Committee on the Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Individuals in the Profession
The Committee on the Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Individuals (LGBT) in the Profession assesses the status of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender scholars in the profession; advances the research on LGBT issues; develops curriculum materials; and works to ensure equity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ political scientists.
Committee on the Status of LGBT Individuals Travel Grants
The 2026 application cycle for the APSA Committee on the Status of LGBT Individuals Travel Grants is now open! Deadline: June 28, 2026 | Click here to apply
The APSA Committee on the Status of LGBT Individuals in the Profession is sponsoring travel grants to support attendance at the 2026 APSA Annual Meeting. The 122nd Annual Meeting & Exhibition will be held in Boston, Massachusetts, September 3–6, 2026, to address the latest scholarship in political science and explore this year’s conference theme, “Democracy Under Threat: How to Understand, Protect, and Rebuild.”
Travel grants will support individuals who will travel to Boston, MA, for the APSA Annual Meeting. Grants will not exceed $300 per awardee. Priority will be given to applicants with accepted poster and paper presentations, or individuals attending APSA to engage in service on LGBT-related committees/sections.
Committee Members
| Term expiring September 6, 2026 |
|---|
| Quinn Albaugh, Queen’s University |
| Jerome Hunt, Long Beach City College, Chair |
| Term expiring September 5, 2027 |
|---|
| Gabriele Magni, Loyola Marymount University |
| Be Stone, Rhodes College |
| Term expiring September 5, 2028 |
|---|
| Cyril Ghosh, Clark University |
| Patrick R. Miller, Kent State University |
Grant Recipients
The committee awarded 11 recipients of the award in 2025. Select grant winners are listed below:
- Alex Avery, Washington University in St. Louis
- Edwina Chen, University of South Carolina
- Nicholas Damico, Syracuse University
- Maya Fitch, University of Houston
- Claire L. Ma, University of Michigan
- Soyeon Park, Michigan State University
- Sara Maaria Saastamoinen, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
- Alena Wolflink, University of Denver
Letters and Statements
- Statement on Discriminatory Legislation Against the LGBTQ Community and its Implications for Our Professional Conference Siting Decisions – July 6, 2021
- Joint Statement on the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Society for Political Methodology – April 16, 2018
Related Material
- Political Science Today 3.3 Special Edition: Ken Sherill and 50 Years of Queer Scholarship Celebration
- Symposium: The Politics of Same-Sex Marriage
- American Library Association’s Transgender Bibliography
- Sexuality and Politics Section
Related Organizations and Programs
Projects and Activities
- Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and the Transgendered in Political Science: Report on a Discipline-Wide Survey (.pdf; published January, 2010)
- Recent Works Published on LGBT Politics (.pdf)
- Review of U.S. Politics Textbooks
The Committee authorized a review of 17 recent editions of top-selling textbooks marked for use in courses that provide an introduction to U.S. Politics. The result of that review were published as “Survey of Textbooks for Teaching Introduction to U.S. Politics: (How) Do They See Us” (.pdf) in PS: Political Science & Politics, Vol. 40, No. 2 (April 2007) - Online Syllabi Project
LGBT in the Profession has started to collect and review available online syllabi for courses in gender, sexuality, and American politics. For a list of some of these syllabi, see the APSA Online Political Science Syllabi page and scroll to the topic heading Gender, Sexuality, and American Politics.
If you would like to submit a syllabus for that list for review, please forward an electronic copy or link to Patricia J. Campbell (University of West Georgia).
Previous Panels/Roundtables at the APSA Annual Meeting
- 2025 Roundtable: Contemporary Challenges for LGBTQ Political Scientists
- 2024 Roundtable: 50 Years of LGBTQ Scholarship at APSA Mini-Conference: Globalizing the Study of LGBTQ Politics
- 2022 Panel: The Politics of Panic: Backlash, Dog Whistles, and the Erosion of LGBTQ Victories
- 2021 Roundtable: Exploring LGBTQ contributions to and inclusion in the BLM movement: opportunities and challenges
- 2020 Roundtable: The Violence of Hate Speech Against Racial, Gender, and Sexual Populations
- 2019 Roundtable: LGBTQ+ Political Scientists: Sharing Our Experiences in the Profession and Welcoming a New Generation of Colleagues
- 2018 Roundtable: The Trump Administration and the Courts: The Impact on LGBT Rights
- 2018 Roundtable: Improving Diversity in Political Methodology
- 2017 Panel: A Discussion of Notable LGBT Rights Books from 2016
- 2016 Panel: The Future of Transgender Rights
- 2014 Panel: Navigating the Academic Seas: Career Strategies for LGBT Scholars
- 2013 Roundtable: LGBT Rights after Perry and Windsor
- 2012 Panel: The Politics of Defining “The Family”
- 2012 Panel: President Obama and LGBT Issues
- 2011 Roundtable: Transgender Political Science? A Roundtable Discussion on the Whats, Hows, and Whos of the Research
Participation in APSA Diversity and Inclusion Programs is open to all interested individuals without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable law. Applicants must satisfy any relevant program-specific criteria.