Pride Center

The Pride Center and Rainbow Unity students established the Returning Student and New/Transfer scholarships to assist lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, students (LGBTQQIAAA) or students with LGBTQQIAAA family members. They raised money at the 2009 and 2010 Annual Drag Shows to establish a scholarship fund and in 2011 and gave out the first two Eagle Pride Scholarships. Every year students have raised funds to award a $1,000 scholarship for a returning student and a $500.00 scholarship for an incoming student.

In 2014 Dr. Sara Sullivan, Psychology Professor, retired from UWL, and to honor her retirement the Pride Center started a third scholarship for LGBTQ students who were going to study abroad. In 2014, the first Dr. Sara Sullivan LGBTQ Study Abroad Scholarship was awarded to one student ($500.00.) Every year the students put at least $2,000.00 into the scholarship fund to cover the next year’s three scholarships.

In 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid19 pandemic, Drag Shows were not held, but the Pride Center worked with the UWL Foundation on a crowdfunding campaign to raise more than $6,000. The Pride Center is grateful for the support of alumni, faculty, and staff. Special thanks to Carolyn ’85 & Jay ’84 Scott for the grant in 2021 that matched dollar for dollar up to $3,000.00 in contributions through the campaign! Jay Scott played a pivotal role in the creation of the Pride Center at UWL back in 1996.

To honor the Pride Center’s 25th Anniversary on the UWL campus, a fourth scholarship has been established to support an award for QTBIPOC (Queer and Trans Black, Indigenous, People of Color) students. This new scholarship will be awarded for the 2222-23 academic year.