LGBTQ has expanded to LGBTQ2IA+ to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, two-spirit, intersex, aromantic, asexual, agender and other identities.
[2] The movement has been slower outside of predominantly white institutions (PWIs); the first historically black college/university (HBCU) to open a center was Bowie State University in 2012.
[6] As of March 2015, more than half of post-secondary institutions in Canada have active LGBT student centers, with the oldest centre's establishment dating to before 1970.
[7] Several variables have been shown to impact the probability of an LGBT student center opening on a campus, including financial resources and the political environment.
[7] In March of 2023 the University of Pennsylvania LGBT Center, the second oldest in the country establishing in 1982, named the first in the United States, scholar in residence, after a $2 million donation.
[10] Centers are still frequently seen as a key way to foster relationships and networking among LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff, and are often marketed as such to bring a positive awareness.
[17] This creation of a "warm" climate allows for students to develop not only intellectually through High Impact Practices (HIPs) but holistically through mentorship and counselling support.
[16] LGBTQ+ student centers are key contributors in the development of inclusive environments for the LGBTQ+ community and link to academic persistence at post-secondary institutions.
[21] A key critique of current outreach has been that existing centers may be unintentionally serving and targeting more privileged and "dominant" identity-holding members of a campus's LGBTQ+ community.
[9][23] The support needed to bolster higher administration to allocate the funds, staffing, and resources is often very hard to attain or takes years of momentum among predominantly undergraduate students.