The 6th Annual TTNS Will Take Place In...

San Marcos, TX on the Texas State University campus!

For the first time in Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit history, it leaves the Houston area where it was conceived and hits the road to another part of the Lone Star State as its co-founder Josephine Tittsworth envisioned. 

A TTNS road trip was actually slated to happen on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station back in 2011, but unforeseen on campus complications in Aggieland unfortunately caused it to be shifted back to Houston.  

Barring any unforeseen complications, the 6th annual TTNS will take place August 8-9, 2014 on the Texas State University campus.

The 2013 TTNS event was held on the University of Houston campus for the third time (2009, 2011, 2013) with Rice University (2010) and UH-Clear Lake (2012) hosting the others.   

So what's the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit?  It a two day event that tackles TBLG issues pertinent to higher education.   Interested academics and other parties in higher education gather at the TTNS host campus to discuss and strategize about what does and doesn't work in regards to codifying inclusion of  'gender identity and expression' into institutional policy.

There are other issues of importance to the Texas transgender community discussed during the TTNS that will facilitate those goals.   

The TTNS since its 2009 founding and inaugural event on the University of Houston campus has grown to become a much coveted event in Texas academic circles.  The TTNS has been responsible for the increasing list of Texas colleges, universities and school districts that have added gender identity and expression language to their non-discrimination statements and anti-bullying policies.  

The TTNS not only has facilitated the education and training that led to these advances, but has also fostered discussions between activists, students and academics on how to create campuses that are more conducive and comfortable for transpeople to simply be themselves.  That results in trans students being better able to focus on getting their educations and becoming productive citizens.   

So mark your calendars and make your plans now to join the TTNS crew in San Marcos, Texas for what is sure to be another interesting and groundbreaking event.   One day I hope to see one of the Texas HBCU campuses in either Prairie View A&M University or Texas Southern University bid to host it. 

As soon as I receive it, I'll post to this TransGriot space more information about the 2014 edition of the TTNS in terms of when registration opens, when the call for presentations goes out and what your campus needs to do if you want to host the 2015 edition of the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit.

See you in San Marcos, and looking forward to that TTNS chocolate break again! .