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About

The Sexuality Education Studies Center (SESC) at Miami University is unique: It marks us as the first institution in the region to provide critical, service-oriented, scholarly programs in sexual education, supporting students, faculty, staff and the community. SESC uniquely prepares students training for careers in P-12 education, public health, family life education, social work, educational leadership, disability studies, and school psychology in an unparalleled manner. This center collaborates with folks engaged in personal development and adds to contemporary conversations that are happening at national levels. Fostering connections with organizations that value sexual health, wellness, informed decision making, prepared citizens, and equity within our larger communities is a priority.

Why SESC Is Important

Americans want Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) instituted in public schools. According to Advocates for Youth, “The public supports a broad sex education curriculum that stresses abstinence as the best way to avoid unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, but that also conveys complete and medically accurate information about contraception and condoms.”

Numerous rigorous studies have determined that Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage (AOUM) programs are ineffective, wasteful, misleading and dangerous. The question seems to be: why are AOUM programs still fiscally sustained by multiple levels of government monies and continually implemented in public schools? Multi-tiered, complex answers sprinkled with politics, patriarchy, and capitalism is the beginning of the conversation.

But perhaps more importantly, SESC asks the questions:

  • What are we doing to boost Comprehensive Sexuality Education as the informed approach to preparing young folks for a lifespan of sexual health, wellness, and pleasure?
  • What are we doing to prepare those who want to teach and/or incorporate principles into their work?

Vision

Our vision is to create a welcoming, affirming, curious, and collaborative environment for LGBTQIA+ community and allies to dream, create, and make change together. We are building a robust community of research, advocacy, and practice that centers justice, equity, sex-positivity, trauma-informed care, culturally-responsive methods, evidence-informed practice, and intersectional frameworks.

Mission

The Dennis L. Carlson Sexuality Education Studies Center is a collaborative center that thrives on the support networks and partnerships we cultivate. The SESC focuses on 3 primary areas:

  • Faculty research support
  • Quality sexuality education
  • Advocacy for a variety of sex/ual/ity needs within the Miami and local communities.

To do this work, we facilitate a faculty affiliate community to collaborate on and promote sex/ual/ity related research and policy initiatives. We also work with campus, local, and national entities to provide critically-informed sexuality education and resources that are research-supported, evidence-informed, culturally responsive, medically accurate, and chronologically and developmentally relevant.

Throughout our pleasure-centered and sex-positive work, we encourage and support personal agency, greater access across communities, and ownership of one’s sexual health and wellness.

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What Our Students Say

"Introspection is important when learning about sexuality. You have to be willing to analyze yourself and the systems around you, and then break them down before you can build them up again with a more understanding and open view of sex/ual/ity.”