Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference (MBLGTACC)

MBLGTACC is an annual conference held to connect, educate, and empower LGBTQIA+ college students, faculty, and staff around the Midwest and beyond. It has attracted advocates and thought leaders including Angela Davis, Robyn Ochs, Janet Mock, Laverne Cox, Kate Bornstein, Faisal Alam, and LZ Granderson; and entertainers and artists including J Mase III, Todrick Hall, Margaret Cho, Chely Wright, and Loren Cameron.

To date, MBLGTACC is the largest and oldest continuously-held LGBTQIA+ college conference in the nation. And it is entirely and proudly student-run.

• Were you an early MBLGCC or MBLGTCC planner? Connect with our historian, Noah, about our MBLGTACC history project.

MILESTONES

MBLGTACC’s story is one of true, grassroots student activism.

Then named the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay College Conference (MBLGCC), MBLGTACC was first imagined at another conference in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1991. Born out of the largely-coastal social movements of the 1990s, organizers saw a need to give voice to queer students in the Midwest. That group of young leaders and changemakers came together a year later to lay down the organizing principles and logistical roadmap for the first annual MBLGCC.

Then, in February 1993, the first annual MBLGCC (now MBLGTACC) was held at Iowa State University, a collaborative effort between students at Iowa State and Drake University.

Here's to you, our MBLGTACC 25th anniversary video, was debuted at MBLGTACC 2017 at Navy Pier.

Miletones

1993: The 1st annual Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay College Conference took place at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa

1995: The theme for the 1995 and 1996 conferences was “Building Queer Success in the Midwest.” While it is unconfirmed, conference lore suggests this was intended to be the conference’s official slogan. Later conferences selected other themes, but the commitment to building queer success in the Midwest remained constant.

1997: The conference was renamed the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender College Conference

2001: The conference was renamed the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference

2007: Oversight Committee created

2013: MBLGTACC reaches 2000+ attendees for the first time in Lansing, Michigan, and hosted by students from Michigan State University

2015: Oversight Committee authorizes creation of a non-profit with professional staff

2016: The Midwest Institute for Sexuality and Gender Diversity is officially launched

2017: MBLGTACC 2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the conference

Discover past conference themes and sift your way through old program guides below. Intrigued? Consider bidding to host MBLGTACC on your campus.

List of hosts & Themes