Gay office at Univ. of Maryland spared cuts

The University of Maryland’s LGBT Equity office has been spared budget cuts that had threatened to reduce the staff to just one person.

Last week’s decision by Nariman Farvardin, provost of the College Park campus, keeps in place the office’s two administrators. It also makes permanent a position that was temporary.

“This is really welcome news,” said Luke Jensen, the office’s director. “It took a long time to get here, but it’s certainly still welcome.”

Students and faculty at College Park had rallied to defend the office and its associate director, Shiva Subbaraman, whose job would have been eliminated had the office’s funding not been sustained.

“There was a lot of public reaction and community reaction to simply the potential that this would happen,” Jensen said. “If there was a question before, there is none now about the usefulness of this office and the work that she’s done here the last two years.”Gay office at Univ. of Maryland spared cuts
Washington Blade, DC -