LGBT Oral History 089: Brian Patchcoski

Brian Patchcoski was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, brought up in a very strong Irish, German, and Polish Roman Catholic family. Brian progressed through high school, working for a Catholic church for 10 years and expecting to go into the priesthood until he left the Diocese of Scranton to get his education at the University of Scranton and Penn State, then continuing on to work at Penn State for five years. Afterward, Brian was the Director of the Office of LGBTQ Services for Dickinson College for two years, then accepting a position as Associate Dean of Students and Director of the LGBT Resource Center at Cornell University. In this interview, Brian discusses his journey managing himself, his sexuality, and his religion. He also discusses how he became involved in social work for the LGBT community in college, how supportive faculty influenced his development, and how he has handled the challenges of educating within largely rural, conservative areas. For the future, Brian hopes we will remember the important strides made by past advocates while acknowledging how much farther we need to go to achieve equality. He also praises the LGBT History Project, hoping it will continue to reveal marginalized voices in Central Pennsylvania.