Jeff Kenney Oral History Interview

In this hour-long interview, Jeff Kenney discusses a wide range of topics relating to the culture and history of the Pride Center at OSU, and student affairs and outreach work more generally. Kenney explains that as Coordinator of LGBTQ+ Outreach and Services, his primary goal was to ensure the promotion and success of LGBTQ+ students. He details the responsibilities of this position, including serving as an active liaison to the Pride Center and partnering with other units both on- and off-campus; providing supervision, mentorship, and guidance to OSU students; and mediating pressures to serve both students and staff, to reach outside the OSU community or focus on campus issues. Kenney briefly explains the root of this conflict, detailing the ways in which queer and trans faculty at OSU can feel isolated, as well as face micro-aggressions or direct hostility from their colleagues, but have no significant support for this issue. In addition, he discusses the ins and outs of serving a diverse constituency, not only balancing the demands of students and staff, but also seeking to serve non-students from the surrounding community. Kenney suggests that another pull and tug is experienced by outreach coordinators like himself—being held responsible to both the institution as well as the student body, and having to sometimes represent policies that feel outdated or created from a place of fear. Following Kenney’s in-depth exploration of the many conflicting expectations for outreach coordinators in general, but particularly at Oregon State, he briefly discusses how the push for marriage equality during his time at Oregon State impacted the Pride Center. This part of the discussion details the ways in which marriage equality is important, but also homonormative, and often negates the more pressing needs (i.e. stable jobs, shelter, food) of many queer communities. Kenney concludes the interview with a more general discussion on the Diversity and Cultural Engagement Office at Oregon State. Kenney describes the changes he has observed in the relationships between cultural and resource centers on campus, as students and staff increasingly envision these centers as one consortium. He describes the ways his office has become a more complex organization in reaction to a complex student body, and ends by speaking on the emotional aspect of doing this kind of work.