Lesbian and Gay Academic Union records, 1973-1987

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Creators:
Gay Academic Union, Berzon, Betty, DeCrescenzo, Teresa, and Steele, Gary L.
Abstract:
Correspondence, meeting minutes, manuscripts, publicity material, notes, financial records, photographs, membership records, conference administrative records, grant applications, bylaws, articles of incorporation, and other records documenting activities of the Lesbian and Gay Academic Union (LGAU), 1973 to 1987. Founded in 1973 in New York, New York, the Gay Academic Union consisted of a national network of college and university chapters. In 1978, the national headquarters moved to Los Angeles, California.
Extent:
3 Linear Feet 3 boxes.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder #, or item name] Lesbian and Gay Academic Union Records, Coll2011-041, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection comprises correspondence, meeting minutes, manuscripts, publicity material, notes, financial records, photographs, membership records, conference administrative records, grant applications, bylaws, articles of incorporation, and other records documenting activities of the Lesbian and Gay Academic Union (LGAU), 1973 to 1987. Materials in the collection document activities, including Board of Directors meetings, annual LGAU conferences, public events, and distribution of scholarships. The bulk of the collection comprises scrapbooks and administrative records of the Los Angeles chapter of LGAU, particularly from the period after LGAU's national board of directors moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1978. This collection also includes administrative records and publicity material from other chapters of LGAU.

Biographical / historical:

The Gay Academic Union (GAU) was founded in New York, New York, in 1973, "to promote and disseminate research on homosexuality and gay people." The GAU consisted of a national network of college and university chapters, totaling a dozen chapters by 1979. In 1978 the GAU's Board of Directors, as well as its annual conference, moved from New York to Los Angeles, California. In the early 1980s, GAU changed its name to the Lesbian and Gay Academic Union (LGAU). The Los Angeles chapter and National office of the LGAU ceased operations, circa 1987. However, some chapters of LGAU continued into the 1990s.

Processing information:

A basic collection-level finding aid was created in 2011 for this collection as part of a project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Processing of this collection and publication of a folder-level finding aid was completed in December 2014 as part of a project funded by the Council on Library and Information Sciences. This collection was processed by Cooper Moll, December 2014.

Arrangement:

This collection is divided into two series:

Series 1. National LGAU and Los Angeles chapter records

Series 2. Other chapter administrative records.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder #, or item name] Lesbian and Gay Academic Union Records, Coll2011-041, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Location of this collection:
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007, US
Contact:
(213) 821-2771
askone@usc.edu
Website