UIC among top 25 LGBT-friendly campuses

Students, faculty and staff get together at a picnic outside the Behavioral Sciences Building, sponsored by the Gender and Sexuality Center.

For the second year in a row, UIC has been named among the nation’s top 25 campuses for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.

UIC is the only institution in Illinois among the top 25 campuses.

The honor was announced last week by Campus Pride, which partnered with Huffington Post to reveal its data-based rating of colleges and universities based on LGBT-friendly policies, programs and practices.

“I’m pleased that Campus Pride values UIC for its LGBTQ-friendly environment and resources,” says Megan Carney, director of the Gender and Sexuality Center.

“The center will continue to work with faculty, staff, and students to assess programs and services that advance LGBTQ inclusion on campus and support students’ academic and personal success.”

The Campus Pride Index, which features over 380 U.S. colleges and universities, is based on responses provided by participating institutions in a comprehensive questionnaire submitted to Campus Pride.

In a repeat of last year’s standing, UIC earned five stars, the highest rating possible, for its overall campus climate score and in the categories of policy inclusion, support and institutional commitment, student life, campus safety, counseling and health, and recruitment and retention.

The searchable index from Campus Pride, a national online education organization for LGBT and ally students and campus groups, is available online.