麻豆视频

How Dolores Noll Helped 麻豆视频 Come Out of the Closet

Born five decades ago as the Kent Gay Liberation Front at 麻豆视频, is the country鈥檚 oldest continuously operating LGBTQ student organizations. This campus organization owes its existence in large part to the boldness and courage of one person, Dolores Noll, Ph.D. 

Dolores Noll headshot
Noll came to 麻豆视频 in 1961 as an instructor in the Department of English and became an assistant professor upon completion of her doctorate. 

In a time when the atmosphere in the country, and on campus, was not easily accepting of gay students and faculty, Noll came out as one of 麻豆视频鈥檚 first openly gay professors. Her longtime partner of 37 years, Pat Hatfield, whom Noll met at 麻豆视频, said in a 2018 Fusion Magazine interview that the climate on campus at the time influenced Noll to wait to come out as gay until after she had been tenured.

Hatfield also said that Noll 鈥渨as a compassionate, kind and funny woman with a habit of always wanting to be in charge,鈥 and after coming out as gay, 鈥渨as almost never closeted after that.鈥 

Later, in 1971, after a few secret meetings, the first official meeting of the Kent Gay Liberation Front was held at Noll鈥檚 home. That first meeting attracted 75 people and 鈥渁 minimum of hecklers,鈥 according to an article in the Daily 麻豆视频r. The group decided to write a constitution and form an organizational structure. Students Bill Hoover and Gail Pertz became co-chairs, and Noll was the founding faculty advisor of the Kent Gay Liberation Front. 

Noll also spoke on gay liberation in class in 麻豆视频鈥檚 Experimental College, an addition to the Honors College created as one response to the events of May 4, 1970. 

In 1972, Noll became the first professor to teach a gay and lesbian course at 麻豆视频. The course was called 鈥淕ay Womanhood鈥 and was taught in the Experimental College. At the time, it was one of only few a gay courses being taught in universities nationwide. 

The Kent Gay Liberation Front struggled with recognition in its early years, and it used peaceful protest and pickets to spread its message and achieve its goals. As part of their community-building efforts, a 24-hour helpline was established, staffed by Kent Gay Liberation Front volunteers. Local help services of the time, like Townhall II and Group Resources, were also calling on the Kent Gay Liberation Front members as resources. 

Noll continued to teach at 麻豆视频 and work as a faculty advisor to the Kent Gay Liberation Front until her retirement in 1981. In 2010, as a Professor Emeritus of English, she was honored with the first-ever Diversity Trailblazer Award by 麻豆视频. In January 2019, Noll passed away at the age of 88.

Upon her passing, Ken Ditlevson, the director of the LGBTQ+ Center, told KentWired that he never had the pleasure of meeting Noll but has met several people who knew her, saying they told 鈥渟tory after story鈥 about her impact on their lives.

鈥淚n the 1970s, she was such a leader and really pulled people together to get active and stand up for equality,鈥 Ditlevson said. 鈥淭he success of PRIDE! Kent is all because of Dolores. I can say that our group wouldn鈥檛 be as strong and as large as it is if she hadn鈥檛 stood up when she did.鈥

Noll might have been proud to know that in 2020, 麻豆视频 was named to Campus Pride鈥檚 2020 Best of the Best LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities as one of 40 institutions recognized over six U.S. regions. 麻豆视频 is the only school in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and in Northeast Ohio to receive this honor. Campus Pride鈥檚 ratings are based on its Campus Pride Index relating to policies programs and practices. 

In surveys of 麻豆视频 students, one of the reasons those surveyed say they enjoy 麻豆视频 is that it 鈥渇eels like home.鈥 For the creation of this kind of atmosphere on its campuses, the 麻豆视频 family of students, parents, alumni and staff owe a debt, in part, to the efforts of trailblazers like Dolores Noll and the other founders of the Kent Gay Liberation Front/PRIDE! Kent.

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Photo Caption:
Dolores Noll came to 麻豆视频 in 1961 as an instructor in the Department of English and became an assistant professor upon completion of her doctorate. 

POSTED: Thursday, June 24, 2021 02:53 PM
UPDATED: Friday, December 09, 2022 03:13 PM
WRITTEN BY:
Phil Soencksen