What is Lavender Graduation?
Lavender Graduation is an annual ceremony conducted on many campuses to honor lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ+) students and to acknowledge their achievements and contributions to their institutions. The Lavender Graduation Ceremony was created by Dr. Ronni Sanlo. She was denied the opportunity to attend the graduations of her biological children because of her sexual orientation.
It was through this experience that she came to understand the pain felt by her students. Encouraged by the Dean of Students at the University of Michigan, Dr. Sanlo designed the first Lavender Graduation ceremony in 1995 with three graduates.
By 2001, there were over 45 Lavender Graduation ceremonies at colleges and universities nationwide. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Spectrum: LGBTQ and Allies of Wichita State University came together to put on the first Lavender Graduation during the month of GAYpril (April) in 2015 with four graduates. In addition, our first keynote speaker was Stacey Mann, lecturer for the School of Social Work. We are excited to continue to celebrate our graduates and look forward to the growth of the program.
10th Annual Lavender Graduation
Thank you for your patience, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Spectrum & Allies is working hard to solidify plans for the 10th annual Lavender Graduation. Please bookmark this page and return at a later time when we announce the event details.
