Penn State’s Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity has received a $1 million contribution from alumnus Jeffrey A. Conrad to continue renovations and create new programming.

Conrad is a 1983 graduate of Penn State with a degree from the College of Agricultural Sciences. Conrad said he had several obstacles to overcome since he was a first-generation college student coming from a small, rural community. He is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

In the early 1980s, there was a lack of resources at Penn State for students struggling with their identity. Even after he had graduated from college, Conrad’s identity as a gay man usually needed to be kept hidden as it might have left him without a job or ruined his career entirely.

Conrad’s experiences inspired him to become a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and youth in general throughout his career in agricultural business. Before his donation to Penn State, he created three different scholarships which bear his name.

“I’m hoping this center provides the support that many of my generation needed but didn’t have,” Conrad says. “Supporting LGBTQ+ students is as important now as it has ever been.”

To recognize his generosity and impact on the university, the center will be renamed The Jeffrey A. Conrad Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity. The Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity was created in 1996 and had been based out of the Boucke Building until January 2020, when it moved to the ground level of the HUB.

This relocation gave the center more space to provide further education, support, and an overall inclusive environment for students, staff, and alumni. Conrad’s $1 million gift to the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity is the largest it has ever received.

The donation will go toward bringing in more speakers for the lecture series, creating workshops, a new art exhibit, and other events for all Penn State students to participate in.