The facility will be called the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Student Center according to a Kent State news release.

It will house classes, services and resources for the gay and lesbian community.

The word 'queer' was included in the title as a way of taking away its negative connotation.

According to the school, Kent State's history of supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender studies goes back almost 40 years when Professor Emeritus of English Delores L. Noll became the first professor to teach a gay and lesbian issues course in 1972. Noll is receving a Diversity Trailblazer Award on Thursday as part of the opening events.

In 2001, Kent State began offering the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies minor, becoming the first university in Ohio to do so.

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