San Francisco has benefitted enormously from UCSF research, programs, and the like. Now, the university wants to diminish its LGBT health center for no apparent reason.
It's time that UCSF leadership re-examine its decision and repost the job listing, this time calling for a director for the UCSF Center for LGBT Health and Equity.