More on Micah McCarey
Director of the OU LGBT Center and city council member reflects on 20 years of change in Athens.
Story by Amber Phipps
Photos by Pearl Spurlock | Design by Abby Burns
This story begins in the small college town of Oberlin, Ohio, the home that fostered
Dr. Micah McCarey’s childhood and adolescent years. After receiving a high school diploma, McCarey packed his bags and made the three-hour drive from one college town to another to begin his collegiate career at Ohio University in the fall of 2003.
Fast forward four years to June 2007 when McCarey graduated with his bachelor’s degree in communication studies. Upon graduation, he decided to continue his education at OU, eventually receiving a master’s degree in human development in 2008. McCarey then went on to become a resident director with Housing and Residence Life (HRL) until 2016, where he chaired and co-chaired departmental teams that focused on programming for residence halls, diversity and academic collaboration. Most notably, he actively contributed to the development of gender-neutral housing. From 2016 to 2019, McCarey worked in a new position with HRL until a new opportunity came.
“I was actually overseeing diversity initiatives as an assistant director in Housing and Residence Life when the opportunity to come on as interim director of the LGBT Center came my way in May of 2019,” says McCarey. “It was symbolically very meaningful since the LGBT Center and Multicultural Center were among the offices that most supported me as an undergrad.”
Lacey Rogers currently serves as the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) training coordinator for the city of Athens and knew McCarey throughout their undergraduate years. During that time, McCarey worked as a residential assistant for HRL. Rogers consulted with McCarey concerning financial advising, saying he was hospitable and happy to help her.
“I was not somebody who lived in his building; he was very willing to help me get connected,” says Rogers. “He actually helped me find some additional funding … my freshman and sophomore year.”
His experiences working for HRL provided him with the resources and skills to fill the interim director position, making the transition into his role as LGBT Center director seamless.
His sociable personality is present within his job as he helps students navigate the difficulties often experienced in college life. As director of the LGBT Center, McCarey oversees the community of individuals looking for a safe space before classes or an area they can study without disruption. An average day for him consists of working on individual consultations the second the doors open for the day at 8 a.m. “There’s a big resource sharing component; a lot of individual consultation since there are so many different challenges and opportunities for the LGBTQ students to navigate in college,” says McCarey.McCarey shows an eagerness to engage with students and provide them with various opportunities. He uses his background in human development to improve the community and promote engagement. Adrien Legarth, a freshman studying theater production in the Honors Tutorial College, met McCarey during his orientation. As a first-year student, Legarth was amazed at how kind,
welcoming and open McCarey was. “He has impacted my life by letting me help with the center. It’s really nice to be involved,” says Legarth. “He’s impacted the community by providing a safe space for the LGBTQ+ students to go and be involved.”
Interim vice president for Diversity and Inclusion, Dr. Russell Morrow, has known McCarey since they were students at OU. Morrow has been working with McCarey in a professional environment since he started his position in July.
“He’s very much focused on student success and engaging holistically with students and supporting their academic, social and interpersonal needs,” says Morrow. “He consistently has a positive attitude and a smile on his face regardless of what’s going on in his life.”
Morrow has worked with McCarey on a few projects over the past months. They recently attended the Reimagining the Academy Conference, which was a collaboration among Miami University, Kent University and OU, with the goal of sharing ideas on inclusion, diversity and transformational change.
McCarey is leading various projects with hopes of spreading awareness of the LGBT community on campuses. McCarey has reached out to the Division of Diversity and Inclusion for support on funding these projects and Morrow continues to support these experiences.
“He’s taking a group of students to Kentucky for a conference that’s focused on the LGBT community[‘s] higher education in the Midwest. So, I’ve been able to help them figure out how many students to take and how they are going to engage in that particular experience,” says Morrow.
Morrow also says McCarey is one of the leaders of the Campus Climate Concerns Team and oversees situations involving incidents that appear or are “perceived to be inappropriate by any individual,” according to the OU Division of Diversity and Inclusion’s website. These incidents “may be motivated by race, ethnicity, age, national origin, disability, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation,” etc.
McCarey not only listens to these concerns but responds to them as he sees necessary. After responding to the situation, McCarey will provide the individual with any support or resources that may be helpful.
Since 2019, McCarey had been advocating to move the LGBT Center into a bigger, more welcoming space. The original room was on the third floor of Baker Center and lacked the necessary space to accommodate the people coming in and out of the LGBT Center.
With some persistence from McCarey, the LGBT Center was moved to a bigger space on the third floor of Baker Center Room 348. This increase in space gave the center the necessary capacity for various events and student-focused opportunities.
“Advocating for a larger space now has resulted in us having multiple rooms, and windows and space,” says McCarey. “So, we have a wellness room … students do a lot of their video counseling sessions there or use it as a place to meditate or have a private conversation.”
McCarey not only works for the university but also for Athens City Council since 2021. Over the past few years on council, McCarey has accomplished a lot in terms of representation and visibility.
As a council member, McCarey collaborated with OU students to update the gendered language in the Athens municipal codes in 2022. McCarey and students were successfully able to eliminate gender specific language when referring to city officials in the code.
As DEIA coordinator, Rogers has had the opportunity to work closely with McCarey on various community projects over the years. During the fall, Rogers and McCarey hosted a welcome event that provided new members of the community with the opportunity to be connected through the Racial Equity Coalition.
As representatives in Athens City Council, McCarey and Rogers are part of the Racial Equity and Leadership Institute through the National League of Cities. This entails traveling to various cities for events to discuss racial equity work. According to Rogers, the experience has been a great opportunity to stay connected with other municipalities on these issues.
“Micah is one of the friendliest people that I know. He’s got a really good spirit and he’s always willing to help anybody as much as he’s able to,” says Rogers. “He’s very resourceful and just a very generous person.”
McCarey has made efforts as a city council member and the LGBT Center director to ensure the community is aware of the diversity and inclusion resources. From attending conferences throughout the state and being a representative during community events, McCarey’s efforts strive to educate and inspire.
Throughout many years of involvement and community engagement, McCarey’s achievements have reached beyond
Athens residents and impacted people across the nation. His passion and drive are prevalent through his past work and unprecedented accomplishments.
With so many outstanding achievements over the years, McCarey has a few personal achievements that have shaped who he’s become.
McCarey made the decision to legally change his last name when he reached his mid-20s. This decision was inspired by his comfortability with his own identity.
“In conjunction with turning 25 and feeling like I had reached this rite of passage where I was very secure in who I am … I wanted to symbolically commemorate that with a self-chosen last name. I anticipated that I might want a special name that really reflected my identity,” McCarey says.
His chosen last name was largely inspired by his love for no other than Mariah Carey herself.
As the LGBT Center director and the only person of color on Athens City Council, McCarey’s efforts have impacted many individuals over the years. From students to faculty, his care for others and passion for change will go down in history.
“I would have loved to have had a person of color that was part of the LGBTQ community serving on city council when I came to Athens,” says McCarey. “And now getting to serve as that possibility model for others has been really fulfilling.”