- Lecturer of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Ohio State University
Dorian Rhea Debussy, Ph.D. (she/her) has served as a Lecturer in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at The Ohio State University at Newark since 2022, and she previously served as a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science from 2019 to 2022. Her forthcoming academic appointment in Washington, DC will be announced in spring 2027.
In addition to her academic work, Rhea serves as the inaugural Director of External Affairs at Equitas Health, which is one of the largest LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS serving healthcare organizations in the country. Prior to this, she enjoyed a decade of service in higher education, which began in public university settings in Connecticut. She previously served as the Associate Director for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Kenyon College, where she specialized in fostering LGBTQ+ inclusion and equity across campus and beyond. During her time at Kenyon College, she also served as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, where she taught the college’s first queer studies course.
A graduate of the Dept. of Political Science at the University of Connecticut, Rhea’s doctoral work focused on the histories of LGBTQ+ exclusion from the military and intelligence community. Building upon this research, Rhea served as the lead author for the newly updated and expanded third edition of Freedom to Serve: The Definitive Guide to LGBTQ Military Service (2023), which is the most comprehensive guidebook on issues affecting LGBTQ service members across all branches of the military. Given the important nature of this work and the status of this guidebook, an advance copy of this text was requested by the Biden Presidential Transition Team in December 2020. Her book project – The Lavender Bans: A Century of Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies in the US Military – was published by Columbia University Press in March 2026, and it received advance praise from former leaders in the US Dept. of Defense (DoD).
As a scholar of LGBTQ+ politics and policy, Rhea remains engaged with national and international LGBTQ+ and healthcare conferences. For instance, Rhea, who is a member of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH), presented at WPATH’s 26th Annual Scientific Symposium, which is the world’s largest conference on transgender health. Rhea also frequently publishes non-academic articles on LGBTQ+ political issues. Her work has been published by The Conversation, The Advocate, Salon, BUST Magazine, and The Gay & Lesbian Review among others. Her most recent article for The Conversation, which was also circulated by The Associated Press, garnered nearly 30,000 readers, and another work was recently modified into a public radio segment that was distributed to over 70+ NPR and BBC World Service radio stations.
Passionate about inclusive teaching, Rhea has extensive and varied teaching experiences. Previously, she taught queer studies courses for the Women's and Gender Studies Program at Kenyon College; courses on the politics of race, class, and gender at Manchester Community College and Eastern Connecticut State University; and LGBTQ+ studies, feminist studies, American politics, and quantitative methods courses at the University of Connecticut. In addition to teaching, Rhea remains engaged in service opportunities focused on supporting the career success of students at her alma mater, the University of Connecticut.
Experience
-
2022–presentDirector of External Affairs, Equitas Health
-
2022–2026Lecturer, Dept. of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Ohio State University
-
2019–2022Lecturer, Dept. of Political Science , The Ohio State University
-
2020–2022Associate Director, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Kenyon College
-
2021–2022Visiting Assistant Professor, Women’s and Gender Studies Program, Kenyon College
-
2018–2020Assistant Director, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion , Kenyon College
-
2019–2019Visiting Assistant Professor, Women’s and Gender Studies Program, Kenyon College
-
2012–2018Graduate Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Political Science, University of Connecticut
-
2016–2018Lecturer, The Rainbow Center, Office for Diversity and Inclusion, University of Connecticut
-
2013–2018Graduate Teaching Assistant, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, University of Connecticut
-
2015–2018Lecturer, Dept. of Political Science, Philosophy, and Geography , Eastern Connecticut State University
Education
-
2018University of Connecticut, Ph.D. in Political Science
-
2017University of Connecticut, Graduate Certificate in College Instruction
-
2016University of Connecticut, Graduate Certificate in Feminist Studies
-
2014University of Connecticut, M.A. in Political Science with a concentration in American Studies
-
2012Columbus State University, B.A. in Political Science
-
2011Regent's Park College, University of Oxford, Visiting Student Certificate in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics
Publications
-
2026The Lavender Bans: A Century of Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies in the US Military, Columbia University Press
Professional Memberships
- World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)
- Diversity Scholars Network, National Center for Institutional Diversity, University of Michigan
- Women in Governmental Relations (WGR)
Contact Dorian for
- General
- Media request
- Speaking request
- Consulting / Advising
- Research collaboration
- Research supervision
- Location: Washington, D.C., U.S.
- Website
- Instagram: rheadebussy
- LinkedIn: dorianrdebussy
- Article Feed
- Joined
