Chancellor's Advisory Committee on the LGBTQ+ Communities at Cal

Mission Statement

The Chancellor's Advisory Committee on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ+) Communities at Cal (CAC-LGBTQ+) is a standing committee for the Chancellor, comprised of UC Berkeley staff, faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, alumni, and ex officio representatives. To promote an affirming and inclusive campus environment, the committee regularly identifies, analyzes, and advises the Chancellor and senior administration on needs and concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer faculty, staff, students, alumni, and affiliates at UC Berkeley.

Objectives

Since reconstituting in 2007, the CAC-LGBTQ+ has worked energetically to heighten the visibility of the contributions and concerns of LGBTQ+ staff, faculty, and students among Berkeley’s initiatives for diversity, equity, and inclusion. The objectives of CAC-LGBTQ+ are to:

  1. Help create an affirming and welcoming environment for all campus members.
  2. Advise on campus climate, changing needs of campus LGBTQ+ communities, and emerging populations and trends.
  3. Review campus and UC system policies, procedures, and practices that affect employment, academic status, and quality of life of LGBTQ+ campus members, and offer comments and recommendations.
  4. Review campus and UC system reports, plans, and program proposals that relate to and are of concern to campus LGBTQ+ communities, and offer comments and recommendations.
  5. Comment on conditions and incidents that adversely affect the LGBTQ+ community on campus.
  6. Support the advancement of scholarly research and teaching in the areas of LGBTQ+ studies and related intellectual endeavors.
  7. Liaise with related committees and constituencies.

Briefing Papers

Briefing Papers have been presented to the Chancellor and other administrators each year since 2007 to summarize key areas of concern and advising from CAC-LGBTQ+. 

2024 CAC-LGBTQ+ Briefing Document

2023 CAC-LGBTQ+ Briefing Document

2022 CAC-LGBTQ+ Briefing Document

2021 CAC-LGBTQ+ Briefing Document

Community Input Form

The Chancellor's Advisory Committee for LGBTQ+ Communities at Cal invites you to use the linked form to share your comments, concerns, or questions about campus policies & resources impacting LGBTQ+ experiences at Cal.

Note: This form is not for reporting specific incidents of bias/hate to campus administrators. To report bias/hate incidents, please visit https://cejce.berkeley.edu/report-incident or https://ophd.berkeley.edu/submit-report-harassment-or-discrimination.

CAC-LGBTQ+ Membership

Membership is refreshed annually at the beginning of the Fall semester or as needed when vacancies occur off-cycle. Members serve varying lengths of terms, depending on availability and interest.

Representation of Constituencies     

  • Senate faculty (professors and emeriti, confirmed by the Academic Senate’s Committee on Committees):  two

  • Non-Senate faculty (lecturers, adjuncts):  two

  • Non-faculty/non-postdoc academic appointees (academic administrators, academic coordinators, librarians, researchers):  two

  • Postdoctoral appointees:  two

  • Staff:  four

  • Undergraduate students:  three (1 appointed by the ASUC, 2 at large)

  • Graduate students:  three (1 appointed by the Graduate Assembly, 2 at large)

  • Appointee: Representative of the Queer Alliance Resource Center Board
  • Appointee: Representative of LavenderCal 

  • Ex officio:  Representative of the Gender Equity Resource Center 

  • Ex officio:  Representative of the Department of Gender & Women's Studies and/or LGBT Minor

  • Ex officio:  Representative of the Office for Faculty Equity & Welfare

  • Ex officio:  Representative of University Health Services / Trans & Gender Diverse Care Team

  • Ex officio:  Representative of Intercollegiate Athletics

  • Ex officio:  Representative of Cal Alumni Pride (California Alumni Association)

  • Ex officio:  Graduate Assembly Sexual Orientation and Gender Advocacy (SOGA) / Trans and Gender Diverse Advocacy (TGDA) Project Director

  • Ex officio: Queer Alliance Resource Center Program Director

  • Ex officio: UNITY Theme Program Resident Director

Desired Attributes of Members

  • Familiarity with LGBTQ+ issues.

  • Experience in some facet of LGBTQ+ community organizing, advocacy, or service (on or off campus).

  • Willingness to seek information and direction from the campus LGBTQ+ community and to encourage collaboration and consensus-building.

  • Ability to represent and articulate the collective perspective of the Committee.

  • Commitment to work cooperatively with all campus constituencies to further the campus’s overall diversity goals.

Commitments Required of Members

  • Be able and willing to serve a one or two year term (renewable).
  • Be publicly identified as a member of the CAC-LGBTQ+ through the publicly available roster and/or the LavenderCal Outlist.
  • Regularly attend CAC-LGBTQ+ monthly business meetings (September-May), as well as periodic special meetings with UC administrators (e.g., Chancellor, Vice Chancellors, Staff Advisors to the Regents, etc.) or other committees (e.g., Staff Diversity Council).
  • Prepare for meetings by reading and commenting on briefings, proposals, etc.
  • Participate in committee task work between meetings (e.g., writing, researching, organizing).
  • Participate in campus life by attending campus LGBTQ+ activities, including those of allied staff, faculty, or student organizations.
  • Work cooperatively with all campus constituencies to promote UC’s overall equity & inclusion goals.

Application for Membership 

Submit Membership Applications for the 2024-2025 Academic Year here. 

At-large members: We are actively seeking applicants from a range of backgrounds who are willing to share their unique insights by joining the committee in the following open at large-positions:

  • Senate faculty (2)

  • Non-Senate faculty (1)

  • Postdoctoral appointees (2)

  • Non-faculty/non-postdoc academic appointees (2)

  • Graduate Students (2)

Designated appointee / ex officio members should also fill out the application.

Membership Roster & Contact Information

The 2023-2024 Member Roster may be found here.

Contact the Co-Chairs at: caclgbt@berkeley.edu

More about CAC-LGBTQ+

Procedures and Timelines

Past Accomplishments

  • Achieved expanded leave benefits (including paid parental leave for adoptions) for all UC staff employees, after leading a five-year-long, multi-constituency campaign. 
  • Achieved adoption by Intercollegiate Athletics of “Recommendations for Intercollegiate Athletics Policies and Practices Regarding Transgender Student-Athlete Participation at UC Berkeley," one of the first such at any U.S. university. 
  • Achieved issuance by the campus ROTC of affirmative statement welcoming repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell," unique in the nation.  

Campus Engagement

CAC-LGBTQ+ engages in meetings and ongoing discussions with administrative and academic leaders on our campus, including the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor for Equity & Inclusion, and other senior leadership.  We provide annual Briefing Papers to campus leaders on issues of concern to our campus communities.

As needed, CAC members represent the LGBTQ+ campus communities by holding a seat at the table of various campus-wide committees, such as the Equity & Inclusion Strategic Advisory Group, the Berkeley Initiative for Leadership on Diversity, staff organizations and networks, student groups, and faculty consortia.

These activities and connections raise the visibility of our LGBTQ campus communities, educate allies about our issues and concerns, forge new alliances, develop leadership among our ranks, and inspire colleagues at other UC campuses.