GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Colleges from the Piedmont Triad are scoring high marks when it comes to inclusivity.
Campus Pride released their annual “Best of the Best” list, a list that ranks the 30 best colleges and universities for LGBTQ+ students. Various factors are used to determine this, such as inclusivity policies and programs. This list is meant to recognize the efforts that these campuses have put into creating welcoming campuses for LGBTQ+ students, staff and faculty.
“In today’s climate, which finds LGBTQ+ identities being used as political talking points and laws being weaponized against LGBTQ+ people, the commitment to creating campuses that welcome and protect LGBTQ+ students can not be taken for granted. The colleges and universities that made our list this year deserve this highest recognition for the efforts they have made and continue to make,” said Campus Pride Founder, CEO and Executive Director Shane Mendez Windmeyer.
Guilford College and Elon University ranked on the list. Both universities were given a 5 out of 5 stars ranking by Campus Pride.
From Guilford College’s website: “Guilford College has a longstanding mission to provide a transformative, practical and excellent liberal arts education that produces critical thinkers in an inclusive, diverse environment, guided by Quaker testimonies of community, equality, integrity, peace and simplicity and emphasizing the creative problem-solving skills, experience, enthusiasm and international perspectives necessary to promote positive change in the world.”
Elon University’s Gender & LGBTQIA Center writes: “we strive to make our students, faculty, staff, and alumni feel they belong on campus, no matter their specific gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation or romantic orientation. We want students to feel from the moment they get here, that they can be fully successful from their very 1st day as an Elon student through their final day at Elon Commencement.”
The Best of the Best LGBTQ-friendly Colleges and Universities are:
Mid-Atlantic
- Adelphi University, Garden City, NY
- Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-New Brunswick, New Brunswick, NJ
- The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
- University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
- University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Midwest
- Augsburg University, Minneapolis, MN
- Indiana University, Bloomington, Bloomington, IN
- Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
- Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL
- Oakland University, Rochester, MI
- Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
- The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
- University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL
- University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI
- University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, Green Bay, WI
- University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
- Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
New England
- Tufts University, Medford, MA
- University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, MA
- University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
South
- Elon University, Elon, NC
- George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
- Guilford College, Greensboro, NC
- Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY
- University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
West
- San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
- Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR
- University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO
Texas and Florida were excluded from consideration due to policies in those states.
