Jessamine Beal, the Intercultural Center's program coordinator for sexuality and gender diversity since 2011 and a beloved figure and mentor for many students at Brandeis, will be leaving the University on May 15 to take on the full-time position of assistant director for diversity services at Suffolk University.

Beal wrote in an email to the Justice that while she "very much enjoyed [her] time at Brandeis and loved the students here," she "needed a full-time/full-year position and ... wanted a position with more opportunities for growth and advancement."

"Jesse's fabulous, and she's going to be missed. I'm thrilled for her and the new position," said Monique Gnanaratnam, the director of the Intercultural Center and Beal's supervisor, in an interview with the Justice. "I think it's a great opportunity for Jesse ... It makes me pretty proud, to see her go off and do that. Jesse's going to go there and she's going to take great things there with her," Gnanaratnam said.

Beal's accomplishments in her time at Brandeis include instituting the annual Lavender Graduation, a celebration of the accomplishments of graduating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students, and playing a big role in the Sex and Sexualities Symposium. She also informally mentored many clubs on campus including Student Sexuality and Information Service, the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and Triskelion.

Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer said in an interview with the Justice he wished the University could afford to keep Beal for a full-time position.

"I would like it if the University had the funds to make that a full-time position," he said. "We've been asking for funds for our department for a long time."

He continued to say that there are "three or four" other positions within the Division of Student Affairs that are currently not full-time that he would like to be able to expand into permanent job titles.

According to Gnanaratnam, the position of program coordinator for sexuality and gender diversity was formed in 2008 as a 10-hour a week graduate student position. "They worked towards it, they were professional, had the meetings that they needed to have, spoke with the administrators that they needed to speak with, and received the position," she said.

When the first person to hold the position left in 2011, students spoke out and the position was extended to be a 20-hour per week part-time position, which was what Beal was hired.

"Students are at the core of everything that this position has come to be," said Gnanaratnam. "I wish it was a full-time position, because the students wish it was a full-time position."

She said now that the position is open, and it will be listed.
In the end, Gnanaratnam said, "I know and I trust that what Brandeis University will do is to support our students. I have no doubt about that."