LGBT leadership honor named for Holobaugh

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Student Involvement and Leadership in the Campus Life Office has created a new honor named after WUSTL alumnus Jim Holobaugh (B.S., Engineering, 1990).

Holobaugh and three others will be the inaugural recipients of the award, which will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, in Holmes Lounge.

Holobaugh was a WUSTL student and cadet in the campus Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

In 1989, after coming out as gay to his squad commander, Holobaugh was removed from the program and ordered to repay the U.S. Army for his scholarship.

Eventually succumbing to pressure from campus groups and LGBT rights organizations across the country — in addition to an impassioned response from WUSTL administrators — the Army reversed its decision. Holobaugh went on to travel across the country, engaging diverse groups in dialogue on issues of service and citizenship.

The James M. Holobaugh Honor recognizes individuals and organizations that live and lead with integrity, engage diverse communities on issues relevant to LGBT equality, perform direct advocacy and service to the St. Louis metro community and incorporate education and dialogue as part of their practice.

In addition to Holobaugh, the other winners of the inaugural recognition are:

• Tom Brounk, Ph.D., chief of mental health services at the Habif Health and Wellness Center. Brounk helped found the Safe Zones program as well as Black Men/White Men. He has worked extensively on LGBT mental health issues on campus.

• Nancy Twilley, doctoral candidate in the Department of Ger-manic Languages & Literatures in Arts & Sciences. In addition to serving as a board member of Pride St. Louis, Twilley has helped create OUTgrads, WUSTL’s first cross-campus social and support organization for LGBT graduate students.

• Lori Weingarten, who earned a bachelor’s degree in photography from WUSTL in 2008, worked to revitalize the Safe Zones peer educators program, now used as a model for other Missouri schools. He was a member of the Student Union task force that ultimately resulted in the hiring of a LGBT programs coordinator.

For more information on the Holobaugh Honor, contact Michael Brown at 935-8029.