ANN ARBOR – It's a rare and lucky person who says that not only do they like where they work, but they like what they do. Jackie Simpson, the director of the University of Michigan's Office of LGBT Affairs, is one of those lucky people.
"I like it all. I really do," said Simpson, who has been in her position for two years. "I love being engaged with young people. They keep you young yourself."
That's not to say her time as director has been a piece of cake. The past two years included the passing of the state of Michigan's anti-gay-marriage amendment and a lawsuit that resulted in a court ruling ordering public universities to stop offering domestic-partner benefits to LGBT employees.
"When it happened, certainly, there were lots of e-mails and phone calls," she recalled. Simpson spent a lot of time listening to the worries of families in danger of losing benefits. One thing most callers had in common, she said, was fear. Some faculty and staff left, she said; others decided not to come to U-M.
Simpson, however, felt optimistic.
"I had no doubt ever about whether the University of Michigan would find a way to resolve this. But that's easy for me to say," Simpson said. "My partner also has a job here, so we weren't dependent on domestic-partner benefits."
The U-M didn't let Simpson down. LGBT employees now can cover their same-sex partners as "other qualified adults" and receive what were previously domestic-partner benefits. While there are strict criteria to be met, the school found a way around Michigan's discriminatory law.
"I am satisfied with it," Simpson said of the outcome. Feedback from staff and faculty also has been positive. "For me, 100 percent of the e-mails that I have received and conversations I've had expressed gratitude and a real sense that the University of Michigan administration cared."
In fact, the school's LGBT faculty association sent flowers to Gloria Hage from the Office of General Council and Laurita Thomas from its human resources department.
What's in a name?
Currently on Simpson's plate is the issue of what, exactly, to call the office she works in. While it's been decided that The Office of LGBT Affairs doesn't work, it has not been decided what will. And that decision is taking a long time. So long that it has received a lot of attention.
"There has been all kinds of response nationally," said Simpson.
Indeed, attention has come from none other than national columnists Dan Savage and Andrew Sullivan. In his July 27 blog posting, Savage wrote, "Process queens are running amuck in Michigan. The Office of LGBT Affairs at the University of Michigan has concluded that its name oppresses some people. Or everybody. Or something."
"Ma, I hate campus gay groups. I know they offer important support for often-beleaguered students," Sullivan responded that same day on his blog. "But the PC crapola gets you down."
Simpson, however, isn't letting the criticism get to her. "We're actually very excited," she said of the change – and the national attention.
The process to change the name started in 2005. The office expects to have a new name ready to go by this December.
As Savage indicated, the office is looking for a more inclusive title. "We just started out literally by people sitting around asking, 'Does LGBT work?'" Simpson said. "Different communities have been telling us for a long time that the letters aren't working for them."
For one thing, the letters don't include straight allies. They also don't include people of color who identify as "same-gender loving."
Simpson acknowledges letters could be added, but then there's the question of order. "I have been told that I should reverse the letters so it should be TBLG," she said. But she won't. "I'm not going to support the framework of a hierarchy of oppression."
Simpson dismissed the idea that changing the name should be a quick thing. "Labels and naming are huge," she said, pointing to the Don Imus debacle and the recent ceremonial funeral the NAACP held in Detroit to "bury the N-word."
The goal, said Simpson, was to find something "that can be sustainable for a long period of time."
"We will change the name. That is a guarantee," she said. "We want to come up with a name that's going to fit the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the state of Michigan."
Students, faculty and staff have been asked to contribute their ideas and thoughts. "I think the dialogue and discussion will be good for here," she said.
The process, she insisted, isn't a vapid PC exercise or a distraction. "We should be smart enough to be able to come to a place where we can move forward and deal with some real issues out there," she said, like job discrimination and health care.
Off the clock
When Simpson, who describes herself as "passionate, fun, clear, caring and thoughtful," isn't working, she likes to hang out in Ann Arbor with her partner of 12 years, Jeanine Bassette, and their two dogs, Sneetches and Cricket.
Simpson hasn't always lived in Michigan. In fact, she grew up in Florida. She then moved with her parents to Kuwait and lived there several years before ending up in Mallorca, Spain, where she lived until she was 25.
"Where I would consider where I'm from is probably Florida, Spain – and wherever I'm at at the time," she said.
While Simpson and her partner now live in Michigan, they didn't meet here. "We actually met in Ames, Iowa, at Iowa State University. We were actually both working there," said Simpson. "She said, 'If I asked you to go out on a date with me, would you?' And I said, 'I don't know, you'll have to ask.' So she asked and I said 'yes,' so that's how that began."
It is striking how this personal anecdote so closely mirrors Simpson's philosophy of social change: "I believe the way to change the world is face-to-face and one heart at a time. In addition to policy change, that has to happen at the same time."
For more information about U-M's soon-to-be formerly-known-as Office of LGBT Affairs, visit http://www.umich.edu/~lgbta or e-mail [email protected].
