About Us
Q Center
What we’re about.
The Q Center is here to provide support, community, advocacy, and a safe space for LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer, intersex, ace/aro, etc.) students, faculty, and staff.
Our mission is to provide an educational, affirming, and inclusive environment for LGBTQIA+ students, faculty, and staff through support services and educational efforts to reduce bias around gender and sexual orientation. The Q Center strives to create a campus culture where all members of our community feel safe and affirmed, and are empowered to promote and defend diversity.
FAQ
The answers you need may be here.
Check out this FAQ to see if you can find the answers to your questions here. If not, reach out to us.
Q Center events are open to all students, faculty, and staff. If you are not a member of our campus community and are interested in attending an event, please contact.
Walb Student Union, Room 215. Look for the rainbow wall—you can’t miss us.
We are open every Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except during federal holidays and official campus closures.
- Come to any of our events
- Join our Discord server
- Join OutSpoken
- Attend an LGBTTalks
- Attend a Mastodon Ally Training workshop
- Attend or volunteer at any of our events
- Get SafeZone certified
- Donate to the mini library
- Stop by our office
Yes. Every academic building on campus has at least one gender-neutral bathroom, with the exception of the Williams Theatre and Helmke Library. It’s important to note that our nondiscrimination policy protects individuals based on their gender identity and gender expression. Therefore, all students, faculty, staff, and visitors to our campus may use whatever restroom that aligns with their identity or that they are most comfortable with.
Students have two options for changing their name at Purdue Fort Wayne. Those with names that have been legally changed can fill out this form and return it to the enrollment services desk. They will also need one of the following documents with your new name to complete the process:
- Driver’s license or state-issued photo ID
- Marriage license
- Social Security card
- Permanent resident card (green card)
- Passport
- Divorce decree
- Court order
Students who do not have a legal name change may change their first name using the preferred name change form. You do not need to provide documentation. The university has the right to revoke or deny a preferred name request if it contains inappropriate or offensive language, avoidance of legal obligation, or is being used for misrepresentation. Please allow 24–48 hours for the request to be processed. You may change your preferred name only once per semester. You may update only your first name with a preferred name. You may not update your last name.
Currently, there is no process for changing the gender marker on school records at Purdue Fort Wayne.
For full information on amending your student record, click here.
Yes. A legal name change is often the first step in a person’s legal transition, a concrete signpost that they are beginning to live in accordance with their gender identity. It can be important to have accurate IDs to reflect who you are in the world.
To change your name in the state of Indiana, you must file a name-change petition with your local county circuit court, post notice of your name change in a local newspaper for at least three weeks, and attend a hearing to confirm your name change.
For forms and information on the process, click here.
In Indiana, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) needs one of the following:
- A birth certificate showing a change of gender or a form signed by a physician certifying that the applicant successfully underwent all treatment necessary to permanently change gender or physician’s signed and dated statement, on letterhead, that includes the language from 140 IAC 7-1.1-3 “<insert customer’s name> successfully underwent all treatment necessary to permanently change <insert customer’s name> gender from <insert prior gender> to <insert new gender>.”
- Indiana’s BMV now has a third gender option “X” for nonbinary individuals. These persons still need to have one of the documents listed above.
For more information on the process, click here.
Indiana has a general statute providing for the change of information on birth certificates. The Vital Statistics Division will issue an amended birth certificate upon showing of a court order. To apply for an amended birth certificate the applicant should submit the following:
- A certified court order from any valid court in the United States (the court order must have the person’s name, date and place of birth, and must say to change the original gender of the person on the birth certificate)
- An application for a birth certificate
- A copy of a photo ID with current mailing address
- A check or money order with applicable fees for the Indiana State Department of Health
For more information on the process, click here.
Dealing with dead-naming or misgendering in the classroom can be difficult. Make sure that you have let your professor know the situation during office hours or before or after class. You may also want to have a discussion via email to have documentation for future reference, if needed. If the issue continues, you may fill out a formal complaint of discrimination and/or harassment through Human Resources and the Office of Institutional Equity or the Office of Student Conduct and Care.
In cases of harassment, or situations in which a student feels that another member of the Purdue Fort Wayne community (staff, faculty, or student) has violated their rights under Purdue’s antiharassment, nondiscrimination, and equal opportunity policies, a student can file a report, contact the Office of Conduct and Care, or reach out to Human Resources or the Office of Institutional Equity.
The form will require information about you, information about the person(s) you are complaining about, and information about the incident, along with any supporting documentation that you have.
HISTORY
Take a look at our pivotal moments.
1975
University Gay Activists, the first LGBTQ student organization at the university, forms
1977
The state of Indiana decriminalizes homosexuality
1980
The university holds the first Gay Awareness Week, in March
1987
The university hosts its first AIDS Awareness Week
1988
The student senate adopts a new nondiscrimination policy that covers sexual preference
1996
An October article in the campus newspaper, The Communicator, calls out the lack of services for gay students from the Office of Multicultural Services
2005
The chancellor’s Council on Diversity conducts a campus climate survey that asks about sexual orientation for the first time
2007
The Resource Center opens in the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, under the leadership of Jeannie DiClementi
2019
The Resource Center moves to its current home, in Walb 215, opening to the campus community on October 1
2021
The Resource Center joins the newly formed Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, under the leadership of the university's first chief diversity officer
The center changes its name to the Q Center, to reflect a new start and a new outlook on our service to the campus