Alumni
Rainbow Quorum
The Rainbow Quorum (RQ) unites Haverford's LGBTQ+ community members and their allies around the globe through professional networking, social connection, and support opportunities. The group also supports students, staff, and faculty in advancing a positive LGBTQ+ campus climate and enriches the relationship between alumni and the College.
Rainbow Quorum Activities are organized around four specific goals:
- Inclusivity: To help ensure the inclusivity of the College community as a place where all Haverfordians can thrive—from prospective students to seasoned alumni. This includes support for current students, faculty and staff of all sexual orientations and gender identities and ensuring opportunities for alumni engagement with the College around the needs of a growing subset of its students.
- Community-building & Support: To create an alumni network that supports the personal and professional development and success of Haverford's LGBTQ+ graduates,by helping alums navigate the opportunities and challenges unique to the LGBTQ+ community. The Rainbow Quorum also aims to assist the College in preparing current students to achieve professional success and personal fulfilment when they, too, join the alumni ranks.
- Visibility: To support efforts by the College to promote the visibility and importance of LGBTQ+ students, faculty, staff, on-campus affinity groups, and visiting speakers and scholars who engage with the Haverford community. By forging a critical partnership with the College, the Quorum is an integral resource in Haverford’s ability to model what it means to be a proactive, high-achieving, and thriving community that is welcoming of individuals of diverse life experiences and perspectives.
- Participation: To inspire in our members, by providing them with a place of their own in the alumni community, a lifetime of pride. To energize our members to, by whatever means is appropriate for each, expand equity, and embody the ideals with which we have been imbued. We hope that our cumulative efforts will enhance our and our successors' lives, our College, and beyond.
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Structure, Leadership and Governance:
The Rainbow Quorum (RQ) is governed by a Steering Committee of volunteer Haverford alumni, with support from the College’s Alumni & Family Engagement team. The Steering Committee will consist of no fewer than five members and no more than ten members. Members of the Steering Committee serve for two year terms, which may be renewed twice, allowing up to six years of service. At that time, a break of at least one year is required for a Steering Committee member before she/he/they can be considered for additional service on the RQ Steering Committee.
Members of the RQ may volunteer for service on the Steering Committee. Members of the RQ and staff from the College may also actively recruit Steering Committee members, and will seek to create a Steering Committee that reflects the diversity of the College’s alumni body, including: Age/year of graduation, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ethnicity, and geography. If there are more than 10 alumni who seek to serve on the Steering Committee, members of the Rainbow Quorum will be asked to vote on candidates for Steering Committee roles.
The Steering Committee will include a Chair and two Vice-Chairs. The Chair is responsible for working with College staff who support the RQ and the Steering Committee to develop meeting agendas, prioritize activities, and ensure that the work of the RQ advances the four goals identified above. When the Chair is not available for a meeting or other activity, one of the Vice Chairs is permitted to step in and function on behalf of the Chair.
The Steering Committee, once constituted, will select the Chair and Vice Chairs for the group. Chairs and Vice Chairs each serve two- year terms.
The Steering Committee shall, whenever possible, operate utilizing a consensus model for decision making. If consensus cannot be achieved, members of the Steering Committee may request a vote of the Steering Committee members be taken, and decisions will be made based on the majority vote.
Volunteers
Steering Committee
- rachel.cholst [at] gmail.com (Rachel Cholst '11)
- cohnmitchella [at] yahoo.com (Mitchell Cohn '80)
- mgluck [at] mac.com (Michael Gluck '82)
- ramien.pierre [at] gmail.com (Ramien Pierre '92)
- guemesguy [at] gmail.com (David Wertheimer '77)
- karinajwiener [at] gmail.com (Karina Wiener '15)