The University of Colorado Boulder today made the Top 25 LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities list issued by Campus Pride, a leading nonprofit national educational organization for LGBTQ and ally students and campus groups.
CU Boulder is the only Colorado campus that made the list, which includes other prestigious universities such as Cornell, Princeton and Tufts.
For seven years, the list has highlighted the most LGBTQ-inclusive colleges and universities when it comes to policy, program and practice in higher education.
This is the first year Campus Pride has released a Top 25 list based on the higher LGBTQ benchmarks recently released on the updated version of the Campus Pride Index. The Top 25 listing is based on the final responses to the Campus Pride Index, a national benchmarking tool, which self-assesses LGBTQ-friendly policies, programs and practices. The tool is free of charge and can be found online at .
“We are excited that our policies are showing we are an inclusive community,” said Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Christina Gonzales. “It’s important that all of our students feel they’re part of the community and they’re welcome here.”
Gonzales said students who feel valued on a campus are more engaged and successful in their studies.
Unlike some LGBTQ rankings and other commercial ratings, the Campus Pride Index is based in research on policy, program and practice and is conducted for and by LGBTQ higher education experts. Each campus updates its index annually and uses the Campus Pride benchmarking tool to make improvements for LGBTQ life on campus.
In order to be in the Top 25, an institution had to score the highest percentages in the LGBTQ-friendly benchmarks. The listing this year includes public and private colleges with student populations from 1,600 to over 50,000.
"We've worked hard across many different departments to expand our resources and be more inclusive in our practices," said Scarlet Bowen, director of the GLBTQ Resource Center. "The Top 25 recognition is very well-deserved, and is a special honor as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Resource Center at CU Boulder."
Many of the leading campuses are specifically addressing academic retention efforts for LGBTQ students as well as concerns for transgender student safety, as reflected by their willingness to be the first campuses to take the updated assessment, said Shane Windmeyer, Campus Pride executive director.
For example, CU Boulder’s campus climate survey was expanded last fall so that students could express more specific information about their LGBTQ status.
“Once we get the data analyzed we will be able to pinpoint which specific LGBTQ communities need more support,” Gonzales said.
Find the complete results at .