Editing Queer studies (section)

===Yale–Kramer controversy===
In 1997, writer and [[AIDS]] activist [[Larry Kramer]] offered his alma mater, Yale, $4 million (and his personal papers) to endow a permanent, tenured professorship in gay studies and possibly build a gay and lesbian student center. His requirements were specific, as Yale was to use the money solely for "1) the study of and/or instruction in gay male literature..." including a tenured position, "and/or 2) the establishment of a gay student center at Yale..."<ref name="NYT 2009-06-03"/>

With gender, ethnic, and race-related studies still relatively new, Yale Provost [[Alison Richard]] said that gay and lesbian studies was too narrow a specialty for a program in perpetuity, indicating a wish to compromise on some of the conditions Kramer had asserted.<ref name="NYT 2009-06-03"/> Negotiations broke down as Kramer, frustrated by what he perceived to be "homophobic" resistance, condemned the university in a front-page story in ''[[The New York Times]]''. According to Kramer, he subsequently received letters from more than 100 institutions of higher learning "begging me to consider them."

In 2001, Yale accepted a $1 million grant from his older brother, money manager [[Arthur Kramer]], to establish the [[Larry Kramer#Larry Kramer Initiative for Lesbian and Gay Studies|Larry Kramer Initiative for Lesbian and Gay Studies]].<ref name="Yale 2003-04"/><ref name="NYT">{{cite web |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04EEDF113FF931A35757C0A9679C8B63 |title=Gay Writer And Yale Finally Agree On Donation |first=Karen W. |last=Arenson |work=The New York Times |date=April 2, 2001 |access-date=June 4, 2009}}</ref> The five-year program aimed to bring in visiting faculty, host conferences and lectures, and coordinate academic endeavors in lesbian and gay studies.<ref name="Yale 2003-04"/><ref name="NYT"/> [[Jonathan David Katz]] assumed the role of executive coordinator in 2002; in 2003, he commented that while women's studies or African American studies have been embraced by American universities, lesbian and gay studies have not.<ref name="Yale 2003-04"/> He blamed institutionalized fear of alienating alumni of private universities, or legislators who fund public ones.<ref name="Yale 2003-04"/> The five-year program ended in 2006.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=https://lgbts.yale.edu/ |title=Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies |publisher=[[Yale University]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528215633/https://lgbts.yale.edu/ |archive-date=May 28, 2020 |access-date=May 28, 2020 |quote=From 2001–2006, a generous gift from a donor allowed LGBTS to establish and oversee the Larry Kramer Initiative, which hosted a wide array of public programs on LGBT issues and strengthened LGBTS at Yale. }}</ref>

In June 2009, [[Harvard University]] announced that it would establish an endowed chair in LGBT studies.<ref name="Boston.com 2009-06-03"/><ref name="NYT 2009-06-03"/> Believing the post to be "the first professorship of its kind in the country,"<ref name="NYT 2009-06-03"/> Harvard President Drew G. Faust called it "an important milestone."<ref name="FOX 2009-06-03">{{cite web |last=Associated Press |author-link=Associated Press |date=June 3, 2009 |title=Harvard to Endow Chair in Gay, Lesbian Studies |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/harvard-to-endow-chair-in-gay-lesbian-studies |access-date=June 4, 2009 |publisher=FOXNews.com}}</ref> Funded by a $1.5 million gift from the members and supporters of the [[Harvard Gay & Lesbian Caucus]],<ref name="HGLC">{{cite web |url=http://hglc.org/matthiessen.html |title=Harvard Gay & Lesbian Caucus: F. O. Matthiessen Visiting Professorship of Gender and Sexuality |publisher=HGLC.org |access-date=June 4, 2009 |archive-date=June 12, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612060337/http://hglc.org/matthiessen.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> the [[F. O. Matthiessen]] Visiting Professorship of Gender and Sexuality is named for a mid-20th century gay Harvard American studies scholar and literary critic who chaired the undergraduate program in history and literature. Harvard Board of Overseers member Mitchell L. Adams said, "This is an extraordinary moment in Harvard's history and in the history of this rapidly emerging field ... And because of Harvard's leadership in academia and the world, this gift will foster continued progress toward a more inclusive society."<ref name="Boston.com 2009-06-03"/>