Spectrum Center Mission & Vision
With sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as our framework, the Spectrum Center is committed to enriching the campus experience and developing students as individuals and as members of communities. Our work is accomplished through a student-centered, intersectional lens.
The Center envisions an inclusive campus community free of discrimination in all forms where social justice inspires community engagement and equity.
This article provides you with a detailed history of the Spectrum Center and its evolution over time.
Giving Blueday is the University of Michigan’s annual day of giving—where friends, alumni, and colleagues around the world support what they love most about U-M. Giving to the Spectrum Center this Giving Blueday, March 15, sustains and builds on our commitment to new leadership opportunities for U-M students and to provide funding for the programming that matters to them.
Howard Bragman (AB ‘78), a long-time friend and supporter of the Spectrum Center, passed away on Saturday evening, February 11, 2023.
You’re invited to join the Spectrum Center for the Jim Toy Celebration of Liberation, happening Friday, May 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the Michigan Theater. This event is an opportunity for community and friends to come together to honor Jim Toy, who passed away on New Year’s Day. Jim was co-founder of the Spectrum Center, and his legacy has been felt deeply across campus.
Spectrum Center co-founder and U-M alumnus Jim Toy, MSW ‘81, passed away over the weekend at the age of 91. Toy was known as an outspoken activist and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and worked to establish the Human Sexuality Office in 1971, which later became the Spectrum Center.
Growing up in the Midwest in the 1960s, without a lot of peers or role models to look to, Howard Bragman never quite fit in.
“As a fat, Jewish, gay kid in Flint, Michigan, I always felt like a Martian,” he said.
That all changed when he got to U‑M.